Netgear FVS318v3 – Cable/DSL ProSafe VPN Firewall with 8-Port Switch Reference Manual

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v5.0, January 2012
Chapter 3
Firewall Protection and Content Filtering
This chapter describes how to use the content filtering features of the ProSafe VPN Firewall  to 
protect your network. These features can be found by clicking on the Security heading in the main 
menu of the browser interface. 
Firewall Protection and Content Filtering Overview
The ProSafe VPN Firewall  provides you with Web content filtering options, plus browsing 
activity reporting and instant alerts via e-mail. Parents and network administrators can establish 
restricted access policies based on time-of-day, Web addresses and Web address keywords. You 
can also block Internet access by applications and services, such as chat or games.
A firewall is a special category of router that protects one network (the trusted network, such as 
your LAN) from another (the untrusted network, such as the Internet), while allowing 
communication between the two. A firewall incorporates the functions of a NAT (Network 
Address Translation) router, while adding features for dealing with a hacker intrusion or attack, 
and for controlling the types of traffic that can flow between the two networks. Unlike simple 
Internet sharing NAT routers, a firewall uses a process called stateful packet inspection to protect 
your network from attacks and intrusions. NAT performs a very limited stateful inspection in that 
it considers whether the incoming packet is in response to an outgoing request, but true stateful 
packet inspection goes far beyond NAT.
To configure these features of your firewall, click on the subheadings under the Security heading 
in the main menu of the browser interface. The subheadings are described below: