securing Ubuntu and firewall

[H.S.]

Christian Eichert wrote:
> You do not needa firewall on a linux desktop.
> apps who open ports need the ports and a firewall does not help.

Well, to be honest, firewall is a cautious approach for most users. As
long as you have strong passwords, firewall is not usually 'necessary'
for average joe. Having said that, with a firewall you can never go
wrong. If you install any application which use the network, their
installation instructions should mention which ports they need access
to. So if you read the README file or the instructions manual, you can
easily see which ports to selectively open.


> 
>>Firewalls can also help protect against DoS attacks, 
> 
> 
> bullshit !!! how does a firewall protects against a DoS Attack ?


ICMP flood attacks, ssh flooding, or any other such type of flooding  is
prevented by controlling the rate of packets being transfered through
iptables.

->HS