Firewall Setup

🔒 Firewall Setup – Complete Guide for Beginners to Advanced

Setting up a firewall is a core part of securing computers, networks, and servers. Whether you're teaching networking, cybersecurity, or ethical hacking, this topic is a must-have.

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✅ What Is a Firewall?

A firewall is a security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predefined security rules.

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🧱 Types of Firewalls

Type Description Example

Packet Filtering Filters traffic based on IP, port, and protocol IPTables, Cisco ACL

Stateful Inspection Tracks active connections and filters packets accordingly Windows Defender Firewall

Proxy Firewall Acts as a gateway between users and the internet Squid Proxy

Next-Gen Firewall (NGFW) Includes intrusion prevention, app awareness, etc. Fortinet, Palo Alto

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🖥️ How to Set Up a Firewall (Basic – Advanced)

🟢 Basic Setup – Windows

🛠 Tool: Windows Defender Firewall

1. Go to Control Panel → System and Security → Windows Defender Firewall

2. Click on “Turn Windows Firewall on or off”

3. Set rules via Advanced Settings

4. Create Inbound/Outbound Rules:

o Block apps

o Allow specific ports (e.g., port 80 for HTTP)

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🐧 Basic Setup – Linux (UFW: Uncomplicated Firewall)

🛠 Tool: UFW (Ubuntu/Debian)

sudo apt install ufw

sudo ufw enable

sudo ufw allow 22    # Allow SSH

sudo ufw allow 80    # Allow HTTP

sudo ufw status      # Check status

👉 Great for students new to Linux CLI.

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🔥 Advanced Setup – IPTables (Linux)

🛠 Tool: iptables

sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 22 -j ACCEPT

sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT

sudo iptables -A INPUT -j DROP

• More powerful but complex. Useful for teaching network-level control.

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🌐 Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Tool Use

ModSecurity Apache/Nginx WAF module

Cloudflare Cloud-based firewall + DDoS protection

AWS WAF / Azure Firewall For cloud environments

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🧪 Tools for Firewall Testing

Tool Purpose

Nmap Port scanning

Wireshark Packet monitoring

Firewall Builder GUI for managing rules

Gufw GUI frontend for UFW (Linux Desktop)

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🎓 How to Teach Firewall Setup in Your Class

Week Topic Practical

Week 1 Introduction to Firewalls Diagram of LAN + Internet

Week 2 Windows Firewall Setup Block/Allow software & ports

Week 3 UFW & Gufw Linux CLI control

Week 4 IPTables Basics Custom rules demo

Week 5 WAF Setup Install ModSecurity on XAMPP or Apache

Week 6 Testing & Logs Use Nmap + Wireshark for testing

Week 7 Project Secure a server + document firewall config

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