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Firewalls: what SHOULD I block?
(lemmy.wtf)
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this post was submitted on 27 Sep 2024
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You don't need a firewall on a typical desktop computer. You only need them on routers and servers.
That is because your personal computer is not actually on the internet. It is on a local network (LAN) and it talks only to your router. The router is the computer connected to the internet, and it has a firewall.
The question highlights a classic misunderstanding about networking that IMO should be better addressed. I was like OP once, and panicking about this pointlessly.
Addendum: You're all replying to OP as if they're a sysadmin managing a public-facing server. But OP says clearly that they're just a beginner on a PC - which will almost certainly be firewalled by their router. We should be encouraging and educating people like this, not terrorizing them about all the risks they're taking.
Unless your ISP provides IPv6 connectivity, which gives every endpoint a globally-routable address. Firewalling at the router only works because of NAT.
That's why I wrote typical. The question was from a beginner, not a networking expert.
Indeed... IPv6 needs to be actively disabled, not enabled, by default.