Kaspersky Internet Security 2011

Today computers have become quite vulnerable when on the Internet. They are subjected not only to virus infections but other types of attacks as well that take advantage of vulnerabilities in operating systems and software.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 contains a special component, Firewall, to ensure your security on local networks and the Internet. Firewall applies rules to all network connections. A Firewall rule is either an allowing or blocking action performed by Firewall once it detects a connection attempt.

Protection against various types of attacks is performed on two levels: network and application.

Protection on the network level is performed by using global packet filtration rules where network activity is allowed or blocked based on analyzing settings such as packet direction, the data packet transfer protocol, and the outbound packet port.

Your computer is protected on the application level by applying application rules for using network resources to the applications installed on your computer. Like the network protection level, the application protection level is built on analyzing data packets for direction, transfer protocol, and what ports they use. However, on the application level, both data packet traits and the specific application that sends and receives the packet are taken into account. Using application rules helps you to configure more specific protection when, for example, a certain connection type is banned for some applications but not for others.

There are two Firewall rule types, based on the two Firewall protection levels: 

• Packet rules are used to create general restrictions on network activity, regardless of the applications installed. Example: if you create a packet rule that blocks inbound connections on port 21, no applications that use that port (an ftp server, for example) will be accessible from the outside. 
• Rules for applications are used to create restrictions on network activity for specific applications. Example: If connections on port 80 are blocked for each application, you can create a rule that allows connections on that port for Firefox only.

Packet rules and rules for applications can be either allowing or blocking.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 breaks down the entire network space into security zones to make settings and rules more user-friendly, which largely correspond to the subnetworks that your computer belongs to. You can assign a status to each zone (Internet, Local Area Network, Trusted), which determine the policy for applying rules and monitoring network activity in that zone.

	Useful references
	How to change a network rule for groups of applications in Kaspersky Internet Security 2011? How to change the network status in Kaspersky Internet Security 2011? How to create a network rule for applications in Kaspersky Internet Security 2011? How to create a packet rule in Kaspersky Internet Security 2011? How to block the access to the Internet using rule for application in Firewall in Kaspersky Internet Security 2011?