The Federal Information Processing Standard that defines the requirements of security technologies used in the handling and processing of information within government agencies. (See 802.11i, AES, WPA2).
Glossary
FIPS 140-2
Firewall
A system of software and/or hardware that resides between two networks to prevent access by unauthorized users. The most common use of a firewall is to provide security between a local network and the Internet. Firewalls can make a network appear invisible to the Internet and can block unauthorized and unwanted users from accessing files and systems on the network. Hardware and software firewalls monitor and control the flow of data in and out of computers in both wired and wireless enterprise, business and home networks. They can be set to intercept, analyze and stop a wide range of Internet intruders and hackers. (See Intrusion detection).
FireWire
A high-speed serial bus system defined by the IEEE 1394 standard for input/output technology that connects multimedia and storage peripherals to a PC. FireWire is similar to USB (Universal Serial Bus) and can provide a bandwidth of about 400 Mbps. FireWire was the original brand name for Apple Computer's implementation of the specification. Today many Windows systems have FireWire capabilities, as well. Other names for products that perform the same function include 1394 (Linux) and iLink (Sony).
Firmware
Software routines that are embedded as read-only memory (ROM) in a computer chip or hardware device to prevent modification of the routines. Unlike random access memory (RAM), read-only memory stays intact in the absence of electrical power. Startup routines and low-level input/output instructions are stored in firmware.