Multi-Tech Systems RF600, RF660, RF760

Glossary

Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. RouteFinderVPN RF760/660/600VPN User Guide (PN S000323D) 181

LILO (LInux LOader) – LILO is a small program that sits on the master boot record of a hard drive or on the boot sector of a

partition. LILO is used to start the loading process of the Linux kernel. (There are other programs that can also do this, such

as grub. Most distributions/versions of Linux use LILO.) You can set up lilo to require a password to start to load the Linux

kernel, or you can set it up to require a password if you want to pass any extra options to the Linux kernel before it starts

Mapping – Logically associating one set of values (such as addresses on one network) with values or quantities on another

set (such as devices on another network). Examples include name-address mapping, inter-network route mapping, and

DNAT port mapping. Name resolution (name to address mapping) is another example.

Masquerading – The concealing of internal network information (LAN) form the outside. For example, the computer of a

colleague with the IP address is inside a masked network. All the computers inside his network are assigned one single,

official IP address (i.e. if he starts an HTTP request into the Internet, his IP address is replaced by the IP address of the

external network card). This way, the data packet entering the external network (Internet) contains no internal information.

The answer to the request is recognized by the firewall and diverted to the requesting computer.

MD5 (Message Digest 5) – A one-way hashing algorithm that produces a 128-bit hash. It computes a secure, irreversible,

cryptographically strong hash value for a document. The MD5 algorithm is documented in IETF RFC 1321.

Message Digests – Mathematical functions (aka, one-way hashes) that are easy to compute but nearly impossible to

reverse. The message digest serves as a "fingerprint" for data. As such, it is an element of most data security mechanisms

(e.g., Digital Signatures, SSL, etc.). The hashing function takes variable-length data as input, performs a function on it, and

generates a fixed-length hash value.

MPPE (Microsoft Point-to-Point Encryption) – An encryption technology developed by Microsoft to encrypt point-to-point

links. The PPP connections can be over a VPN tunnel or over a dial-up line. MPPE is a feature of Microsoft's MPPC scheme

for compressing PPP packets. The MPPC algorithm was designed to optimize bandwidth utilization in supporting multiple

simultaneous connections. MPPE uses the RC4 algorithm, with either 40-bit or 128-bit keys, and all MPPE keys are derived

from clear text authentication of the user password. The RouteFinder supports MPPE 40-bit/128-bit encryption.

Name Resolution – The process of mapping a name into its corresponding address.

NAT (Network Address Translation) – IP NAT is comprised of a series of IETF standards covering various

implementations of the IP Network Address Translator. NAT translates multiple IP addresses on the private LAN to one

public address that is sent out to the Internet. This adds a level of security since the address of a PC connected to the

private LAN is never transmitted on the Internet.

Netfilter – The Linux packet filter and network address translation (NAT) system that aims to reduce the number of filter

points and to separate the filtering function from the NAT function. Netfilter is derived from the Linux ipchains and the Unix

ipfilter packet filtering systems. The RouteFinder uses a Linux 2.4 kernel (and, for example, iptables for the internal logic in

the netfilter code).

Network Card – The Ethernet PC card used to connect the RouteFinder to the internal, external or DMZ network (aka: NIC

or NIC card).

NIC (Network Interface Card) – The Ethernet PC card used to connect the RouteFinder to the internal, external or DMZ

network (aka, Network Card).

Nslookup – A Unix program for accessing name servers. The main use is the display of IP names for a given IP address

and vice versa. Beyond that, other information can also be displayed (e.g., aliases).

Packet Filter – An operation that blocks traffic based on a defined set of filter "rules" (e.g., IP address or port number

filtering).

PCT (Private Communications Technology) – A protocol developed by Microsoft that is considered more secure than

SSL2. (Note that some web sites may not support the PCT protocol.)

PING (Packet InterNet Groper) – A program to test reachability of destinations by sending an ICMP echo request and

waiting for a reply. The term is also used as a verb: "Ping host X to see if it is up."

PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) – Consists of end entities that possess key pairs, certification authorities, certificate

repositories (directories), and all of the other components, software, and entities required when using public key

cryptography.

Plaintext – Information (text) which has not been encrypted. (The opposite is ciphertext.)

PFS (Perfect Forward Secrecy) – Refers to the notion that any single key being compromised will permit access to only

data protected by that single key. In order for PFS to exist, the key used to protect transmission of data must not be used to

derive any additional keys. If the key used to protect transmission of data was derived from some other keying material, that

material must not be used to derive any more keys. Sometimes referred to as Perfect Secret Forwarding, PSF is a security

method that ensures that the new key of a key exchange is in no way based on the information of an old key and is therefore

unambiguous. If an old key is found or calculated, no conclusions can be drawn about the new key. On the RouteFinder,

PFS is configured in VPN > IPSec.