METHOD FOR SECURE CONNECTION INITIATION WITH HOSTS BEHIND FIREWALLS

摘要

The invention is directed to an inter-host signaling protocol, referred to herein as Knock-On Protocol (KOP), for establishing in a secure manner a connection with a host behind firewall. Some embodiments of the invention are directed to a Knock-On Feature (KOF) used in intermediate firewalls or network address translators to enable connection establishment through the FW or NAT to hosts behind the FW or NAT. Advantageously the KOF may include a prefix-based protection feature to protect against address spoofing used in a message flood attack.