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Run Your Firewall Halted for Extra Security

Posted by michael on from the neat-trick dept.

n8willis writes: "There's a great article over at the SysAdmin magazine site that presents a unique approach to improving network security: run your firewall in a halted state. This means runlevel 0; no processes running and no disks mounted, but with packet filtering still on. The author heard a rumor of this capability in the 2.0 series kernels, and he's managed to get it working in 2.2 as well."

11 of 390 comments (clear)

  1. Works for me... by Rorschach1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Though I usually just use the power switch. Can't beat a powered-off firewall for security.

    1. Re:Works for me... by Jonny+Ringo · · Score: 2, Funny

      I actually just light mine on fire. It just makes sense, than once the fire catches to the cords I know I'm secure.

  2. Even better...:) by RampagingSimian · · Score: 1, Funny
    • Run your system in a halted state; lemme see Joe Scr1pt0r root that!.
    • Post a link that says "Hack my l33t firewall!" [as seen in a clever .sig].
    :D
  3. better still.. by Hooya · · Score: 2, Funny

    is the system i have at home. i look at each incoming packet on paper and then pass it on the the lan if it looks legit. the only way to punch a hole in the firewall is with a shotgun at my belly..

  4. Old news by pHalec · · Score: 2, Funny

    Bah, I've got an old Pentium with some faulty memory that crashes on a regular basis.

    It's been reliably packet-forwarding for me for over a month with a kernel-oops on screen.

  5. Re:Logging? - syslog by JimR · · Score: 2, Funny

    As other people have pointed out there will be no
    syslog running in runlevel 0.

    I guess you could always run the video out into
    a VCR... or use a serial console and a line printer.

    --
    #exclude <ms/windows.h>
  6. Re:Another way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I keep my computer secure by keeping it powered down.

  7. But... by Klowner · · Score: 3, Funny

    Then how would I telnet to my firewall from school?

    *dodges flying shoes*

    ;)

    Klowner

  8. I'm more secure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Cool! I just halted my BlackIce service. If I hadn't read this article, I would never have known that doing that would make me more secure.

    Thanks Slashdot :) You rock. I don't have to worry about my hard drive shares being exposed now...

  9. Re:Logging? by Foxman98 · · Score: 3, Funny

    would be fairly easy...

    see we have this thing these days....

    it's called "fire"

    i have portable "fire creation device".

    commonly called a "lighter"

    ;-p

    --
    S.t.e.v.e.
  10. Can't use it, either. by mfh · · Score: 2, Funny

    Just testing my user id #56 really. :)

    --
    The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.