What type of packet filtering uses stateful inspection to maintain awareness of all connections?

Stateful filtering is a type of packet filtering that utilizes stateful inspection technology to keep track of the state of active connections and to determine whether a packet is part of an established connection or a new connection attempt. This method enhances security by allowing or denying packets based on the context of a connection rather than just individual packet attributes.

In stateful inspection, the firewall keeps a record of each connection and remembers the state of the connection, such as whether it is in the process of being setup, established, or terminated. This is contrasted with methods such as static filtering, which only examines individual packets based on predefined rules without accounting for the overall connection state.

By utilizing this awareness, stateful filtering can provide more sophisticated and dynamic traffic control that adjusts to the behavior of network traffic, offering improved security by allowing certain kinds of traffic while blocking others based on the context of the traffic flow. This is particularly useful in distinguishing between legitimate and malicious traffic, ensuring that only packets related to authorized connections are permitted through the firewall.