February 27th, 2009 by Stargazer
Offline hell
It is impressive to see, how we depend on working networks like the Internet nowadays. Sure, we often say that it isn’t a problem if we are offline. But such days can really piss you off.
Tags: setup, firewall, problem
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IPSec between Linux and the NetScreen
July 4th, 2008 by Stargazer
VPNs are a fine thing, especially if you are not at home and you need to access your beloved network. I am using VPN connections since I have implemented them at my Pfsense using openvpn.
Since I got my NetScreen/Juniper SSG5 here, I cannot use Openvpn anymore – So I was forced to dig into IPSec stuff. My laptop will be the roadwarrior connecting to my home. That’s why I have to do it the DialUp way, which doesn’t really include a modem. DialUp connections are connections, initiated by the client.
Tags: firewall, linux, security
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Support the way we like it
April 29th, 2008 by Stargazer
Today I’d like to talk about the support team of Netscreen as they’re doing a great job. That’s the story so far:
After installing my firewall, I had to register it as I needed to activate DeepInspect. Web registrations and confirmation mails are usually not a big deal and it doesn’t take long – but after 30 minutes there was no sign of a mail here. So I opened a support ticket.
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If it takes some more time
April 25th, 2008 by Stargazer
… it was usually me doing fancy stuff on the network. Yesterday my blog was unreachable due to firewall maintenance. Yep, I have finally implemented the Netscreen Juniper and threw the old box away.
I know, it is cruel replacing an old BSD box with an appliance, but it was the only way of reducing noise and power consumption.
Tags: firewall, network, security
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pfSense and the Captive Portal
May 14th, 2007 by Stargazer
No, I am not talking about the IT version of a fairy tale but a small networking tool to secure your network: the captive portal
What the hell am I talking about? Captive portals are authentication layers on firewalls. You have to enter your credentials before you can proceed connecting your web. They are mostly used at WLAN hotspots to do the billing.
Tags: wlan, firewall, security
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The new firewall
February 7th, 2007 by Stargazer
Sunday, February 4th I switched firewalls. The old Shorewall box with its features now belongs to the past. pfSense is my new way to go.
You might ask, why I decided to do so. It’s a lesson learned in time by now. Building everything from scratch is nice, cool and gives unique features that no other product offer – but it takes time. For implementing statistics, VPN Tunnels and all the small things I had to spend hours. Updates can be painful too. And that’s not acceptable for me if there are other cool solutions like pfSense…
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Mit Shorewall zur kleinen Personal Firewall
July 26th, 2006 by Stargazer
Eine der Hauptgründe wieso Linux zum Einsatz kommt ist das Argument, dass Linux sicherer sei, als Windows basierte Systeme. Auf die Gefahr hin dass ihr mich nun als Verräter bezeichnet behaupte ich aber, dass jedes System so sicher ist, wie man es macht.
Firewalls sind eine nette Möglichkeit um den Zugriff auf diverse Ports zu begrenzen oder gar zu unterbinden. Iptables, als Frontend für Netfilter mag vielen Administratoren und solchen die es noch werden wollen einen Schauer über den Rücken jagen, da es doch unter Umständen sehr aufwändig sein kann, diverse Regeln zu erstellen. Hier kommt Shorewall ins Spiel.
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