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Old 11-10-2011, 02:00 AM   #1
yamadataro
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Properly configuring the Firewall at PCLinuxOS


Hi, I'm an aspiring Linux migrant who's been trying different distros, and, being a newbie to Linux and computers in general, the Firewall configuration for PCLinuxOS confuses me a bit.I had read up and understood some, but just in case I got anything wrong...

I'm a typical user - needs the typical Office software, watches videos, listens to music, surfs the web, etc. I connect via a wireless network.

To properly configure the firewall, I've got to have Web server and Domain Name Server checked, but I'm not sure about the rest. SSH server? What does it do, exactly? I got a bit lost with the technical terms.

Also: CUPS server (I understand this is about printing -- not checked, since I print by plugging a printer to my own PC anyway)
MYSQL server (I don't quite get this)
POP and IMAP server (unchecked? But since I'm interested in trying out Thunderbird and others like it...)
NFS server (don't really get this too)
Windows Files Sharing (SMB -- unchecked, since the only file transferring I do is via flash drives)
Echo request (ping -- another thing I don't quite get and don't know if I need)
Network services autodiscovery (zeroconf and slp -- don't get these either)
 
Old 11-10-2011, 02:28 AM   #2
malekmustaq
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yamadataro,

It is good for a linux-newbie to face squarely and tackle network challenges. Linux (by any distro) has very strong multiple firewalling mechanisms available, though these capabilities are only harnessed by those who know and have spent much hours on that. However, this is my simple opinion, so far as I have read PCLinuxOS is one distro geared toward a Windows-like environment. If you are facing difficulties in Firewall configuration my advice is to try from other distros that have easier firewall applications. Ubuntu and derivatives (like Mint) have very easy firewall applications. There is also a very easy way of creating firewall script for Slackware if you prefer that. But before switching check first if PCLinuxOS offers other firewall programs that you might easily configure.

Hope it helps.

MM
 
Old 11-11-2011, 04:04 AM   #3
salasi
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I'm am not totally confident that I understand what question you are asking - I think it is "Do I need to do anything to allow these services in the firewall", but I could be wrong.

Firstly, does anything that you need to work not work? If you need something to work that doesn't currently work, you need to fix it. If the issue is that. eg, one item is SMB but you have no intention of to using that, then there is no reason that you have to allow it in the firewall.

Quote:
Originally Posted by yamadataro View Post

To properly configure the firewall, I've got to have Web server and Domain Name Server checked, but I'm not sure about the rest. SSH server? What does it do, exactly? I got a bit lost with the technical terms.

Also: CUPS server (I understand this is about printing -- not checked, since I print by plugging a printer to my own PC anyway)
MYSQL server (I don't quite get this)
POP and IMAP server (unchecked? But since I'm interested in trying out Thunderbird and others like it...)
NFS server (don't really get this too)
Windows Files Sharing (SMB -- unchecked, since the only file transferring I do is via flash drives)
Echo request (ping -- another thing I don't quite get and don't know if I need)
Network services autodiscovery (zeroconf and slp -- don't get these either)
  • CUPS = printing: if you have local printing working and you have no intention of using printing from another computer, you don't need to allow anything through the firewall (you may still be using CUPS locally).
  • MYSQL = database. You may not need this, if you aren't using a database explicitly, but recent versions of KDE seem to be using (or having the option of using) MYSQL for storing some internal data, so you may be using it and not knowing it.
  • POP and IMAP server = email: are you interested in this computer being a mail server, or are you interested in connecting to some other mail server?
  • NFS = file server. Unless you have more than one computer on your local network, you probably are not interested in having one computer act as a file server for others.
  • SMB/Samba = Again a fileserver, this time used for serving files for non-Linux platform clients.
  • Ping = Network Diagnostics. You may not need this now, but it is very useful for diagnosing network problems.For me, everyone could need this sometime, so I'd always allow my computer to ping others, but YMMV.
  • Net Services Autodiscovery (various names) = For example, your router, or another server, can tell the rest of your network what its address is and what capabilities it has (eg, DNS): you don't technically need this if you are happy configuring everything manually, but most people prefer to let the automagic thing happen. While this is particularly helpful for things like laptops which may move from one network to another, you might consider this a saving of effort over a more manual setup, even for a fairly static network, but then again, you may not be worried about this if you already have everything working.
 
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Old 11-11-2011, 06:25 AM   #4
vickyk
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Hi Yamadataro,

I guess you are using PCLinuxOS on a desktop/laptop/pc (which you can touch physically) and not a remote server (which you cannot touch physically). The desktop is being used for
Quote:
I'm a typical user - needs the typical Office software, watches videos, listens to music, surfs the web, etc. I connect via a wireless network.
In this case, you should allow all outbound connections that is connections originating from your desktop and going towards the internet. Example: Web browsing. You request for a page and it gets displayed in your web browser such as Firefox.

All the other services you mentioned CUPS, MySQL etc are network services and if you are only using your machine for the above work, then you can disable all inbound connection to these services that is connections originating from the internet and reaching your machine.

Hope this helps !
 
  


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