basic_firewall

Basic Firewall Project

A Python-based simulation of a rule-based firewall designed to monitor and control network traffic. This project includes both a command-line interface (CLI) and a graphical user interface (GUI) for rule management, along with traffic logging and analytics. Check this video to See the demonstration: https://youtu.be/SD6IPPylr8w

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Features

• Rule-Based Access Control: Blocks or allows traffic based on predefined rules stored in a JSON file.
• Traffic Simulation: Generates random traffic to test firewall behavior.
• Logging: Records all actions (block/allow) in a log file for auditing purposes.
• GUI Management: Provides a user-friendly interface for visualizing and managing rules.
• Extensibility: Modular design supports future enhancements like wildcard rules and real-time traffic monitoring.

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Directory Structure

basic_firewall/
├── firewall.py          # Main script for console-based simulation
├── firewall_gui.py      # GUI version of the firewall
├── rules.json           # JSON file to store firewall rules
├── traffic.log          # Log file for traffic actions (auto-created)
└── traffic_generator.py # Optional traffic generation module

File Descriptions

1. firewall.py: Enforces firewall rules and logs actions.
2. firewall_gui.py: Provides a graphical interface for managing rules.
3. rules.json: Stores firewall rules in a structured format.
4. traffic.log: Captures details of all traffic actions for auditing.
5. traffic_generator.py: Simulates random traffic for testing purposes.

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How It Works

Firewall Rules

Rules are stored in rules.json and define actions for specific IP addresses:

{
    "192.168.1.1": "block",
    "192.168.1.4": "block",
    "192.168.1.9": "block",
    "192.168.1.13": "block",
    "192.168.1.16": "block",
    "192.168.1.19": "block"
}

• Key: Represents the IP address.
• Value: Specifies the action (block or allow).

Logging

Traffic actions are logged in traffic.log with details like timestamps, IP addresses, and actions:

2024-12-07 00:42:25 - IP: 192.168.1.19, Action: block
2024-12-07 00:42:25 - IP: 192.168.1.8, Action: allow

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Setup and Installation

Pre-Requisites

• Python Version: Python 3.6 or higher.
• Libraries: tkinter (default in most Python installations), matplotlib (for analytics).

Steps

1. Clone or download the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/dev0558/basic_firewall.git
   cd basic_firewall

2. Install required dependencies:

   pip install matplotlib

3. (Optional) Set up a virtual environment:

   python3 -m venv env
   source env/bin/activate  # On Linux/Mac
   env\Scripts\activate     # On Windows

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Usage

1. Run the Console-Based Firewall

Execute the script to simulate traffic:

python3 firewall.py

2. Launch the GUI

Start the graphical user interface:

python3 firewall_gui.py

3. Simulate Traffic

Generate random traffic for testing:

python3 traffic_generator.py

4. View Logs

Inspect traffic logs for recorded actions:

cat traffic.log

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Observations

• Accurately enforces predefined rules.
• Provides intuitive GUI for rule management.
• Logs ensure traceability and transparency.

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Challenges

1. Ensuring immediate effect of rule changes in the GUI.
2. Handling larger rule sets or wildcard matching.
3. Optimizing GUI responsiveness for heavy traffic.

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Future Enhancements

1. Add wildcard rule support (e.g., 192.168.*).
2. Integrate with live traffic monitoring tools.
3. Introduce threat intelligence integration for blocking malicious IPs.

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please fork the repository and create a pull request for review.

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

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