SL> What I'm talking about is a separate firewall (from the BBS
 SL> software)  that does some deep level packet inspection (even simple

this is known as an IDS, Intrusion Detection System... snort is the current
base one being used... surricata is breaking new ground and coming up,
though...

both products scan the stream... they don't really care about the
"level"... they also have the ability to scan encrypted streams,
IIRC... i know my IDS set up does and warns be about things while it is
slamming the door shut on others ;)

)\/(ark