Saturday, October 5, 2019
IMMIGRANTS SHOULD STAY OR LEAVE UNITED STATES Essay
IMMIGRANTS SHOULD STAY OR LEAVE UNITED STATES - Essay Example The United States of America is like that new house to immigrants, legal or illegal. Many have spent all their lives living here. To many second and third generation immigrants, this is all there is. So illegal immigrants, in my opinion, should stay in the United States; they should be given the chance to become legal. Evicting illegal immigrants would require an unimaginable amount of resources. There are estimates of 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States (Saad, 2007). The resources required to first trace and then evict them would be colossal. Some experts say that it is not necessary to evict every single one of them. A hard crackdown and the eviction of a few thousand would send out a clear message to the rest that they were better off leaving. However, others believe that immigrants already braving everything to remain in the United States would employ more diligent measures to remain uncaught (Tamar Jacoby as cited in Jacoby, 2007). They would merely increase revenue for human traffickers and document forgers.
Friday, October 4, 2019
Financial Market Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Financial Market Homework - Essay Example Financial markets are usually divided into capital markets and money markets. The capital market involves exchange of long term finance (Robert, 2009). This includes stock market, which facilitates financing through issuing stocks and also exchange of stock ownership and the money market which facilitates debt financing and investment (Rose, 1994). Currently the financial sector has additional markets to facilitate financing such as commodity markets derivatives market, futures markets and foreign markets. Financial markets provide borrowers with funds to facilitate their investments (such as corporations and government institutions to obtain funds in order to finance their current operations or to finance expansion and growth) (Wurgler, 2000). It also provides the lenders a platform to channel their surplus funds in productive way (such as financial institutions that have excess funds to lend on short term and long term basis), facilitates credit creation (usually done by commercial banks through issuance of loans), provides liquidity to institutions and government organizations and promotes savings culture (the commercial banks provides financial savings services) In Qatar, the financial market is controlled by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). This is the serves as the stateââ¬â¢s sovereign wealth fund that specializes in both local and international investments. Usually QIA manages the financial surpluses from oil and natural gas companies (which run into millions of dollars) Additionally, Qatar Holding, a branch of QIA that is in charge of international investment, receives more than $30 billion from the state. These funds are invested internationally in Europe, Asia Pacific, and United states It is estimated that QIA has assets worth over $170 billion (Hall, Kerr & Hammond, 2013). This value is expected to increase as the country continues to invest in expansion
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Explaining the role of effective communication Essay Example for Free
Explaining the role of effective communication Essay There are wide ranges of ways that communication can take place for example one to one conversations, group conversations. This can either be informal or formal depending on the individualââ¬â¢s outcome. An example of effective communication that can take place in a health and social care setting is a hospital, for example a nurse and her colleague are talking about how much they enjoy their jobs, and this is a form of effective communication. One- To ââ¬âOne communication ââ¬â A one to one happens when a person speaks to a individual, or writes to the individual to form effective communication. In a one to one communication, it is always effective as both of the people in the one to one work together effectively and interacts well, as both individuals are relaxed and are listening to each other, in a result the communication works effectively and both parties leave with a resolved matter and everything is positive. One to one communication can be formal or informal. An formal one to one communication can take place in a GP, where the patient is discussing their personal problem with the Doctor and the doctor is helping the individual out with their problem, this is part of effective communication as the one to one interacting is working effectively. An informal one to one communication, can take place in a health and social care setting, where two colleagues are on their lunch break and are discussing about how their day has gone so far and etc. , this is a part of effective communication as both parties are interacting effectively. Group communication In a group communication, there is often more going on as it is a wide range of people within the group. During the group communication, each individual will try and get their points and ideas across to the people within the group and the rest will listen and be considerate towards the person speaking. That is a way of effective group communication, as the interacting between the group is working well and effectively. A group communication can be a great benefit, as itââ¬â¢s easier to make decisions and problem solving a ituation as you have various people giving different views and feedback to a matter, and thatââ¬â¢s a great way of effective communication. A group communication can include multi- professional working, multi-agency, which happens with professionals and people using services. A multi-professional working involves numerous professionals working together in order to meet the needs of an individual. This will include doctor, police, and social worker to meet the needs of a young adult in a bad situation. Multi-agency is when different organisations work together effectively to the best possible service to families, children and young people. Formal communication Formal communication is a form of communication used by professional to communicate with clients and individuals. This form of communication is important because it shows the professional is showing professionalism within the work their doing to deliver the best possible care for the individual as well as the communication working effectively. An example of formal communication can be, ââ¬Ë good morning Sir/Mrs, this shows respect towards the individual. It is important not to use jargon or slang whilst communication formally, because you will come across as youââ¬â¢re not serious about your work, and also the client my not be pleased, also jargon can be a barrier because it can affect the communication between the client and professional due to not understand the technical words. Informal communication Informal communication is a casual exchange or letter that doesnt follow to all of the rules of formal communication. Its like saying hey instead of hello and also writing to your friend and talking about personal things. These are things youd never do in a business environment because it can be considered as formal communication. Informal communication is good way of communication as it can make a individual more relaxed and effective as itââ¬â¢s more easier and complex for the person to interact, as they donââ¬â¢t have to worry about being proper and correct. Interpersonal interaction Interpersonal interaction is how people relate towards each other in a verbal nteraction or non-verbal interaction. Verbal interactions include speech, tone of somebodyââ¬â¢s voice, listening and language. Non-verbal interactions include a personââ¬â¢s body language and the way they express it for example their posture, facial expression and their proximity. Interpersonal communication can take place in a health and social care setting, for example: at a care home, there is a new career and she does not s peak English properly, so therefore it is hard for her to interact with the residents, which makes this is a language barrier. P2 ââ¬â Argyleââ¬â¢s Theory of the Communication Cycle Michael Argyle is a social psychologist who developed theories about interpersonal interaction and human communication. He carried out experimental theories of non-verbal and verbal communication to develop and test heââ¬â¢s theoretical ideas. He has a communication cycle which explains and predicts how communication can occur in a one to one situation. 1. An idea occurs. A resident wants to go to the library and is trying to convince her carer. 2. Message coded. She talks to her carer about the books she used to read and how much she misses reading them. 3. Message sent. The carer says to the resident, ââ¬Ëwhat was your favourite bookââ¬â¢ this shows the message is sent and the carer understands what the resident is talking about. 4. Message received. Now the carer know what the residentââ¬â¢s favourite book is the resident is happy and is smiling. 5. Message decoded. Then the carer says to her resident would you like me to take you to the library so we can have a look if they have your favourite book and other books your interested in? 6. Message understood. Here the resident is happy and so is the carer because now they both understand each and the communication between the two has worked effectively. Bruce Tuckman defined a model of group development based around numerous stages, sequences or group activity. Tuckman suggested that these stages should happen in order for effective communication to occur in the groups interaction as well as the four stages being completely different. Forming ââ¬â it is the start of the year and new infants have started the nursery, they tend to be shy and well reserved as they are not used to each other. Storming ââ¬â as they start to settle in for about a month, they because more comfortable and relaxed with each other, in some cases this might not happen, someone would want to be dominant out of the bunch and this may cause conflict between the infants. Norming ââ¬â in this stage everyone had built a strong bond between each other, and is working together well. Performing ââ¬â in this final result the infants become mature and tend to realise that working together effectively can be a positive thing. M1 ââ¬â Assess the role of effective communication and interpersonal interaction in health and social care with reference to theories of communication. The roles of effective communication in a health and social care setting, is to ensure that if communication with a resident, you must make sure to talk clearly and slowly, face to face make sure the person understands you and youââ¬â¢ve got your message across in the right way, in order for the communication to work effectively. The types of reference to communication are sign language, makaton and braille. These are part of effective communication as they are used by people with a hearing or blind impairment and leaning difficulties in order for them to communicate with others around them. Effective communication is a two-way process in which a person tries to understand the viewpoint of the other person. Communication is a cycle because when two people communicate they will need to make sure that they got their ideas across towards each other and they are understood. There are also barriers that can occur in a communication due the individualââ¬â¢s circumstance, for example: a person using slang, jargon o complex technical terminology can be heard, but their message may not be understood. Scenario Iââ¬â¢m going to give a scenario between doctor and a patient, showing communication working effectively. Nurse : did you rest well last night Mrs Jones? Patient: yes I did nurse, Iââ¬â¢m feeling slight better. Nurse: thatââ¬â¢s a great improvement then, Iââ¬â¢m glad you are. Patient: thank you very much nurse. Nurse: I am always here to help my dear. This is a very good way of effective communication, as the nurse and patient are interacting well and both parties are happy as they have understood each other. References (http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/informal-communication. html) (http://wiki. answers. com/Q/What_is_formal_communication_in_business_organization)
Technology for Network Security
