“To say this is simple is an understatement. Mason’s going
to do the dirty work for you. While you’re making all kinds of
tcp/ip connections, Mason will create firewall rules that match
those kinds of traffic. When we’ve finished learning, we’ll
tell the system to block everything that Mason didn’t already
learn. This creates a very strict firewall that exactly matches
what this machine will need to do in the future….”
“Let’s look at the setup. You’ll need a Linux computer. It needs
bash and a bunch of standard system tools (cat, grep, ifconfig,
awk, etc) – ones that would be included in a distribution. If you
have RedHat, Suse, Caldera, Mandrake, or Debian, the tools were
included on your CD. In fact, if any are missing, Mason will warn
you before it starts so you can install them….”
“A traditional firewall is usually constructed on a machine
that’s already a router, but Mason is equally usable on a router or
just a normal workstation or server. You might want to try Mason
out on your own workstation first to get a feel for it.”