[an error occurred while processing this directive] FreeBSD Handbook : Users, groups and security : Firewalls : What does IPFW allow me to do?
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6.4.2. What does IPFW allow me to do?

IPFW, the software supplied with FreeBSD, is a packet filtering and accounting system which resides in the kernel, and has a user-land control utility, ipfw(8). Together, they allow you to define and query the rules currently used by the kernel in its routing decisions.

There are two related parts to IPFW. The firewall section allows you to perform packet filtering. There is also an IP accounting section which allows you to track usage of your router, based on similar rules to the firewall section. This allows you to see (for example) how much traffic your router is getting from a certain machine, or how much WWW (World Wide Web) traffic it is forwarding.

As a result of the way that IPFW is designed, you can use IPFW on non-router machines to perform packet filtering on incoming and outgoing connections. This is a special case of the more general use of IPFW, and the same commands and techniques should be used in this situation.

FreeBSD Handbook : Users, groups and security : Firewalls : What does IPFW allow me to do?
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