Uncomplicated Firewall facts for kids

Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW) is a special program that helps you manage your computer's firewall. Think of a firewall as a security guard for your computer. It decides what information can come in and go out. UFW makes it easier to set up these rules.

UFW uses simple commands that you type into a special window called a command-line interface. It works with another tool called iptables to set up the firewall rules. UFW comes built-in with many Ubuntu computers since 2008 and with Debian computers since 2019.

Easy Ways to Use UFW: Graphical Tools

Gufw (GUI for Uncomplicated Firewall)

Gufw: A visual way to control your firewall
Original author(s)	Gufw Developers
Stable release	20.04.1-1
Written in	Python, PyGObject
Operating system	Linux
Platform	GTK
Available in	More languages
License	GNU General Public License

While UFW uses text commands, many people prefer to use a graphical user interface (GUI). A GUI lets you click buttons and menus instead of typing commands.

Gufw is a popular GUI that makes managing UFW super easy. It has a friendly design and helps you do common tasks. For example, you can easily allow or block certain connections, like those for online games or file sharing. Gufw works on many Linux computers, especially those based on Debian or Arch Linux.

Other graphical tools like kmyfirewall, UFW KControl Module, and UFW Frontends also exist. They offer different ways to control UFW with a visual interface.

What UFW Can Do for Your Computer

UFW has many features that help keep your computer safe. These features have improved over time with new versions of the software.

• Control Incoming Connections: You can set rules to allow or block information trying to come into your computer. This is important for security.
• Handle IPv6: UFW works with both older (IPv4) and newer (IPv6) internet addresses.
• Check Status: You can easily see if your firewall is on or off and what rules are active.
• Keep Logs: UFW can record what it does, like when it blocks something. This helps you see if there are any problems.
• Limit Connections: It can limit how many connections come in at once. This helps stop attacks that try to flood your computer.
• Filter Outgoing Connections: Just like incoming, UFW can also control what information leaves your computer.
• Specific Rules: You can create rules for specific programs or types of connections.
• Easy to Reset: If you make a mistake with the rules, you can easily reset UFW to its default settings.

See also

In Spanish: Uncomplicated Firewall para niños