When to use a firewall (e.g. ufw)

[Liam Proven]

On Fri, 20 Nov 2020 at 12:27, Ian Bruntlett <ian.bruntlett at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I was wondering, when should a firewall (e.g. ufw) be installed on a computer running Linux - Ubuntu Linux, to be more accurate.

The Linux kernel includes a firewall. No additional firewall is needed.

As for whether you need to turn it on -- it depends on what you are
doing with it.

If you are using it as a desktop OS and not running any servers on it,
then no, you do not need to enable the firewall. Ubuntu defaults to
not having any open ports or any services listening to the internet,
so a firewall is pointless.

If you are using it as a server, then yes, you should, but that's a
much bigger discussion.

> Also, what level of networking experience is required for running an Ubuntu Linux system?

It depends what you're doing. For a desktop or laptop as a personal
computer, next to none. If you're building a home network, a little.
If you're configuring and running servers, a fair bit. If those
servers are on the public-facing internet, a lot.

-- 
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