Iptables tutorial

Pinehead writes: “I’m sure many of you have been wondering how to use iptables to set up a basic firewall. I was wondering the same thing for a long time until I recently figured it out. I’ll try to explain the basics to at least get you started.”

First you need to know how the firewall treats packets leaving, entering, or passing through your computer. Basically there is a chain for each of these. Any packet entering your computer goes through the INPUT chain. Any packet that your computer sends out to the network goes through the OUTPUT chain. Any packet that your computer picks up on one network and sends to another goes through the FORWARD chain. The chains are half of the logic behind iptables themselves.
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