To assuage any fears, this article will show you how to set up a Linux-based personal firewall for the SOHO (small office, home office), broadband-attached network. It also takes a look at several SOHO firewalls and determines whether or not they . . .
To assuage any fears, this article will show you how to set up a Linux-based personal firewall for the SOHO (small office, home office), broadband-attached network. It also takes a look at several SOHO firewalls and determines whether or not they can keep your systems safe from intruders.

The term firewall (as described in this article) is one of many appropriated from other industries to fit the needs of technology. Originally, a firewall was a strengthened part of a building's structure designed to keep a fire contained within a specific area. When IT managers and software developers wanted to add security to their networks, the term was used to describe the layers of defense put into a server to protect against unauthorized access.

However, the idea of a SOHO-specific firewall has taken time to develop. The first SOHO products have appeared only in the past 18 months. Although there has been considerable skepticism about the usefulness of such packages, the market for SOHO firewalls is set to explode. With more small- and home-office workers spending increasing amounts of time online, there's growing concern among corporations about the security of their remote systems. Thankfully, the major software vendors are reacting to this concern.

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