Technology for Network Security 2.0 CHAPTER TWO 2.1 INTRODUCTION The ever increasing need for information technology as a result of globalisation has brought about the need for an application of a better network security system. It is without a doubt that the rate at which computer networks are expanding in this modern time to accommodate higher bandwidth, unique storage demand, and increase number of users can not be over emphasised. As this demand grows on daily bases, so also, are the threats associated with it. Some of which are, virus attacks, worm attacks, denial of services or distributed denial of service attack etc. Having this in mind then call for swift security measures to address these threats in order to protect data reliability, integrity, availability and other needed network resources across the network. Generally, network security can simply be described as a way of protecting the integrity of a network by making sure authorised access or threats of any form are restricted from accessing valuable information. As network architecture begins to expand, tackling the issue of security is becomes more and more complex to handle, therefore keeping network administrators on their toes to guard against any possible attacks that occurs on daily basis. Some of the malicious attacks are viruses and worm attacks, denial of service attacks, IP spoofing, cracking password, Domain Name Server (DNS) poisoning etc. As an effort to combat these threats, many security elements have been designed to tackle these attacks on the network. Some of which includes, firewall, Virtual Private Network (VPN), Encryption and Decryption, Cryptography, Internet Protocol Security (IPSec), Data Encryption Standard (3DES), Demilitarised Zone, (DMZ), Secure Shell Layer (SSL) etc. This chapter starts by briefly discussi ng Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User datagram Protocol (UDP), Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), then discussed the Open system interconnection (OSI) model and the protocols that operate at each layer of the model, network security elements, followed by the background of firewall, types and features of firewalls and lastly, network security tools. 2.2 A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TCP, IP, UDP AND ICMP 2.2.1 DEFINITION Going by the tremendous achievement of the World Wide Web (internet), a global communication standard with the aim of building interconnection of networks over heterogeneous network is known as the TCP/IP protocol suite was designed (Dunkels 2003; Global Knowledge 2007; Parziale et al 2006). The TCP/IP protocol suite is the core rule used for applications transfer such as File transfers, E-Mail traffics, web pages transfer between hosts across the heterogeneous networks (Dunkels 2003; Parziale et al 2006). Therefore, it becomes necessary for a network administrator to have a good understanding of TCP/IP when configuring firewalls, as most of the policies are set to protect the internal network from possible attacks that uses the TCP/IP protocols for communication (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). Many incidents of network attacks are as a result of improper configuration and poor implementation TCP/IP protocols, services and applications. TCP/IP make use of protocols such as TCP, UDP, IP, ICMP etc to define rules of how communication over the network takes place (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). Before these protocols are discussed, this thesis briefly looks into the theoretical Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model (Simoneau 2006). 2.2.2 THE OSI MODEL The OSI model is a standardised layered model defined by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for network communication which simplifies network communication to seven separate layers, with each individual layer having it own unique functions that support immediate layer above it and at same time offering services to its immediate layer below it (Parziale et al 2006; Simoneau 2006). The seven layers are Application, Presentation, Session Transport, Network, Data, Link and Physical layer. The first three lower layers (Network, Data, Link and Physical layer) are basically hardware implementations while the last four upper layers (Application, Presentation, Session and Transport) are software implementations. Application Layer This is the end user operating interface that support file transfer, web browsing, electronic mail etc. This layer allows user interaction with the system. Presentation Layer This layer is responsible for formatting the data to be sent across the network which enables the application to understand the message been sent and in addition it is responsible for message encryption and decryption for security purposes. Session Layer This layer is responsible for dialog and session control functions between systems. Transport layer This layer provides end-to-end communication which could be reliable or unreliable between end devices across the network. The two mostly used protocols in this layer are TCP and UDP. Network Layer This layer is also known as logical layer and is responsible for logical addressing for packet delivery services. The protocol used in this layer is the IP. Data Link Layer This layer is responsible for framing of units of information, error checking and physical addressing. Physical Layer This layer defines transmission medium requirements, connectors and responsible for the transmission of bits on the physical hardware (Parziale et al 2006; Simoneau 2006). 2.2.3 INTERNET PROTOCOL (IP) IP is a connectionless protocol designed to deliver data hosts across the network. IP data delivery is unreliable therefore depend on upper layer protocol such as TCP or lower layer protocols like IEEE 802.2 and IEEE802.3 for reliable data delivery between hosts on the network.(Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006) 2.2.4 TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL (TCP) TCP is a standard protocol which is connection-oriented transport mechanism that operates at the transport layer of OSI model. It is described by the Request for Comment (RFC) 793. TCP solves the unreliability problem of the network layer protocol (IP) by making sure packets are reliably and accurately transmitted, errors are recovered and efficiently monitors flow control between hosts across the network. (Abie 2000; Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006; Simoneau 2006). The primary objective of TCP is to create session between hosts on the network and this process is carried out by what is called TCP three-way handshake. When using TCP for data transmission between hosts, the sending host will first of all send a synchronise (SYN) segment to the receiving host which is first step in the handshake. The receiving host on receiving the SYN segment reply with an acknowledgement (ACK) and with its own SYN segment and this form the second part of the handshake. The final step of the handshake is the n completed by the sending host responding with its own ACK segment to acknowledge the acceptance of the SYN/ACK. Once this process is completed, the hosts then established a virtual circuit between themselves through which the data will be transferred (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). As good as the three ways handshake of the TCP is, it also has its short comings. The most common one being the SYN flood attack. This form of attack occurs when the destination host such as the Server is flooded with a SYN session request without receiving any ACK reply from the source host (malicious host) that initiated a SYN session. The result of this action causes DOS attack as destination host buffer will get to a point it can no longer take any request from legitimate hosts but have no other choice than to drop such session request (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). 2.2.5 USER DATAGRAM PROTOCOL (UDP) UDP unlike the TCP is a standard connectionless transport mechanism that operates at the transport layer of OSI model. It is described by the Request for Comment (RFC) 768 (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006; Simoneau 2006). When using UDP to transfer packets between hosts, session initiation, retransmission of lost or damaged packets and acknowledgement are omitted therefore, 100 percent packet delivery is not guaranteed (Sundararajan et al 2006; Postel 1980). UDP is designed with low over head as it does not involve initiation of session between hosts before data transmission starts. This protocol is best suite for small data transmission (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). 2.2.6 INTERNET CONTROL MESSAGE PROTOCOL (ICMP). ICMP is primarily designed to identify and report routing error, delivery failures and delays on the network. This protocol can only be used to report errors and can not be used to make any correction on the identified errors but depend on routing protocols or reliable protocols like the TCP to handle the error detected (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006; Dunkels 2003). ICMP makes use of the echo mechanism called Ping command. This command is used to check if the host is replying to network traffic or not (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006; Dunkels 2003). 2.3 OTHER NETWORK SECURITY ELEMENTS. 2.3.1 VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK (VPN) VPN is one of the network security elements that make use of the public network infrastructure to securely maintain confidentiality of information transfer between hosts over the public network (Bou 2007). VPN provides this security features by making use of encryption and Tunneling technique to protect such information and it can be configured to support at least three models which are Remote- access connection. Site-to-site ( branch offices to the headquarters) Local area network internetworking (Extranet connection of companies with their business partners) (Bou 2007). 2.3.2 VPN TECHNOLOGY VPN make use of many standard protocols to implement the data authentication (identification of trusted parties) and encryption (scrambling of data) when making use of the public network to transfer data. These protocols include: Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol PPTP [RFC2637] Secure Shell Layer Protocol (SSL) [RFC 2246] Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) [RFC 2401] Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) [RFC2661] 2.3.2.1 POINT-TO-POINT TUNNELING PROTOCOL [PPTP] The design of PPTP provides a secure means of transferring data over the public infrastructure with authentication and encryption support between hosts on the network. This protocol operates at the data link layer of the OSI model and it basically relies on user identification (ID) and password authentication for its security. PPTP did not eliminate Point-to-Point Protocol, but rather describes better way of Tunneling PPP traffic by using Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) (Bou 2007; Microsoft 1999; Schneier and Mudge 1998). 2.3.2.2 LAYER 2 TUNNELING PROTOCOL [L2TP] The L2TP is a connection-oriented protocol standard defined by the RFC 2661which merged the best features of PPTP and Layer 2 forwarding (L2F) protocol to create the new standard (L2TP) (Bou 2007; Townsley et al 1999). Just like the PPTP, the L2TP operates at the layer 2 of the OSI model. Tunneling in L2TP is achieved through series of data encapsulation of the different levels layer protocols. Examples are UDP, IPSec, IP, and Data-Link layer protocol but the data encryption for the tunnel is provided by the IPSec (Bou 2007; Townsley et al 1999). 2.3.2.3 INTERNET PROTOCOL SECURITY (IPSEC) [RFC 2401] IPSec is a standard protocol defined by the RFC 2401 which is designed to protect the payload of an IP packet and the paths between hosts, security gateways (routers and firewalls), or between security gateway and host over the unprotected network (Bou 2007; Kent and Atkinson 1998). IPSec operate at network layer of the OSI model. Some of the security services it provides are, authentication, connectionless integrity, encryption, access control, data origin, rejection of replayed packets, etc (Kent and Atkinson 1998). 2.3.3.4 SECURE SOCKET LAYER (SSL) [RFC 2246] SSL is a standard protocol defined by the RFC 2246 which is designed to provide secure communication tunnel between hosts by encrypting hosts communication over the network, to ensure packets confidentiality, integrity and proper hosts authentication, in order to eliminate eavesdropping attacks on the network (Homin et al 2007; Oppliger et al 2008). SSL makes use of security elements such as digital certificate, cryptography and certificates to enforce security measures over the network. SSL is a transport layer security protocol that runs on top of the TCP/IP which manage transport and routing of packets across the network. Also SSL is deployed at the application layer OSI model to ensure hosts authentication (Homin et al 2007; Oppliger et al 2008; Dierks and Allen 1999). 2.4 FIREWALL BACKGROUND The concept of network firewall is to prevent unauthorised packets from gaining entry into a network by filtering all packets that are coming into such network. The word firewall was not originally a computer security vocabulary, but was initially used to illustrate a wall which could be brick or mortar built to restrain fire from spreading from one part of a building to the other or to reduce the spread of the fire in the building giving some time for remedial actions to be taken (Komar et al 2003). 