Configuring Your Browser and Firewall

This chapter provides examples for configuring firewalls, including two of the most popular personal firewall products and an external firewall product for people securing multiple computers in the home. The chapter reveals that not all browsers provide the same ability to manage web privacy in the same way. By understanding how browsers differ, it is possible to make good choices about which browser, and which configuration options to use, and how to best protect one's private information as one traverse the web. The firewall tab allows selecting a protection level without having to know very much about how firewall operates. This chapter recommends the paranoid setting, which blocks any computer on the Internet from originating a conversation with one's computer. If one interacts with web-based applications that do not work without session cookies, one might find that the paranoid setting cause those applications not to work correctly.