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firewall machine
n. A dedicated gateway machine with special
security precautions on it, used to service outside network connections
and dial-in lines. The idea is to protect a cluster of more loosely
administered machines hidden behind it from {cracker}s. The typical
firewall is an inexpensive micro-based Unix box kept clean of critical
data, with a bunch of modems and public network ports on it but just one
carefully watched connection back to the rest of the cluster. The special
precautions may include threat monitoring, callback, and even a complete
{iron box} keyable to particular incoming IDs or activity patterns.
Syn. {flytrap}, {Venus flytrap}.
[When first coined in the mid-1980s this term was pure jargon. Now
(1999) it is techspeak, and has been retained only as an example of
uptake --ESR]
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