Kerio Tech Firewall6 - Manual (Page 227)

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Chapter 17
Advanced security features
17.1 P2P Eliminator
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks are world-wide distributed systems, where each node can repre-
sent both a client and a server. These networks are used for sharing of big volumes of data
(this sharing is mostly illegal). DirectConnect and Kazaa are the most popular ones.
In addition to illegal data distribution, utilization of P2P networks overload lines via which
users are connected to the Internet. Such users may limit connections of other users in the
same network and may increase costs for the line (for example when volume of transmitted
data is limited for the line).
WinRoute provides the P2P Eliminator module which detects connections to P2P networks and
applies specific restrictions. Since there is a large variety of P2P networks and parameters at
individual nodes (servers, number of connections, etc.) can be changed, it is hardly possible
to detect all P2P connections. 7 . However, using various methods (such as known ports, estab-
lished connections, etc.), the P2P Eliminator is able to detect whether a user connects to one
or multiple P2P networks.
The following restrictions can be applied to users of P2P networks (i.e. to hosts on which
clients of such networks are run):
• Blocking options — it is possible to block access to the Internet for a particular host or
to restrict the access only to selected services (e.g. web and e-mail),
• Bandwidth limitation — it is possible to decrease speed of data transmission of P2P
clients so that other users are not affected by too much data transferred by the line.
P2P Eliminator Configuration
P2P networks are detected automatically (the P2P Eliminator module keeps running). To set
the P2P Eliminator module’s parameters, go to the P2P Eliminator tab in the Configuration →
Advanced Options section.
As implied by the previous description, it is not possible to block connections to particular
P2P networks. P2P Eliminator allows complete blocking of all traffic (i.e. access to the Internet
from the particular host), enabling of only such services which are securely not associated
with P2P networks or limiting of bandwidth (transfer speed) that can be used by P2P networks
clients. The settings will be applied to all clients of P2P networks detected by P2P Eliminator.
According to thorough tests, the detection is highly reliable (probability of failure is very low). 7