WAFs (Web Application Firewalls) are not new, since they were predominantly employed by major corporations in the past. However, in today’s contemporary web, they’re becoming more popular for the regular site owner to use.
So, what exactly is a web application firewall? In a nutshell, it’s cloud-based security that protects websites from being hacked and corrupted. Sucuri’s firewall is set up as a reverse proxy, which means it examines all HTTP(s) requests before they reach the web server. On a basic level, having a “middle man” between the site visitor and the origin server is beneficial in ensuring that nothing dangerous gets through.
There’s nothing between a prospective attacker and the web application if there isn’t one. They may send any requests they want, thus the victim’s server must deal with the malicious requests.
The WAF focuses on the application layer, which is layer 7. By intercepting all incoming traffic and doing real-time analysis of all HTTP/HTTPS requests, it is possible to neutralize assaults. It may be used to give further security to websites and APIs by restricting unusual traffic using CAPTCHA tests to ensure that the traffic is coming from a person rather than a bot. Certain restrictions, such as authorized geo-locations, user agents, and IP addresses, may also be customized by site owners.
Why Should You Use a WAF?
Any site owner should prioritize website security as early as feasible and on a regular basis. With the expanding number of vulnerabilities and assaults on the internet, there’s always the possibility that something may slip through the gaps.
However, with a firewall in place, the possibilities of this occurring are much reduced. Because many website owners do not have the time or resources to spend to their own in-house security staff, the most natural approach in this scenario would be to entrust the job to professional security companies.
With a middle man between the web application and the visitor, anything bad may be intercept before it does significant harm.
It’s vital to distinguish between a plugin and a full-fledged firewall, however. While a plugin may keep an eye on the site for malicious behavior, it can’t stop an attack from happening in the first place.
What Is a Web Application Firewall and How Do I Set It Up?
To set up a WAF, you’ll need to figure out where your DNS is controlling. You may achieve this by running the following command on a terminal:
$ ns +short yourdomain.com dig
If this is unknown terrain, you may verify the Nameservers using a site like whoishostingthis.com or who.is. Your nameservers will need to be modify, so make sure you’re log in before proceeding.
After you’ve signed in, go to the DNS management portion of your account. If you’re not sure where this is, a hosting expert should be able to help. You’ll want to change the main A record (@) to the WAF IP address assign after entering the DNS panel, or you may alter the Nameservers if you wish DNS to be controlled someplace else.
Issue of an SSL certificate
If your site uses an SSL certificate (HTTPS), you’ll want to ensure sure an SSL is place on the firewall before activating it, since this might cause short outage.
Because this warning may repel visitors, it’s critical to set up an SSL on the firewall before changing DNS. You may either submit your own SSL certificate and Private Key to our WAF in the HTTPS/SSL section or request our free SSL to be deploy instead.
Prior to activation, a WAF must be test.
You may test how the site will look behind the firewall after installing an SSL certificate before activating it. To do so, you’ll need to update your local host file first. You’ll need to copy the current hosting IP address, which can be find on the firewall dashboard to the left in the Hosting IP Address column.
This is how to accomplish it on Windows and Mac, according to our tutorial. You’re all set after testing the site and ensuring there are no lingering timeout messages or SSL warnings. The DNS may now be update to point to the firewall.
Final Thoughts
While learning about website security might be tough at times, it is vital to achieve client trust. Having a process to address vulnerabilities before they are exploiting may help decrease security concerns. As a site owner, having a Firewall in place is still one of the most sensible choices you can make.
I hope this has given you a better understanding of why a WAF is vital, how it works, and how to properly install one.
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