setting firewall in red hat linux
 

Hello all!
I need to configure a firewall on RedHat linux Enterprise server advanced server to protect my LAN from attacks. Basically, we want to avoid spam mails and viruses. How can I configure a server to act as a firewall so that we can place our mail server and web servers behind that firewall server.
Kindly help.
Regards
Amit

A firewall will do nothing for viruses or spam. Look at spamassassin. Look at an antivirus.
A firewall can help against worms.

Look into training your users to recognize tricks on webpages and in emails. Look into creating policies and informing employees that installing unauthorized software or downloads is prohibited (because it can lead to trojans). Make sure employees know what information in the organization is sensitive, and not to let their compassion for some social engineer cause them to "help them out" and give them insider information.
Most redhat products have you set up a firewall upon installation.



(Not entirely accurate) definitions:
SPAM is email you don't want.
Viruses are programs written to do something specific to your computer.
WORMS are viruses which are capable of moving from computer to computer without user intervention. programs that take advantage of security holes in networked systems to cause those systems to send attack messages over the network to the next system which, if vulnerable, will continue the chain.
Trojan horses by example would be a game that one of your users would download no knowing it contains a virus which would then infect a file or files in that user's sytem. that virus would move to another system if a user on that other system used an infected file from the first system.