 |
|
|
|
| Computer access and support for UTMB students |
What is a firewall? |
||||||||||||
|
The Internet transfers information via
packets, small pages of data that contain information about where the
packet comes from, where the packet is going, and what kind of data the
packet contains. A firewall inspects packets and applies a set of
rules to decide whether a packet will be allowed to enter a network.
Normally two firewalls are installed to form a DMZ (demilitarized zone)
as a buffer between the internet and the internal (intranet) network.
Servers in the DMZ are available to internet users, while computers |
|||||||||||||
| "behind" the firewall, i.e.
UTMB campus computers, are not directly accessible from the internet.
To access the UTMB intranet from the outside, i.e. Internet, you need to establish a
Virtual Private Network (VPN) between you and UTMB. This VPN
connection encrypts the packet data sent back and forth, and prevents
other internet users from reading them. As a UTMB faculty member, staff, or student you are affected because the firewall will prevent you from accessing UTMB intranet computers, including the web servers, from a home Internet connection such as SBC DSL or Time Warner Road Runner, unless you run the software to establish a VPN connection. |
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||