Firewall
A firewall is an appliance (a combination of hardware and software) or an application
(software) designed to control the flow of Internet Protocol (IP) traffic to or from
a network or electronic equipment. Firewalls are used to examine network traffic and
enforce policies based on instructions contained within the Firewall's Ruleset. Firewalls
represent one component of a strategy to combat malicious activities and assaults
on computing resources and network-accessible information. Other components include,
but are not limited to, antivirus software, intrusion detection software, patch management,
strong passwords/passphrases, and spyware detection utilities. Binghamton University
uses a firewall that incorporates several strategies to increase the safety of data
on our network.
As the security profile of the Internet changes, Binghamton University ITS continually evaluates new threats and adjusts security processes to keep the computers and data on our network as secure as possible without impeding productivity. The following ports, which are some of the most highly used vectors for attacking network resources on nearly every network in the world, are closed at the edge firewall:
22 – SSH
53- DNS
80 – HTTP (web)
110 – POP3
143 - IMAP
443 – HTTPS (SSL WEB)
Closing these ports does not prevent you from using them from within our network or from outside our network; however, the process to access them may require using the SSL VPN. It is available at https://ssl.binghamton.edu.
Firewall change request
If you have a request to add or change a firewall rule, please use the form located
within the IT Self Service Exception Request. Most requests are services within three business days. You may be contacted for
more information regarding your change request.
