Patent ID: 7624434

Claim:
A method of providing security in a network having a network interface device that makes a network connection without a firewall capability in said network interface device that is required by the network for data transfer between the network and a host device using the network interface device, said method comprising: a) allowing, by said network, a connection to said network to be established when the host device uses said network interface device without the required firewall capability only if a firewall device comprising a hardware implemented firewall is coupled to said host device and a configuration integrity check of a software component on said host device passes; b) receiving data from said network over said connection establish via said network interface device; c) processing said data with said hardware implemented firewall; and d) transferring said processed data to said host device; wherein, performing said configuration integrity check by performing a hash on said software component to produce a hash value and comparing said hash value with a stored hash value, wherein, said stored hash value resides on said firewall device.