Defining a Firewall
A Firewall is designed to prevent unauthorized access to a computer or network that is connected to the Internet. Firewall software provides stealth capability to your computer on the network, hiding it from hackers who scour the Internet looking for vulnerable computers that they can gain access to.
eConceal Firewall
eConceal Firewall is a comprehensive software firewall, designed to prevent unauthorized access to a computer or network connected to the Internet. It enforces a boundary between two or more networks by implementing default or user-defined Access Control policies. Your computer becomes vulnerable to unauthorized access when you connect to a public network like the Internet. eConceal is designed to protect your computer from hackers trying to disrupt and destroy your personal and business data, steal valuable information like your Identity, account numbers or the entire knowledge base of your firm.
Vulnerable Scenarios
You become vulnerable to hacker attacks when your system connects to a public network like the Internet. Some scenarios that could find you logged onto the Internet are:
1. When you browse the Internet.
2. When you send/receive e-mails.
3. As you log in to a web chat service, you connect to Internet Relay Chat (IRC) servers and join others in the numerous ‘channels’ on the IRC network.
4. When you use Telnet to connect to a Server on the Internet and execute commands ‘on’ the Server from your computer.
5. When you use FTP to transfer files from a remote server to your computer. FTP is the File Transfer Protocol for exchanging files over the Internet, and works in the same way that HTTP and SMTP in transferring Web pages from Servers to user’s browser and transferring e-mail across the WWW.
6. When you use NetBIOS (Network Basic Input/Output System) to communicate with another user in the LAN; the LAN could in turn be connected to the Internet. NetBIOS insulates the applications that users use to communicate with one another, from understanding the underlying network details.
7. When you are a part of a Virtual Private Networks (VPN). These private network connections communicate securely over a public network, such as the Internet.
How eConceal works?
eConceal allows the user to choose the types of Internet access to be allowed and those which are a strict no-no. The user can set rules to control network access from and to their systems. The firewall provides users with a set of pre-defined rules they can choose from, to suite specific security needs. Users can define and apply their own ‘rules’ and when not required remove it as well. The pre-set rules are provided for different Internet Access types like: ARP, DHCP & BOOTP, DNS, E-mail, WWW, News, NetBios, FTP, ICMP, ICQ, Telnet & SSH, IRC, MSN, and VPN. The use of these functions involves Internet Access in one form or the other.
The rules function as filters, analyzing packets (small chunks of data) to check if they fulfill the filter criteria. If yes, they are passed to the requesting system, else they’re discarded.
The Application Interface
The main interface of eScan is given below, In the left hand side pane, you can access network interface information, Rules, Allowed or Blocked Connections, firewall and event logs, application list and TCP connections running on your system. Live graphical representation of incoming and outgoing packet size in KB/sec is displayed in the same pane.
The right hand side pane which occupies most of the screen area displays information about selected items. In the screen displayed above, the rules list is shown in the order they are applied. If no matching rule is found, the firewall denies entry for the packet.
User-friendly and intuitive
eConceal Firewall program has a user-friendly interface that allows easy customization. The entire application is developed keeping modern concepts in HCI and Usability Researches.
Let’s now examine the key features and functions of eConceal:
Stealth Mode
Hackers keep sending special data packets to computers connected to the Internet. When your machine sends a reply to that request, the attacker locates the computer and tries to take it over, successfully in many cases. eConceal firewall makes sure that your computer sends back no reply to these queries originating from hackers sitting in any part of the world. When you use eConceal firewall your computer remains invisible to hackers and it makes them believe that you are offline.
