[SOLVED ]Turn Firewall Off

[DaveAmour]

I was able to SSH to my system and after tinkering with the firewall I can no longer do so

I want to turn my firewall off to confirm this

How do I do that?

Thanks

[sickpig]

I want to turn my firewall off to confirm this

How do you know that it is turned on?

[DaveAmour]

Good question

I am assuming it is turned on as I was able to SSH every day since I installed it and I was able to ping.

I only installed a week ago.

Then I was trying to setup VNC and my connection was being refused so I tried to open up the ports and couldn't get this to work but now I cannot ping or SSH either.

I am a very new Linux user - just a few days and have no idea what I'm doing

[sickpig]

By default firewall is off. So unless you have it turned it on it should be off.

so I tried to open up the ports

How?

[DaveAmour]

I installed a couple of graphical firewall apps and tinkered with them.

I assumed they interfaced with the underlying FW but really have no idea what I am doing.

One was called Firewall Builder and one was just called Firewall

[sickpig]

I assumed they interfaced with the underlying FW but really have no idea what I am doing.

Why assume and take the risk?

You can consult https://manpages.debian.org/buster/ipta ... .8.en.html for a detailed howto.
Though iptables will soon be replaced by nftables as per https://wiki.debian.org/nftables

You can use

Code: Select all

iptables -L

To check the current policy and blockages

[DaveAmour]

Why assume and take the risk?

Because this is on an old pc with no data on or port forwarding to it and I have to take the risk otherwise how do I learn to do things?

[sickpig]

how do I learn to do things?

The efficient way is to make an effort to try and understand how things work.

And one of the other ways I suppose is to blindly go ahead without any knowledge

I assumed they interfaced with the underlying FW but really have no idea what I am doing.

[DaveAmour]

It feels like this could descend into an argument about my learning style and find your comments a little insulting and condescending

I don't want that

If you can help me further great, if not then thanks for your help so far

[sunrat]

Ignore the piggie, it forgets it was a beginner once.
Basically you don't need a firewall in Linux unless you're running a server open to the internet. Just purge whatever packages you installed.

[DaveAmour]

Thanks sunrat

I'm only a beginner in Linux

To put this in context

Installed Debian
SSH and ping worked
Tried to install VNC, not sure if I did that right
VNC connections being refused
Tried to add a firewall rule. I assumed the connections were being blocked by a firewall and that SSH was open by default
SSH and ping stopped working
Uninstalled the 2 firewall apps I added
Rebooted
SSH and ping still not working
Also on the Debian box I was able to see my windows box but now cannot

All I am trying to do now is get SSH and eventually VNC working

[DaveAmour]

Ok SSH and ping working now!

[DaveAmour]

What is the correct protocol for closing questions?

[Head_on_a_Stick]

You explain how you fixed things then edit the thread title and prepend [SOLVED]. And remember to thank sickpig and sunrat for taking the time to help you.

[sickpig]

It feels like this could descend into an argument about my learning style and find your comments a little insulting and condescending

Well if its only a little then its ok. Also check http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=47078 I do not suppose you have done a single thing mentioned in that.

Ignore the piggie, it forgets it was a beginner once.

But I still am Ever the learner.

[DaveAmour]

Thanks all

And thanks sickpig for helping me decide whether to continue using this forum or not.

See if you can guess the answer

[DaveAmour]

I uninstalled the two firewalls I had installed and rebooted then all seemed ok

[sickpig]

And thanks sickpig for helping me decide whether to continue using this forum or not.

See if you can guess the answer

[Head_on_a_Stick]

See if you can guess the answer

Although I note that you reconsidered and decided to share your solution (thank you for that) I would urge you to take a moment to imagine how you would feel if you had a problem which was described in a forum thread as [SOLVED] but which the OP had decided to finish in such a fashion. Would you not think that OP was a complete ****? I know I would.

This is from the Arch community guidelines but it applies to all forums such as this:

Life is a two-way street

A simple, yet profound and undeniable truth. Ensure your thread includes details and information that others will find useful. Share your findings with the community. Share your failures as well. Posting the equivalent of "Nevermind, I fixed it." in your thread or deleting your own posts for similar reasons is not only selfish and useless to the community, but a complete waste of resources and everyone's time. Also, demanding help or showing an obvious impatience toward getting it is unwanted here. Arch is provided by a community of volunteers. Arch users are strongly encouraged to do research, make an effort, report back in the thread, help others, get involved, and contribute to the community.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Co ... way_street

And thanks sickpig for helping me decide whether to continue using this forum or not.

These boards are not your personal helpdesk, they are a shared community resource. Please treat them as such.

[DaveAmour]

Head_on_a_Stick

I won't be using this forum again after being spoken in the manner I have so no need to advise me on how to use the formum