Introduction

Firewall Rules

What is a Firewall Rule?

Firewall Rules in XGate are instructions that allow, deny or reject access to traffic entering or leaving your network.

Analogy

Firewall Rules are similar to instructions given to a security guard (Firewall). These instructions (firewall rules) detail which door (port) a person (data) is allowed to enter or leave a building.

If the security guard is given instructions to allow a person through a door, they can pass. If the instruction is to deny a person of a certain description, they will be told they are not allowed to pass. If the instruction is to reject, the person will be completely ignored.

Firewall Rule Details

Within XGate there are various details that must be provided to have a complete firewall rule. These are:

Name:

This is a friendly name to easily identify the firewall rule.

Direction:

Either set as Internet to PC (Inbound) or PC to Internet (Outbound). In the vast majority of scenarios, this should be set to Internet to PC.

From and To:

This specifies where the traffic is coming from and where it is.

Program:

The list of Programs is derived from the entries within Programs and Applications.

Action:

The Action you wish to perform based on the details provided above.

Below is a description of how the Firewall Actions affect traffic.

Allow:

This allows the specified traffic

Deny:

Does not allow the specified traffic and will send a response to the other side, saying that the port is closed.

Reject:

Does not allow the specified traffic, and will not send any response back. Sometimes this is referred to as ‘Stealth’.