Compare a reconnaissance attack to a Denial of Service (DoS) attack. Which is a more serious problem?
2.
What are the best applications to configure network security on Mac OS X Server?
3.
Firewalls fall into two broad categories: host firewalls and network firewalls. Which is the firewall on Mac OX Server, or is it both? Defend your answer.
Answers
1.
A reconnaissance attack is used to learn about potential targets and their weaknesses in preparation for a more major attack. A DoS attack, on the other hand, is a major attack. With a reconnaissance attack, an attacker sends packets (using nmap, ping, and other utilities) and captures packets (using a protocol analyzer such as Ethereal) to learn about target systems. With a DoS attack, an attacker sends a huge volume of packets or sends specially crafted packets to crash or halt services on a target system. Although reconnaissance attacks can generate a lot of traffic, they aren't nearly as serious as DoS attacks, which can render network devices inoperable.
2.
The easiest way to configure NAT and VPN is to use Gateway Setup Assistant. You can also use Server Admin. Gateway Setup Assistant enables the firewall, but most configuration of the firewall is best accomplished with the Server Admin application. The Unix ipfw utility can also be used to configure the firewall, but usually that isn't necessary.
3.
The Mac OS X Server firewall is both a host firewall and a network firewall. You can configure rules to accept and deny traffic to the server itself, which matches the behavior of a host firewall. When you have routing enabled on the server, you can configure rules to accept or deny traffic forwarded by the server. This behavior matches the behavior of a network firewall.