2.4.1BRIEF HISTORY OF FIREWALL Firewall as used in computing is dated as far back as the late 1980s, but the first set of firewalls came into light sometime in 1985, which was produced by a Ciscos Internet work Operating System (IOS) division called packet filter firewall (Cisco System 2004). In 1988, Jeff Mogul from DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) published the first paper on firewall. Between 1989 and 1990, two workers of the ATT Bell laboratories Howard Trickey and Dave Persotto initiated the second generation firewall technology with their study in circuit relays called Circuit level firewall. Also, the two scientists implemented the first working model of the third generation firewall design called Application layer firewalls. Sadly enough, there was no published documents explaining their work and no product was released to support their work. Around the same year (1990-1991), different papers on the third generation firewalls were published by researchers. But among them, Marcus Ranums work received the most attention in 1991 and took the form of bastion hosts running proxy services. Ranums work quickly evolved into the first commercial productââ¬âDigital Equipment Corporations SEAL product (Cisco System 2004). About the same year, work started on the fourth generation firewall called Dynamic packet filtering and was not operational until 1994 when Check Point Software rolled out a complete working model of the fourth generation firewall architecture. In 1996, plans began on the fifth generation firewall design called the Kernel Proxy architecture and became reality in 1997 when Cisco released the Cisco Centri Firewall which was the first Proxy firewall produced for commercial use (Cisco System 2004). Since then many vendor have designed and implemented various forms of firewall both in hardware and software and till date, research works is on going in improving firewalls architecture to meet up with ever increasing challenges of network security. 2.5 DEFINITION According to the British computer society (2008), Firewalls are defence mechanisms that can be implemented in either hardware or software, and serve to prevent unauthorized access to computers and networks. Similarly, Subrata, et al (2006) defined firewall as a combination of hardware and software used to implement a security policy governing the flow of network traffic between two or more networks. The concept of firewall in computer systems security is similar to firewall built within a building but differ in their functions. While the latter is purposely designed for only one task which is fire prevention in a building, computer system firewall is designed to prevent more than one threat (Komar et al 2003).This includes the following Denial Of Service Attacks (DoS) Virus attacks Worm attack. Hacking attacks etc 2.5.1 DENIAL OF SERVICE ATTACKS (DOS) ââ¬Å"Countering DoS attacks on web servers has become a very challenging problemâ⬠(Srivatsa et al 2006). This is an attack that is aimed at denying legitimate packets to access network resources. The attacker achieved this by running a program that floods the network, making network resources such as main memory, network bandwidth, hard disk space, unavailable for legitimate packets. SYN attack is a good example of DOS attacks, but can be prevented by implementing good firewall polices for the secured network. A detailed firewall policy (iptables) is presented in chapter three of this thesis. 2.5.2 VIRUS AND WORM ATTACKS Viruses and worms attacks are big security problem which can become pandemic in a twinkle of an eye resulting to possible huge loss of information or system damage (Ford et al 2005; Cisco System 2004). These two forms of attacks can be programs designed to open up systems to allow information theft or programs that regenerate themselves once they gets into the system until they crashes the system and some could be programmed to generate programs that floods the network leading to DOS attacks. Therefore, security tools that can proactively detect possible attacks are required to secure the network. One of such tools is a firewall with good security policy configuration (Cisco System 2004). Generally speaking, any kind of firewall implementation will basically perform the following task. Manage and control network traffic. Authenticate access Act as an intermediary Make internal recourses available Record and report event 2.5.3 MANAGE AND CONTROL NETWORK TRAFFIC. The first process undertaken by firewalls is to secure a computer networks by checking all the traffic coming into and leaving the networks. This is achieved by stopping and analysing packet Source IP address, Source port, Destination IP address, Destination port, IP protocol Packet header information etc. in order decide on what action to take on such packets either to accept or reject the packet. This action is called packet filtering and it depends on the firewall configuration. Likewise the firewall can also make use of the connections between TCP/IP hosts to establish communication between them for identification and to state the way they will communicate with each other to decide which connection should be permitted or discarded. This is achieved by maintaining the state table used to check the state of all the packets passing through the firewall. This is called stateful inspection (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). 2.5.4 AUTHENTICATE ACCESS When firewalls inspects and analyses packets Source IP address, Source port, Destination IP address, Destination port, IP protocol Packet header information etc, and probably filters it based on the specified security procedure defined, it does not guarantee that the communication between the source host and destination host will be authorised in that, hackers can manage to spoof IP address and port action which defeats the inspection and analysis based on IP and port screening. To tackle this pit fall over the network, an authentication rule is implemented in firewall using a number of means such as, the use of username and password (xauth), certificate and public keys and pre-shared keys (PSKs).In using the xauth authentication method, the firewall will request for the source host that is trying to initiate a connection with the host on the protected network for its username and password before it will allow connection between the protected network and the source host to be establi shed. Once the connection is been confirmed and authorised by the security procedure defined, the source host need not to authenticate itself to make connection again (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). The second method is using certificates and public keys. The advantage of this method over xauth is that verification can take place without source host intervention having to supply its username and password for authentication. Implementation of Certificates and public keys requires proper hosts (protected network and the source host) configuration with certificates and firewall and making sure that protected network and the source host use a public key infrastructure that is properly configured. This security method is best for big network design (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). Another good way of dealing with authentication issues with firewalls is by using pre-shared keys (PSKs). The implementation of PSKs is easy compare to the certificates and public keys although, authentication still occur without the source host intervention its make use of an additional feature which is providing the host with a predetermined key that is used for the verification procedure (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). 2.5.5 ACT AS AN INTERMEDIARY When firewalls are configured to serve as an intermediary between a protected host and external host, they simply function as application proxy. The firewalls in this setup are configured to impersonate the protected host such that all packets destined for the protected host from the external host are delivered to the firewall which appears to the external host as the protected host. Once the firewalls receive the packets, they inspect the packet to determine if the packet is valid (e.g. genuine HTTT packet) or not before forwarding to the protected host. This firewall design totally blocks direct communication between the hosts. 2.5.6 RECORD AND REPORT EVENTS While it is good practise to put strong security policies in place to secure network, it is equally important to record firewalls events. Using firewalls to record and report events is a technique that can help to investigate what kind of attack took place in situations where firewalls are unable to stop malicious packets that violate the access control policy of the protected network. Recording this event gives the network administrator a clear understanding of the attack and at the same time, to make use of the recorded events to troubleshoot the problem that as taken place. To record these events, network administrators makes use of different methods but syslog or proprietary logging format are mostly used for firewalls. However, some malicious events need to be reported quickly so that immediate action can be taken before serious damage is done to the protected network. Therefore firewalls also need an alarming mechanism in addition to the syslog or proprietary logging format whe n ever access control policy of the protected network is violated. Some types of alarm supported by firewalls include Console notification, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Paging notification, E-mail notification etc (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). Console notification is a warning massage that is presented to the firewall console. The problem with this method of alarm is that, the console needs to be monitored by the network administrator at all times so that necessary action can be taken when an alarm is generated. Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) notification is implemented to create traps which are transferred to the network management system (NMS) monitoring the firewall. Paging notification is setup on the firewall to deliver a page to the network administrator whenever the firewall encounters any event. The message could be an alphanumeric or numeric depending on how the firewall is setup. E-mail notification is similar to paging notification, but in this case, the firewall send an email instead to proper address. 2.6 TYPES OF FIREWALLS Going by firewall definition, firewalls are expected to perform some key functions like, Application Proxy, Network Translation Address, and Packet filtering. 2.6.1 APPLICATION PROXY This is also known as Application Gateway, and it acts as a connection agent between protected network and the external network. Basically, the application proxy is a host on the protected network that is setup as proxy server. Just as the name implies, application proxy function at the application layer of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model and makes sure that all application requests from the secured network is communicated to the external network through the proxy server and no packets passes through from to external network to the secured network until the proxy checks and confirms inbound packets. This firewall support different types of protocols such as a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006; NetContinuum 2006). 2.6.2 NETWORK ADDRESS (NAT) NAT alter the IP addresses of hosts packets by hiding the genuine IP addresses of secured network hosts and dynamically replacing them with a different IP addresses (Cisco System 2008; Walberg 2007). When request packets are sent from the secured host through the gateway to an external host, the source host address is modified to a different IP address by NAT.à When the reply packets arrives at the gateway, the NAT then replaces the modified address with genuine host address before forwarding it to the host (Walberg 2007).The role played by NAT in a secured network system makes it uneasy for unauthorized access to know: The number of hosts available in the protected network The topology of the network The operating systems the host is running The type of host machine (Cisco System 2008). 2.6.3 PACKET FILTERING. ââ¬Å"Firewalls and IPSec gateways have become major components in the current high speed Internet infrastructure to filter out undesired traffic and protect the integrity and confidentiality of critical trafficâ⬠(Hamed and Al-Shaer 2006). Packet filtering is based on the lay down security rule defined for any network or system. Filtering traffic over the network is big task that involves comprehensive understanding of the network on which it will be setup. This defined policy must always be updated in order to handle the possible network attacks (Hamed and Al-Shaer 2006). 