firewall help
 

Hi,since I'm a newbie here & to linux,I needed to know just how good the firewall is in linux compared to Trend Micro Security Suite. I do a lot of online shopping & banking, so I need good security. ???
Thanks in advance, little.one

In Linux the firewall is as good as you set it up to be. How are you configuring it?

Well Masonm, I'm o.k. at configuring programs,but not sure about linux,I'm one of those Windows users and linux is so different to me,but I'm tired of Microsoft's mess.So if i can get the hang of running linux os,I will pretty much give up windows!! I will see if I can figure out how & where to configure the firewall. I know that Trend Micro makes a security suite for linux,but if linux firewall can be as good ,that's ok too. thanks

There are some GUI tools for configuring the firewall. Firestarter and Guarddog are two of the most popular. I prefer Guarddog myself.

First thing is do not think that a firewall solves all of your security problems. If, for example, you request the download of some malware, the firewall 'knows' that it is your request and so lets you do it... And it does nothing to protect against phishing.

So the attitude 'nothing can get me, I've got a good firewall' is somewhat dangerous. You still need normal good security practices.

Secondly, be aware that firewall commonly means something slightly different on windows and linux. On windows, a firewall is a gui and firewall wrapped up together and is sometimes bundled with anti-virus too. On Linux there is a distinction between iptables (really, a firewall programing system) and a gui that you might choose to use to simplify the configuration of the firewall proper.

As commented earlier, the firewall itself is a high-quality, serious bit of kit. The guis make set up of the firewall in some ways simpler, but one of the trade-offs is that they don't always give you all of the versatility (most people don't need it) of the underlying firewall system.