Firewall Proxy Server

Most modern firewalls distinguish between packet filtering and proxy server services. A firewall proxy server is an application that acts as an intermediary between tow end systems. Firewall proxy servers operate at the application layer of the firewall, where both ends of a connection are forced to conduct the session through the proxy. They do this by creating and running a process on the firewall that mirrors a service as if it were running on the end host.

A firewall proxy server essentially turns a two-party session into a four-party session, with the middle process emulating the two real hosts. Because they operate at the application layer, proxy servers are also referred to as application layer firewalls. A proxy service must be run for each type of Internet application the firewall will support -- a Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) proxy for e-mail, an HTTP proxy for Web services and so on. Proxy servers are almost always one-way arrangements running from the internal network to the outside network. In other words, if an internal user wants to access a Web site on the Internet, the packets making up that request are processed through the HTTP server before being forwarded to the Web site. Packets returned from the Web site in turn are processed through the HTTP server before being forwarded back to the internal user host.

Because firewall proxy servers centralize all activity for an application into a single server, they present the ideal opportunity to perform a variety of useful functions. Having the application running right on the firewall presents the opportunity to inspect packets for much more than just source / destination addresses and port numbers. This is why nearly all modern firewalls incorporate some form of proxy-server architecture. For example, inbound packets headed to a server set up strictly to disburse information (say, an FTP server) can be inspected to see if they contain any write commands (such as the PUT command). In this way, the proxy server could allow only connections containing read commands.

Becarefull with Credit Cards

Use Credit Cards CAREFULLY
Always keep your CREDIT CARD in sight, when you give it for
swiping......



The accused (left) used a card-reader (right) to transfer the data
on to a PC for making a duplicate credit card

They Would Make Duplicates Of Credit Cards Used By Customers At A Juhu
Hotel
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: The next time you decide to use your credit card on a shopping
trip, think again. The Mumbai police have busted a hitech credit card
fraud which they believe is the crime of the future.

Four gadget-savvy youngsters from Andheri, two of them software
engineers, got together to earn a quick buck and ended up ripping off
over Rs 3 lakh of citizens' money. The foursome were arrested by the
Juhu police on Tuesday. Interestingly, one of the boys was all set to
leave for the United State s for a job in a wellplaced computer firm.
According to the police, the mastermind of the gang is 19-year-old Leo
Paul. A second-year engineering student at a Bandra college, Paul had
read about a magnetic card-reading device which could store data once
you swipe a card through it. Data from at least 12 such  cards could be
stored at a time. Paul realised that if credit cards were swiped though
the machine, the personal data of a customer stored on it could be
accessed. He then teamed with Akash Kamble, a 19-year-old Lokhandwala
resident, and ordered the card-reader from USA , using the internet,
since it's not available in India .

"The boys befriended a waiter at Kings International hotel at Juhu to
take their plan ahead. Every time someone ate a meal in the hotel and
paid by credit card, the waiter would discreetly swipe it  through the
magnetic card-reader, which is no more than 6-inches  long and can be
stored in the pocket,'' said investigating officer
Ramesh Nangare.

Once the waiter was done, he would hand over the device to Paul  who
would download the data from the cards on to Kamble's personal
computer. The duo would then feed the data into blank cards, available
in the grey market. The cards were now ready to be used in
shopping malls and theatres, or to withdraw money from an ATM.

Senior inspector Pradeep Shinde said that the boys forged  information
from more than 22 cards in this manner. The fraud came  to light after
officials from HSBC bank complained to the police.  The cops quizzed
customers whose cards had been duplicated and  discovered they had all
visited Hotel Kings International and paid by credit card.
Investigators
then caught the waiter who led them to the four youngsters. Paul,
Kamble
and the two other collegians  identified as Manoj Chauhan (24) and
Mahesh Valani (20), have been  remanded to police custody.

NEW-AGE CRIME

A portable magnetic cardreader can store data from around a dozen cards
tha t have been swiped through it; made in China, the device was bought
on the net for  Rs 18,000.

The card-reader is connected to a computer and the entire data is
transferred there.

The data is then stored in blank cards available in the grey market.

These duplicate cards can now be used to buy a fortune and also
withdraw
money from ATMs.