2.6.4 INSTRUCTION DETECTION SYSTEMS. Network penetration attacks are now on the increase as valuable information is being stolen or damaged by the attacker. Many security products have been developed to combat these attacks. Two of such products are Intrusion Prevention systems (IPS) and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS). IDS are software designed to purposely monitor and analysed all the activities (network traffic) on the network for any suspicious threats that may violate the defined network security policies (Scarfone and Mell 2007; Vignam et al 2003). There are varieties of methods IDS uses to detect threats on the network, two of them are, anomaly based IDS, and signature based IDS. 2.6.4.1 ANOMALY BASED IDS Anomaly based IDS is setup to monitor and compare network events against what is defined to be normal network activities which is represented by a profile, in order to detect any deviation from the defined normal events. Some of the events are, comparing the type of bandwidth used, the type of protocols etc and once the IDS identifies any deviation in any of this events, it notifies the network administrator who then take necessary action to stop the intended attack (Scarfone and Mell 2007). 2.6.4.2 SIGNATURE BASED IDS Signature based IDS are designed to monitor and compare packets on the network against the signature database of known malicious attacks or threats. This type of IDS is efficient at identifying already known threats but ineffective at identifying new threats which are not currently defined in the signature database, therefore giving way to network attacks (Scarfone and Mell 2007). 2.6.5 INTRUSION PREVENTION SYSTEMS (IPS). IPS are proactive security products which can be software or hardware used to identify malicious packets and also to prevent such packets from gaining entry in the networks (Ierace et al 2005, Botwicz et al 2006). IPS is another form of firewall which is basically designed to detect irregularity in regular network traffic and likewise to stop possible network attacks such as Denial of service attacks. They are capable of dropping malicious packets and disconnecting any connection suspected to be illegal before such traffic get to the protected host. Just like a typical firewall, IPS makes use of define rules in the system setup to determine the action to take on any traffic and this could be to allow or block the traffic. IPS makes use of stateful packet analysis to protect the network. Similarly, IPS is capable of performing signature matching, application protocol validation etc as a means of detecting attacks on the network (Ierace et al 2005). As good as IPS are, they also have t heir downsides as well. One of it is the problem of false positive and false negative. False positive is a situation where legitimate traffic is been identified to be malicious and thereby resulting to the IPS blocking such traffic on the network. False negative on the other hand is when malicious traffic is be identified by the IPS as legitimate traffic thereby allowing such traffic to pass through the IPS to the protected network (Ierace N et al 2005). 2.7 SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE FIREWALLS 2.7.1 SOFTWARE FIREWALLS Software-based firewalls are computers installed software for filtering packets (Permpootanalarp and Rujimethabhas 2001). These are programs setup either on personal computers or on network servers (Web servers and Email severs) operating system. Once the software is installed and proper security polices are defined, the systems (personal computers or servers) assume the role of a firewall. Software firewalls are second line of defence after hardware firewalls in situations where both are used for network security. Also software firewalls can be installed on different operating system such as, Windows Operating Systems, Mac operating system, Novel Netware, Linux Kernel, and UNIX Kernel etc. The function of these firewalls is, filtering distorted network traffic. There are several software firewall some of which include, Online Armor firewall, McAfee Personal Firewall, Zone Alarm, Norton Personal Firewall, Black Ice Defender, Sygate Personal Firewall, Panda Firewall, The DoorStop X Fi rewall etc (Lugo Parker 2005). When designing a software firewall two keys things are considered. These are, per-packet filtering and a per-process filtering. The pre-packet filter is design to search for distorted packets, port scan detection and checking if the packets are accepted into the protocol stack. In the same vein, pre-process filter is the designed to check if a process is allowed to begin a connection to the secured network or not (Lugo and Parker 2005). It should be noted that there are different implantations of all Firewalls. While some are built into the operating system others are add-ons. Examples of built-in firewalls are windows based firewall and Linux based. 2.7.2 WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM BASED FIREWALL. In operating system design, security features is one important aspect that is greatly considered. This is a challenge the software giant (Microsoft) as always made sure they implement is their products. In the software industry, Mi Technology for Network Security Technology for Network Security 2.0 CHAPTER TWO 2.1 INTRODUCTION The ever increasing need for information technology as a result of globalisation has brought about the need for an application of a better network security system. It is without a doubt that the rate at which computer networks are expanding in this modern time to accommodate higher bandwidth, unique storage demand, and increase number of users can not be over emphasised. As this demand grows on daily bases, so also, are the threats associated with it. Some of which are, virus attacks, worm attacks, denial of services or distributed denial of service attack etc. Having this in mind then call for swift security measures to address these threats in order to protect data reliability, integrity, availability and other needed network resources across the network. Generally, network security can simply be described as a way of protecting the integrity of a network by making sure authorised access or threats of any form are restricted from accessing valuable information. As network architecture begins to expand, tackling the issue of security is becomes more and more complex to handle, therefore keeping network administrators on their toes to guard against any possible attacks that occurs on daily basis. Some of the malicious attacks are viruses and worm attacks, denial of service attacks, IP spoofing, cracking password, Domain Name Server (DNS) poisoning etc. As an effort to combat these threats, many security elements have been designed to tackle these attacks on the network. Some of which includes, firewall, Virtual Private Network (VPN), Encryption and Decryption, Cryptography, Internet Protocol Security (IPSec), Data Encryption Standard (3DES), Demilitarised Zone, (DMZ), Secure Shell Layer (SSL) etc. This chapter starts by briefly discussi ng Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User datagram Protocol (UDP), Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), then discussed the Open system interconnection (OSI) model and the protocols that operate at each layer of the model, network security elements, followed by the background of firewall, types and features of firewalls and lastly, network security tools. 2.2 A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TCP, IP, UDP AND ICMP 2.2.1 DEFINITION Going by the tremendous achievement of the World Wide Web (internet), a global communication standard with the aim of building interconnection of networks over heterogeneous network is known as the TCP/IP protocol suite was designed (Dunkels 2003; Global Knowledge 2007; Parziale et al 2006). The TCP/IP protocol suite is the core rule used for applications transfer such as File transfers, E-Mail traffics, web pages transfer between hosts across the heterogeneous networks (Dunkels 2003; Parziale et al 2006). Therefore, it becomes necessary for a network administrator to have a good understanding of TCP/IP when configuring firewalls, as most of the policies are set to protect the internal network from possible attacks that uses the TCP/IP protocols for communication (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). Many incidents of network attacks are as a result of improper configuration and poor implementation TCP/IP protocols, services and applications. TCP/IP make use of protocols such as TCP, UDP, IP, ICMP etc to define rules of how communication over the network takes place (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). Before these protocols are discussed, this thesis briefly looks into the theoretical Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model (Simoneau 2006). 2.2.2 THE OSI MODEL The OSI model is a standardised layered model defined by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for network communication which simplifies network communication to seven separate layers, with each individual layer having it own unique functions that support immediate layer above it and at same time offering services to its immediate layer below it (Parziale et al 2006; Simoneau 2006). The seven layers are Application, Presentation, Session Transport, Network, Data, Link and Physical layer. The first three lower layers (Network, Data, Link and Physical layer) are basically hardware implementations while the last four upper layers (Application, Presentation, Session and Transport) are software implementations. Application Layer This is the end user operating interface that support file transfer, web browsing, electronic mail etc. This layer allows user interaction with the system. Presentation Layer This layer is responsible for formatting the data to be sent across the network which enables the application to understand the message been sent and in addition it is responsible for message encryption and decryption for security purposes. Session Layer This layer is responsible for dialog and session control functions between systems. Transport layer This layer provides end-to-end communication which could be reliable or unreliable between end devices across the network. The two mostly used protocols in this layer are TCP and UDP. Network Layer This layer is also known as logical layer and is responsible for logical addressing for packet delivery services. The protocol used in this layer is the IP. Data Link Layer This layer is responsible for framing of units of information, error checking and physical addressing. Physical Layer This layer defines transmission medium requirements, connectors and responsible for the transmission of bits on the physical hardware (Parziale et al 2006; Simoneau 2006). 2.2.3 INTERNET PROTOCOL (IP) IP is a connectionless protocol designed to deliver data hosts across the network. IP data delivery is unreliable therefore depend on upper layer protocol such as TCP or lower layer protocols like IEEE 802.2 and IEEE802.3 for reliable data delivery between hosts on the network.(Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006) 2.2.4 TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL (TCP) TCP is a standard protocol which is connection-oriented transport mechanism that operates at the transport layer of OSI model. It is described by the Request for Comment (RFC) 793. TCP solves the unreliability problem of the network layer protocol (IP) by making sure packets are reliably and accurately transmitted, errors are recovered and efficiently monitors flow control between hosts across the network. (Abie 2000; Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006; Simoneau 2006). The primary objective of TCP is to create session between hosts on the network and this process is carried out by what is called TCP three-way handshake. When using TCP for data transmission between hosts, the sending host will first of all send a synchronise (SYN) segment to the receiving host which is first step in the handshake. The receiving host on receiving the SYN segment reply with an acknowledgement (ACK) and with its own SYN segment and this form the second part of the handshake. The final step of the handshake is the n completed by the sending host responding with its own ACK segment to acknowledge the acceptance of the SYN/ACK. Once this process is completed, the hosts then established a virtual circuit between themselves through which the data will be transferred (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). As good as the three ways handshake of the TCP is, it also has its short comings. The most common one being the SYN flood attack. This form of attack occurs when the destination host such as the Server is flooded with a SYN session request without receiving any ACK reply from the source host (malicious host) that initiated a SYN session. The result of this action causes DOS attack as destination host buffer will get to a point it can no longer take any request from legitimate hosts but have no other choice than to drop such session request (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). 2.2.5 USER DATAGRAM PROTOCOL (UDP) UDP unlike the TCP is a standard connectionless transport mechanism that operates at the transport layer of OSI model. It is described by the Request for Comment (RFC) 768 (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006; Simoneau 2006). When using UDP to transfer packets between hosts, session initiation, retransmission of lost or damaged packets and acknowledgement are omitted therefore, 100 percent packet delivery is not guaranteed (Sundararajan et al 2006; Postel 1980). UDP is designed with low over head as it does not involve initiation of session between hosts before data transmission starts. This protocol is best suite for small data transmission (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). 