Firewall security method and apparatus

Abstract

A technique for the delivering a client-based firewall. A firewall security device is configured for connecting to individual clients, e.g., personal computers, for providing firewall security measures directly to the client. The firewall security device is configured as a electronic dongle which is attached to an external communications port of the client, e.g., the parallel communications port. The incoming communications stream to the client from, e.g., public networks, is passed through the firewall security device. In this way, the firewall security device applies and delivers a set of standard network security measures thereby protecting the client from security breaches triggered by the communications stream received from the public network. Advantageously, the firewall is delivered directly by the client without intervention, use, or connection to a separate firewall server.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to network security and, more particularly, to a firewall security technique employed in computer networks.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONAdvances in communications technology and the availability of powerful desktop computer hardware has increased the use of computers to access a variety of publicly available computer networks. For example, the speed of modems, which are well-known communication devices used for transforming a digital bit stream into an analog signal, has significantly increased thereby providing for the high-speed exchange of information across, e.g., the public switched telephone network (PSTN.) Today, a tremendous amount of information is exchanged between individual users located around the world via public computer networks, e.g., the Internet. One class of users includes private individuals and professional users interconnected via a private network, e.g., a corporate intranet.The exchange of information between...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a technique for delivering a client-based firewall. In accordance with the invention, a firewall security device is configured for connection to individual clients, e.g., personal computers, for providing firewall security measures directly to the client. The firewall security device, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, is configured as a electronic dongle which is attached to a communications port of the client, e.g., the parallel communications port. In accordance with the invention, the incoming communications stream to the client from, e.g., public networks, is passed through the firewall security device. In this way, the firewall security device applies and delivers a set of standard security routines thereby protecting the client from security breaches triggered by the communications traffic received from the public network. Illustratively, the set of security routines define at least one security level to which all communications exchanged by the client must comply thereby insuring that the integrity of the private network in which the client is interconnected. Advantageously, in accordance with the invention, the firewall is delivered directly by the client without intervention, use, or connection to a separate firewall server.

Thus, dongles are well-known devices for controlling access to and execution of individual programs by authorized users. It has, however, remained for the inventors herein to recognize that such devices provide an elegant tool by which a client-based firewall can be delivered to the reduce the risk of computer network security breaches in today's complex computer network arrangements resulting from the widespread exchange of communications between a variety of disparate networks.

Problems solved by technology

Electronic dongle devices are not new.

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