Linux Firewall Helper
I never really managed to wrap my head around Linux iptables. I can understand pf in BSD without trying too hard, but iptables is in a world of its own. Since I spend most of my time using Cisco routers, there’s not any real incentive for me to learn iptables for the once in a rare while I actually have a use for a host-based firewall or Linux router.
Enter FireHOL. It’s a pretty slick tool that translates a easily readable and sane (to me) set of rules into iptables rules. It doesn’t seem to be updated lately, but it still does the job. I mention FireHOL because one of my out-of-band access methods is attaching a cell phone to an SSH gateway server – a method where the only practical means of firewalling incoming connections would be host-based. I’ll save the details on that one for another day.