2.2.6 INTERNET CONTROL MESSAGE PROTOCOL (ICMP). ICMP is primarily designed to identify and report routing error, delivery failures and delays on the network. This protocol can only be used to report errors and can not be used to make any correction on the identified errors but depend on routing protocols or reliable protocols like the TCP to handle the error detected (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006; Dunkels 2003). ICMP makes use of the echo mechanism called Ping command. This command is used to check if the host is replying to network traffic or not (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006; Dunkels 2003). 2.3 OTHER NETWORK SECURITY ELEMENTS. 2.3.1 VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK (VPN) VPN is one of the network security elements that make use of the public network infrastructure to securely maintain confidentiality of information transfer between hosts over the public network (Bou 2007). VPN provides this security features by making use of encryption and Tunneling technique to protect such information and it can be configured to support at least three models which are Remote- access connection. Site-to-site ( branch offices to the headquarters) Local area network internetworking (Extranet connection of companies with their business partners) (Bou 2007). 2.3.2 VPN TECHNOLOGY VPN make use of many standard protocols to implement the data authentication (identification of trusted parties) and encryption (scrambling of data) when making use of the public network to transfer data. These protocols include: Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol PPTP [RFC2637] Secure Shell Layer Protocol (SSL) [RFC 2246] Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) [RFC 2401] Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) [RFC2661] 2.3.2.1 POINT-TO-POINT TUNNELING PROTOCOL [PPTP] The design of PPTP provides a secure means of transferring data over the public infrastructure with authentication and encryption support between hosts on the network. This protocol operates at the data link layer of the OSI model and it basically relies on user identification (ID) and password authentication for its security. PPTP did not eliminate Point-to-Point Protocol, but rather describes better way of Tunneling PPP traffic by using Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) (Bou 2007; Microsoft 1999; Schneier and Mudge 1998). 2.3.2.2 LAYER 2 TUNNELING PROTOCOL [L2TP] The L2TP is a connection-oriented protocol standard defined by the RFC 2661which merged the best features of PPTP and Layer 2 forwarding (L2F) protocol to create the new standard (L2TP) (Bou 2007; Townsley et al 1999). Just like the PPTP, the L2TP operates at the layer 2 of the OSI model. Tunneling in L2TP is achieved through series of data encapsulation of the different levels layer protocols. Examples are UDP, IPSec, IP, and Data-Link layer protocol but the data encryption for the tunnel is provided by the IPSec (Bou 2007; Townsley et al 1999). 2.3.2.3 INTERNET PROTOCOL SECURITY (IPSEC) [RFC 2401] IPSec is a standard protocol defined by the RFC 2401 which is designed to protect the payload of an IP packet and the paths between hosts, security gateways (routers and firewalls), or between security gateway and host over the unprotected network (Bou 2007; Kent and Atkinson 1998). IPSec operate at network layer of the OSI model. Some of the security services it provides are, authentication, connectionless integrity, encryption, access control, data origin, rejection of replayed packets, etc (Kent and Atkinson 1998). 2.3.3.4 SECURE SOCKET LAYER (SSL) [RFC 2246] SSL is a standard protocol defined by the RFC 2246 which is designed to provide secure communication tunnel between hosts by encrypting hosts communication over the network, to ensure packets confidentiality, integrity and proper hosts authentication, in order to eliminate eavesdropping attacks on the network (Homin et al 2007; Oppliger et al 2008). SSL makes use of security elements such as digital certificate, cryptography and certificates to enforce security measures over the network. SSL is a transport layer security protocol that runs on top of the TCP/IP which manage transport and routing of packets across the network. Also SSL is deployed at the application layer OSI model to ensure hosts authentication (Homin et al 2007; Oppliger et al 2008; Dierks and Allen 1999). 2.4 FIREWALL BACKGROUND The concept of network firewall is to prevent unauthorised packets from gaining entry into a network by filtering all packets that are coming into such network. The word firewall was not originally a computer security vocabulary, but was initially used to illustrate a wall which could be brick or mortar built to restrain fire from spreading from one part of a building to the other or to reduce the spread of the fire in the building giving some time for remedial actions to be taken (Komar et al 2003). 2.4.1BRIEF HISTORY OF FIREWALL Firewall as used in computing is dated as far back as the late 1980s, but the first set of firewalls came into light sometime in 1985, which was produced by a Ciscos Internet work Operating System (IOS) division called packet filter firewall (Cisco System 2004). In 1988, Jeff Mogul from DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) published the first paper on firewall. Between 1989 and 1990, two workers of the ATT Bell laboratories Howard Trickey and Dave Persotto initiated the second generation firewall technology with their study in circuit relays called Circuit level firewall. Also, the two scientists implemented the first working model of the third generation firewall design called Application layer firewalls. Sadly enough, there was no published documents explaining their work and no product was released to support their work. Around the same year (1990-1991), different papers on the third generation firewalls were published by researchers. But among them, Marcus Ranums work received the most attention in 1991 and took the form of bastion hosts running proxy services. Ranums work quickly evolved into the first commercial productââ¬âDigital Equipment Corporations SEAL product (Cisco System 2004). About the same year, work started on the fourth generation firewall called Dynamic packet filtering and was not operational until 1994 when Check Point Software rolled out a complete working model of the fourth generation firewall architecture. In 1996, plans began on the fifth generation firewall design called the Kernel Proxy architecture and became reality in 1997 when Cisco released the Cisco Centri Firewall which was the first Proxy firewall produced for commercial use (Cisco System 2004). Since then many vendor have designed and implemented various forms of firewall both in hardware and software and till date, research works is on going in improving firewalls architecture to meet up with ever increasing challenges of network security. 2.5 DEFINITION According to the British computer society (2008), Firewalls are defence mechanisms that can be implemented in either hardware or software, and serve to prevent unauthorized access to computers and networks. Similarly, Subrata, et al (2006) defined firewall as a combination of hardware and software used to implement a security policy governing the flow of network traffic between two or more networks. The concept of firewall in computer systems security is similar to firewall built within a building but differ in their functions. While the latter is purposely designed for only one task which is fire prevention in a building, computer system firewall is designed to prevent more than one threat (Komar et al 2003).This includes the following Denial Of Service Attacks (DoS) Virus attacks Worm attack. Hacking attacks etc 2.5.1 DENIAL OF SERVICE ATTACKS (DOS) ââ¬Å"Countering DoS attacks on web servers has become a very challenging problemâ⬠(Srivatsa et al 2006). This is an attack that is aimed at denying legitimate packets to access network resources. The attacker achieved this by running a program that floods the network, making network resources such as main memory, network bandwidth, hard disk space, unavailable for legitimate packets. SYN attack is a good example of DOS attacks, but can be prevented by implementing good firewall polices for the secured network. A detailed firewall policy (iptables) is presented in chapter three of this thesis. 2.5.2 VIRUS AND WORM ATTACKS Viruses and worms attacks are big security problem which can become pandemic in a twinkle of an eye resulting to possible huge loss of information or system damage (Ford et al 2005; Cisco System 2004). These two forms of attacks can be programs designed to open up systems to allow information theft or programs that regenerate themselves once they gets into the system until they crashes the system and some could be programmed to generate programs that floods the network leading to DOS attacks. Therefore, security tools that can proactively detect possible attacks are required to secure the network. One of such tools is a firewall with good security policy configuration (Cisco System 2004). Generally speaking, any kind of firewall implementation will basically perform the following task. Manage and control network traffic. Authenticate access Act as an intermediary Make internal recourses available Record and report event 2.5.3 MANAGE AND CONTROL NETWORK TRAFFIC. The first process undertaken by firewalls is to secure a computer networks by checking all the traffic coming into and leaving the networks. This is achieved by stopping and analysing packet Source IP address, Source port, Destination IP address, Destination port, IP protocol Packet header information etc. in order decide on what action to take on such packets either to accept or reject the packet. This action is called packet filtering and it depends on the firewall configuration. Likewise the firewall can also make use of the connections between TCP/IP hosts to establish communication between them for identification and to state the way they will communicate with each other to decide which connection should be permitted or discarded. This is achieved by maintaining the state table used to check the state of all the packets passing through the firewall. This is called stateful inspection (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). 2.5.4 AUTHENTICATE ACCESS When firewalls inspects and analyses packets Source IP address, Source port, Destination IP address, Destination port, IP protocol Packet header information etc, and probably filters it based on the specified security procedure defined, it does not guarantee that the communication between the source host and destination host will be authorised in that, hackers can manage to spoof IP address and port action which defeats the inspection and analysis based on IP and port screening. To tackle this pit fall over the network, an authentication rule is implemented in firewall using a number of means such as, the use of username and password (xauth), certificate and public keys and pre-shared keys (PSKs).In using the xauth authentication method, the firewall will request for the source host that is trying to initiate a connection with the host on the protected network for its username and password before it will allow connection between the protected network and the source host to be establi shed. Once the connection is been confirmed and authorised by the security procedure defined, the source host need not to authenticate itself to make connection again (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). The second method is using certificates and public keys. The advantage of this method over xauth is that verification can take place without source host intervention having to supply its username and password for authentication. Implementation of Certificates and public keys requires proper hosts (protected network and the source host) configuration with certificates and firewall and making sure that protected network and the source host use a public key infrastructure that is properly configured. This security method is best for big network design (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). Another good way of dealing with authentication issues with firewalls is by using pre-shared keys (PSKs). The implementation of PSKs is easy compare to the certificates and public keys although, authentication still occur without the source host intervention its make use of an additional feature which is providing the host with a predetermined key that is used for the verification procedure (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). 2.5.5 ACT AS AN INTERMEDIARY When firewalls are configured to serve as an intermediary between a protected host and external host, they simply function as application proxy. The firewalls in this setup are configured to impersonate the protected host such that all packets destined for the protected host from the external host are delivered to the firewall which appears to the external host as the protected host. Once the firewalls receive the packets, they inspect the packet to determine if the packet is valid (e.g. genuine HTTT packet) or not before forwarding to the protected host. This firewall design totally blocks direct communication between the hosts. 2.5.6 RECORD AND REPORT EVENTS While it is good practise to put strong security policies in place to secure network, it is equally important to record firewalls events. Using firewalls to record and report events is a technique that can help to investigate what kind of attack took place in situations where firewalls are unable to stop malicious packets that violate the access control policy of the protected network. Recording this event gives the network administrator a clear understanding of the attack and at the same time, to make use of the recorded events to troubleshoot the problem that as taken place. To record these events, network administrators makes use of different methods but syslog or proprietary logging format are mostly used for firewalls. However, some malicious events need to be reported quickly so that immediate action can be taken before serious damage is done to the protected network. Therefore firewalls also need an alarming mechanism in addition to the syslog or proprietary logging format whe n ever access control policy of the protected network is violated. Some types of alarm supported by firewalls include Console notification, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Paging notification, E-mail notification etc (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006). Console notification is a warning massage that is presented to the firewall console. The problem with this method of alarm is that, the console needs to be monitored by the network administrator at all times so that necessary action can be taken when an alarm is generated. Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) notification is implemented to create traps which are transferred to the network management system (NMS) monitoring the firewall. Paging notification is setup on the firewall to deliver a page to the network administrator whenever the firewall encounters any event. The message could be an alphanumeric or numeric depending on how the firewall is setup. E-mail notification is similar to paging notification, but in this case, the firewall send an email instead to proper address. 2.6 TYPES OF FIREWALLS Going by firewall definition, firewalls are expected to perform some key functions like, Application Proxy, Network Translation Address, and Packet filtering. 2.6.1 APPLICATION PROXY This is also known as Application Gateway, and it acts as a connection agent between protected network and the external network. Basically, the application proxy is a host on the protected network that is setup as proxy server. Just as the name implies, application proxy function at the application layer of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model and makes sure that all application requests from the secured network is communicated to the external network through the proxy server and no packets passes through from to external network to the secured network until the proxy checks and confirms inbound packets. This firewall support different types of protocols such as a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) (Noonan and Dobrawsky 2006; NetContinuum 2006). 2.6.2 NETWORK ADDRESS (NAT) NAT alter the IP addresses of hosts packets by hiding the genuine IP addresses of secured network hosts and dynamically replacing them with a different IP addresses (Cisco System 2008; Walberg 2007). When request packets are sent from the secured host through the gateway to an external host, the source host address is modified to a different IP address by NAT.à When the reply packets arrives at the gateway, the NAT then replaces the modified address with genuine host address before forwarding it to the host (Walberg 2007).The role played by NAT in a secured network system makes it uneasy for unauthorized access to know: The number of hosts available in the protected network The topology of the network The operating systems the host is running The type of host machine (Cisco System 2008). 2.6.3 PACKET FILTERING. ââ¬Å"Firewalls and IPSec gateways have become major components in the current high speed Internet infrastructure to filter out undesired traffic and protect the integrity and confidentiality of critical trafficâ⬠(Hamed and Al-Shaer 2006). Packet filtering is based on the lay down security rule defined for any network or system. Filtering traffic over the network is big task that involves comprehensive understanding of the network on which it will be setup. This defined policy must always be updated in order to handle the possible network attacks (Hamed and Al-Shaer 2006). 2.6.4 INSTRUCTION DETECTION SYSTEMS. Network penetration attacks are now on the increase as valuable information is being stolen or damaged by the attacker. Many security products have been developed to combat these attacks. Two of such products are Intrusion Prevention systems (IPS) and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS). IDS are software designed to purposely monitor and analysed all the activities (network traffic) on the network for any suspicious threats that may violate the defined network security policies (Scarfone and Mell 2007; Vignam et al 2003). There are varieties of methods IDS uses to detect threats on the network, two of them are, anomaly based IDS, and signature based IDS. 2.6.4.1 ANOMALY BASED IDS Anomaly based IDS is setup to monitor and compare network events against what is defined to be normal network activities which is represented by a profile, in order to detect any deviation from the defined normal events. Some of the events are, comparing the type of bandwidth used, the type of protocols etc and once the IDS identifies any deviation in any of this events, it notifies the network administrator who then take necessary action to stop the intended attack (Scarfone and Mell 2007). 2.6.4.2 SIGNATURE BASED IDS Signature based IDS are designed to monitor and compare packets on the network against the signature database of known malicious attacks or threats. This type of IDS is efficient at identifying already known threats but ineffective at identifying new threats which are not currently defined in the signature database, therefore giving way to network attacks (Scarfone and Mell 2007). 2.6.5 INTRUSION PREVENTION SYSTEMS (IPS). IPS are proactive security products which can be software or hardware used to identify malicious packets and also to prevent such packets from gaining entry in the networks (Ierace et al 2005, Botwicz et al 2006). IPS is another form of firewall which is basically designed to detect irregularity in regular network traffic and likewise to stop possible network attacks such as Denial of service attacks. They are capable of dropping malicious packets and disconnecting any connection suspected to be illegal before such traffic get to the protected host. Just like a typical firewall, IPS makes use of define rules in the system setup to determine the action to take on any traffic and this could be to allow or block the traffic. IPS makes use of stateful packet analysis to protect the network. Similarly, IPS is capable of performing signature matching, application protocol validation etc as a means of detecting attacks on the network (Ierace et al 2005). As good as IPS are, they also have t heir downsides as well. One of it is the problem of false positive and false negative. False positive is a situation where legitimate traffic is been identified to be malicious and thereby resulting to the IPS blocking such traffic on the network. False negative on the other hand is when malicious traffic is be identified by the IPS as legitimate traffic thereby allowing such traffic to pass through the IPS to the protected network (Ierace N et al 2005). 2.7 SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE FIREWALLS 2.7.1 SOFTWARE FIREWALLS Software-based firewalls are computers installed software for filtering packets (Permpootanalarp and Rujimethabhas 2001). These are programs setup either on personal computers or on network servers (Web servers and Email severs) operating system. Once the software is installed and proper security polices are defined, the systems (personal computers or servers) assume the role of a firewall. Software firewalls are second line of defence after hardware firewalls in situations where both are used for network security. Also software firewalls can be installed on different operating system such as, Windows Operating Systems, Mac operating system, Novel Netware, Linux Kernel, and UNIX Kernel etc. The function of these firewalls is, filtering distorted network traffic. There are several software firewall some of which include, Online Armor firewall, McAfee Personal Firewall, Zone Alarm, Norton Personal Firewall, Black Ice Defender, Sygate Personal Firewall, Panda Firewall, The DoorStop X Fi rewall etc (Lugo Parker 2005). When designing a software firewall two keys things are considered. These are, per-packet filtering and a per-process filtering. The pre-packet filter is design to search for distorted packets, port scan detection and checking if the packets are accepted into the protocol stack. In the same vein, pre-process filter is the designed to check if a process is allowed to begin a connection to the secured network or not (Lugo and Parker 2005). It should be noted that there are different implantations of all Firewalls. While some are built into the operating system others are add-ons. Examples of built-in firewalls are windows based firewall and Linux based. 2.7.2 WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM BASED FIREWALL. In operating system design, security features is one important aspect that is greatly considered. This is a challenge the software giant (Microsoft) as always made sure they implement is their products. In the software industry, Mi
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Antony and Octavio :: Antony Octavio Essays
Chronological analysis of the strengthening of Octavius compared with the errors made by Antony. DATE (BC) Factors affecting Antony Factors affecting Octavius 42BC Battle of Philippi. With Lepidus, Antony led an armed force into Macedonia to face the conspirators who killed Caesar. The "Republican" conspirators had 19 legions at their command (about 120000 men), against the triumvir's 28 legions (about 170000). The triumvirs won resoundingly, and the leaders (Brutus and Cassius) committed suicide. Triumvirs firmly in control of Roman Government. Lepidus, the weaker triumvir, was clearly friendly towards Antony. This is exemplified by his full support against the conspirators despite Octavius' absence, and his previous support for Antony during civil war against Octavius. Battle of Philippi. Octavius was sick during the campaign, and did not play a significant role in its events. However, through his triumviral allies he had avenged the death of his uncle. 42/1BC Division of the Empire. Antony received most of Gaul, but Cisalpine Gaul was redefined as part of Italia. Influence over government in Rome, possibly reduced, as Antony was absent in the provinces to collect taxes and appease veteran soldiers. Lepidus (Antony's ally) was allocated Africa to put him at a distance from Antony and Octavius who divided the European empire between them. Division of the Empire. Octavius received the two Spanish provinces, and Sicily and Sardinia. He settled many of his veterans in Italy, giving him significant influence over the government in the capital. He was also responsible for defeating Sextius Pompey who was causing havoc in Sicily, and a major threat to Rome. 40 Triumvirate strengthened. Antony marries Octavia, sister of the similarly named triumvir. Antony moves East. Power transferred so that he controlled all provinces east of Macedonia (inclusive). Further decrease of influence in Rome as Octavius controls the west, despite the premise of "sharing Italy". Lepidus further marginalised in triumvirate. Triumvirate strengthened. Genuine(?) move by Octavius to maintain alliance through marriage. Octavius takes all of the west. All provinces west of Illyricium were taken over by Octavius' legions. 39 Sextius Pompey appeased by being given Sardinia and Sicily. Sextius Pompey appeased by being given Sardinia and Sicily. 38 Antony discouraged by expansion of Octavius. (read the right column first). Possibly disgruntled by Octavius' acquisition of more territory than was agreed, Antony attacks Octavius' breaking of the 39BC treaty. However, he still sends help to crush Pompey. Makes his capital in Athens. Decline of influence in Rome. (No evidence to suggest he had visited Rome since 41?
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Medias Influences on the Development of a Womans Self-Esteem Essay ex
Media's Influences on the Development of a Woman's Self-Esteem As young women grow up it is a time for learning. This time can be easier to handle by some than others. For some it can be a revelation of new experiences and ideas, but for other it can also be a difficult, stressful time for those trying to discover themselves. This can affect themselves as well as those around them. During this time, young women are likely to identify with those around them, their peers. Identifying with peers can help young women along by giving them the opportunity to see how others deal with problems similar to their own and by offering their own advice to those who need it. Along with this, young women are liable to worry about their body image, and may want to conform to those who have achieved the 'desired' image. This image may be thin, muscular, or just average. This can be attributed to the media's portrayal of women (Body Image & Advertising). The majority of women in ads; television, movies, and magazines are thin and are seen as attractive because of this. Young women will see these women and may want their image as their own, and some will go to any lengths to acquire this (Harrison, K). This in turn could lead to the idea that during this process of change and growing up, young women are often concerned about their physical image, which is influenced by the media (ibid). Young women may want to change their body image for a number of reasons. When women compare themselves to models and pictures of people in advertisements, they believe the only way they will get noticed is if they also appear the in the same image of the models (Henderson-King & Henderson-King). During adolescence, they may feel unsatisfied with their bodies and want to change how they look just to fit in (Beauty and Body Image in the Media). Also, young women look up to a number of people, namely celebrities, and try to adopt their style as their own in hopes of being able to fit in. Many celebrities are thin (Henderson-King & Henderson-King. The media widely popularizes the female figure as very thin. This all has its roots to 1959 and the introduction of the Barbie Doll and then in 1967 the ?waif look? entered our society when Leslie Hornby, known as Twiggy, began showing up in the media. The majority of actresses throughout the history of media have been thin (Beauty and Body... ...ffects on Women?s body esteem: social and individual difference factors. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27, 399. Retrieved from InfoTrac, Web database. Media exposure drives how satisfied women and girls are about body image. Pharma Business Week, 1, 13. Retrieved from InfoTrac Web database. Rabak-Wagener, J., Eickhoff-Shemek, J., & Kelly-Vance, L., (2004). Participation in a media analysis program helped young women change their beliefs about body image, but their behaviors stayed similar. Journal of American College Health, 47, 29. Retrieved from RDS database. Simplistic explanations regarding women and body image neglect other factors. Mental Health Weekly Digest, 1, 16. Retrieved September 18, 2004, from InfoTrac Web database. Spaeth Cherry, s., (2004). Parents Can Help Prevent Eating Disorders. Opposing Viewpoints: Eating Disorders, 1, 1. Retrieved from Opposing Viewpoints Resource center. TV food ads: thin actors make then thin on reality. Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, 19, 2. Retrieved from InfoTrac Web database. Walling, A., (1990). Teenagers and Television. American Family Physician, 42, 638. Retrieved from InfoTrac Web database. Media's Influences on the Development of a Woman's Self-Esteem Essay ex Media's Influences on the Development of a Woman's Self-Esteem As young women grow up it is a time for learning. This time can be easier to handle by some than others. For some it can be a revelation of new experiences and ideas, but for other it can also be a difficult, stressful time for those trying to discover themselves. This can affect themselves as well as those around them. During this time, young women are likely to identify with those around them, their peers. Identifying with peers can help young women along by giving them the opportunity to see how others deal with problems similar to their own and by offering their own advice to those who need it. Along with this, young women are liable to worry about their body image, and may want to conform to those who have achieved the 'desired' image. This image may be thin, muscular, or just average. This can be attributed to the media's portrayal of women (Body Image & Advertising). The majority of women in ads; television, movies, and magazines are thin and are seen as attractive because of this. Young women will see these women and may want their image as their own, and some will go to any lengths to acquire this (Harrison, K). This in turn could lead to the idea that during this process of change and growing up, young women are often concerned about their physical image, which is influenced by the media (ibid). Young women may want to change their body image for a number of reasons. When women compare themselves to models and pictures of people in advertisements, they believe the only way they will get noticed is if they also appear the in the same image of the models (Henderson-King & Henderson-King). During adolescence, they may feel unsatisfied with their bodies and want to change how they look just to fit in (Beauty and Body Image in the Media). Also, young women look up to a number of people, namely celebrities, and try to adopt their style as their own in hopes of being able to fit in. Many celebrities are thin (Henderson-King & Henderson-King. The media widely popularizes the female figure as very thin. This all has its roots to 1959 and the introduction of the Barbie Doll and then in 1967 the ?waif look? entered our society when Leslie Hornby, known as Twiggy, began showing up in the media. The majority of actresses throughout the history of media have been thin (Beauty and Body... ...ffects on Women?s body esteem: social and individual difference factors. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27, 399. Retrieved from InfoTrac, Web database. Media exposure drives how satisfied women and girls are about body image. Pharma Business Week, 1, 13. Retrieved from InfoTrac Web database. Rabak-Wagener, J., Eickhoff-Shemek, J., & Kelly-Vance, L., (2004). Participation in a media analysis program helped young women change their beliefs about body image, but their behaviors stayed similar. Journal of American College Health, 47, 29. Retrieved from RDS database. Simplistic explanations regarding women and body image neglect other factors. Mental Health Weekly Digest, 1, 16. Retrieved September 18, 2004, from InfoTrac Web database. Spaeth Cherry, s., (2004). Parents Can Help Prevent Eating Disorders. Opposing Viewpoints: Eating Disorders, 1, 1. Retrieved from Opposing Viewpoints Resource center. TV food ads: thin actors make then thin on reality. Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, 19, 2. Retrieved from InfoTrac Web database. Walling, A., (1990). Teenagers and Television. American Family Physician, 42, 638. Retrieved from InfoTrac Web database.
The New Normal Challenges Societal Issues
Ryan Murphy is known for his ability to keep things interesting, and in his new sitcom The New Normal he has not fallen short on that expectations. In this series Bryan and David, a happy gay couple living in L. A. with respectable jobs, seem to have everything except for the one thing they want most, a child. The couple hires Goldie, a young mother who had just left her adulterous husband in Ohio and ran away to L. A. with daughter, Shania, to start over and forget her old life, to be a surrogate mother for them.Jane, Goldie's conservative and overly bigoted grandmother, follows them against her granddaughter's wishes, causing an uproar in Goldieââ¬â¢s new life in the city because she is so disproving of Goldieââ¬â¢s decision to be a surrogate and Bryan and Davidââ¬â¢s lifestyle. Immediately after airing in September of 2012, the show was criticized tremendously. The people of the broadcasting network in Salt Lake City, Utah were so offended by the show that they went on to ban the show from their show time schedule. NBC Utah affiliate KSL-TV, the network which banned the show from airing in Utah, says that the show was ââ¬Å"inappropriate on several dimensions. They went on to say that the dialogue was excessively rude and crude and the scenes were too explicit and the characterizations seem offensive. KSL-TV also insist that it challenges traditional family values and portrays bad role models. The trouble the show experienced from attempting to air in Utah was not the only trouble the show had endured. In July, before the show aired, One Million Moms publicly announced that they would be boycotting the show for being harmful to our society, accusing the dialogue of being too offensive.Many members of the gay community also claimed to be boycotting the show for portraying offensive stereotypes of homosexuals. I must admit that I can see how the dialogue seems excessively crude and offensive. For example, in the pilot alone Jane uses the offensive ph rases; ââ¬Å"gay peacocksâ⬠, ââ¬Å"ass campersâ⬠, ââ¬Å"Jewed done the costâ⬠, and ââ¬Å"salami smokersâ⬠. Itââ¬â¢s easy to see how people could take her bigoted words offensively. Itââ¬â¢s obvious from her first scene in the show that her prejudices are very overzealous and over the top but that is precisely the point.Nana seems as a nasty, hateful woman who has a potty mouth that anyone with a moral conscience would not want to replicate. Jane is used to show a societal problem in America today. A discussion of her behavior through the show should be of interest to more than just the fans and critics. Beyond these limited audiences, Nana is relevant to everyone in America because her bigotry was used by Ryan Murphy to display a nasty problem in our nation today. Her prejudice towards everyone that surrounds her is a mockery of many bigoted minds of Americans.Indeed, it does seem excessive, but Murphy wanted to make sure the point of how offensive and wrong this behavior is was clear. While I see how this crass behavior and crude dialogue is inappropriate for children, the show is a somewhat late night sitcom with a target audience of adults. As adults who have experienced shows with far worse dialogues such as Jersey Shore, we should be able to stomach the harmless dialogue of The New Normal especially when there is such an important point behind it. Shows like Jersey Shore arenââ¬â¢t refused to air because of their horrible dialogues because of Americansââ¬â¢ love for their trash TV.I believe that point shows that the problem with this show is truly just bigotry towards gay couples having children not the dialogue, which is Murphyââ¬â¢s entire point of making this show. Itââ¬â¢s not just about entertaining television, itââ¬â¢s about making a stance on the problematic issue in America of bigotry and prejudice. The complaints given to show that it challenges family values seems to stem from the fact that it isnâ⠬â¢t a traditional nuclear family that is headed by a man and woman. Many happen to have a major issue with gay couples creating a family. However, the show proves that the couple holds family values.Firstly and most importantly they know and show how much they will love and provide for their child. They also show many other important family values and attributes. For example Bryan shows what a great father he will be and the confidence he will instill in his child in the second episode ââ¬Å"Sofaââ¬â¢s Choiceâ⬠when he talks to Shania because sheââ¬â¢s having trouble fitting in at her new school. Shania says ââ¬Å"Those kids donââ¬â¢t get me at allâ⬠Bryan replies ââ¬Å"When I was in school no one got me either. This might be hard to believe Shania but I didnââ¬â¢t always fit in like I do now.I always felt different just like youâ⬠Shania shouts ââ¬Å"Bryan Iââ¬â¢m a weirdo and I donââ¬â¢t want to be. I just want to be normal. â⬠Bryan mat ter-of-factly says ââ¬Å"Thatââ¬â¢s a stupid short sided wish. â⬠Bryan then moves to the couch to sit beside Shania and puts his arm around her comfortingly and says ââ¬Å"You donââ¬â¢t know this yet, but the most unique parts of you are also the ones that lead you to greatness. â⬠Shania says ââ¬Å"How come you get me but my own mom doesnââ¬â¢t? â⬠Bryan says ââ¬Å"Your mom may not completely get you, but she lets you be who you are and she loves you for it, and thatââ¬â¢s what makes her a great mom.Donââ¬â¢t be afraid to be who you are, Shania because youââ¬â¢re spectacular. â⬠This shows how supportive and problem solving he can be as a dad but also shows that he thinks it is very important for children to be accepted and loved no matter who they are and that they know itââ¬â¢s wonderful to be the person they are no matter what anyone else says. In the episode ââ¬Å"Stay-at-home Dadâ⬠David and Bryan decide to send Goldie on a s pa vacation and request to babysit Shania while she is gone because they want to experience and prepare for being stay at home dads.While Goldie is gone David takes off time from his very important job as a doctor to wake up early to make her breakfast and study before taking her to school. This is an example of how he will be a responsible dad who will compromise the job he loves to take care of his kid. These are the family values and concern you must have for your children in order to be great parents, and while David and Bryan donââ¬â¢t have everything about parenting figured out ,because no one does before having children, they have the mindset, love, and values that can potentially make great parents.While the show does show some unexpected characters and a family with an unusual dynamic it is in no way lacking great role models. While the adult characters in no way lack their fair share of dysfunction they are also great role models for America and for the young girl in th e show Shania. The excerpt from the beginning of the previous paragraph is also a great example of how Bryan is an exceptional role model for Shania. Goldie while often times seems to act on a whim is a great role model.In the same episode Bryan and David decide that they want Goldie and Shania to live in their luxurious guest house instead of their frumpy little house. Goldie turns the house down because she didnââ¬â¢t earn it and she wants to be a successful independent woman to give her daughter a great example so that one day she can become one as well. The most confrontational adult in the show is Nana, Jane. While her bigotry is repulsive she does not lack other admirable qualities.Despite her overzealous prejudice that seems to constantly be spewing from her mouth, she is a strong independent woman and a great grandmother. When Goldie and Shania run away to California, Nana follows them and decides to stay even though she is disproving of Goldieââ¬â¢s decision and Bryan and Davidââ¬â¢s lifestyle because she cannot stand the thought of not being there to spend time with and protect her family. Nana also raised Goldie from eight years old when her daughter decided she didnââ¬â¢t want to and ran away. She also housed Goldie and Shania up until they ran away to California.All of those attributes are wonderful to have, but the most important is that she has always been there for her family no matter what. Which Goldie admits in the episode ââ¬Å"The Para-New Normalâ⬠, the Halloween episode, after an argument theyââ¬â¢ve had about Goldie moving back to Ohio. Goldie says ââ¬Å"God Nana, sometimes you make me so crazy, you know that? The things you say. â⬠Nana replies ââ¬Å"I am what I am, Iââ¬â¢m not about to change now. â⬠Goldie recedes ââ¬Å"Well, then I guess I need to remember that. When I saw you trick-or-treating tonight, the way you were with Shania.It made me think. You are the one person who has always been there for me. The only one actually. â⬠Goldie goes on to remember when her Nana took her trick-or-treating every year when she was young because her mother wasnââ¬â¢t there. ââ¬Å"I like to think that Iââ¬â¢m a good mom, Nana, but I didnââ¬â¢t learn that from my mom. I learned it from you. Thank you for always being there for us. â⬠Nana responds ââ¬Å"Well, I couldnââ¬â¢t just leave you. â⬠ââ¬Å"Well of course you could have, but you didnââ¬â¢t. And even now that Iââ¬â¢m all grown up with people and choices that you donââ¬â¢t understand stillâ⬠¦. ou still havenââ¬â¢t left. â⬠It may have taken Goldie a long time to realize it but her Nana is a great role model for her and in many of the same ways is for America. Even the child in this show is a great role model because she learns to be proud of who she is with the help of the adults around her and doesnââ¬â¢t try to hide her quirky ways which is a great thing to show America, becau se no one should ever be ashamed of who they are. Many people see The New Normalââ¬â¢s message to be that the new normal of families in America will be led by a gay couple.This however, is a misunderstanding. The New Normalââ¬â¢s message is that no matter how untraditional a family is it is still a family with the same amount of love and values as traditional families. In the pilot this was made clear by giving examples of many other untraditional families. It showed a midget woman who married a man of normal height and had a daughter who was 6 years old and almost taller than her mother, a single mom of two twin toddlers who was much older than most new mothers; in fact, she looks old enough to be their grandmother.They even go as far to mention examples from pop culture today such as Barack Obama and Mariah Carey, who were both raised by what Bryan refers to as ââ¬Å"half-rican Americanâ⬠Grandmothers. When the show says ââ¬Å"abnormal in the new normalâ⬠it is n ot to say that families led by gay couples in the only new normal but that none of these untraditional families should be seen as anything less than the average traditional family. The New Normal defies stereotypes in many different ways. Although the show does show one of the gay men as a very effeminate male, Bryan.Which is why I can understand why many people in the gay community show offense as they see this as portrayal of a stereotypical gay men. However Bryanââ¬â¢s character is meant to portray the writer of The New Normal, Ryan Murphy. I think the character is important to show that effeminate males do exists and to show Ryan Murphyââ¬â¢s side of things and how the bigotry of others has affected him. Murphy saw it was important to show his own personal experiences in the show which is why he decided to create a character based on himself.It is not as if the show portrays all gay men to be effeminate. Bryanââ¬â¢s partner, David, is a gay man who is the average guyâ⠬â¢s guy with no interest in fashion, and the many other favored interest of his partner, the ââ¬Å"stereotypical gay man. â⬠David is a doctor who loves to watch football and play sports. While the show does show someone who does fit a stereotype, Davidââ¬â¢s character defies said stereotype because he is a gay man who this prejudice doesnââ¬â¢t apply to. The show also defies the common stereotype that all black people are content with being bottom feeders of society.Rocky, Bryanââ¬â¢s assistant, is a very accomplished black woman with very high aspirations and goals. She has come a long way from where she grew up in an impoverished home to become an assistant for a producer of a very famous TV show. She is an example of a much empowered black woman who has worked very hard to be successful. Though The New Normal is just a TV show, it provides a lens through which we can examine the societal problems of bigotry and prejudice. Indeed, many problems such as the way p eople throughout the show treat David and Bryan as if they are less than their equal in the show can be seen in real life.For example, many people in America today have shown their disapproval of homosexuals by not only denying them adoption and marriage equality but by going as far as committing hate crimes against them. But the prejudice in the show and in real life doesnââ¬â¢t stop there; it is directed at anyone who is different by race, sexuality, living conditions, and plenty of others thing. The point of this show is to show people that we are all humans with flaws and great qualities and that everyone should be treated equally. We do live in the land of the free after all.
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