Firewalls
What is a firewall?
A firewall creates a barrier between trusted and untrusted networks. Firewalls secure your internal network from hackers, and are the gatekeepers of network traffic. They monitor network activity and have the ability to identify and block unwanted traffic such as bad bots attempting to gain control of your private network and devices.
Firewalls are also used to filter out harmful content such as websites serving up malware or inappropriate content, botnets and infected advertising (malvertising) links.
A good firewall will do the following:
- Create a barrier between your trusted internal network and the untrusted Internet.
- Filter and check user access.
- Alert you when unauthorized access is attempted.
- Automate network monitoring tasks.
- Enforce authentication and security rules.
Is the average router or modem I have in my home or business a firewall?
A router is not a firewall. In its purest sense, a router is designed to pass traffic from one network to another, not block it. Its like an airline routing passengers to different terminals without a security checkpoint.
The average routers used in most homes or small businesses do offer some limited firewall features such as Network Address Translation (NAT) which to some extent isolates the private network from the Internet. However this is no substitute for a dedicated firewall.
Does antivirus or anti malware software offer the same protection as a firewall?
In a nutshell? No. A firewall prevents bad things from coming into your computer. An antivirus or anti malware program deals with an infection that may have slipped past the firewall onto your computer or device.
Types of Firewalls
There are different types of firewalls. The most common type that users encounter are software (client) firewalls, such as those included with modern Windows and MacOS computers. While the client firewall is protecting your computer, what about the network? Lets start by looking at the different types of firewalls:
Hardware: This is a device that is connected between your Internet connection (modem) and your internal network. Firewalls, nowadays, have routing capabilities. Before forwarding the traffic to its destination, it is inspected for malicious or unwanted content. If the content is found to be malicious, it is blocked from passing through. It’s like an airport not only routing its passengers to the proper terminal, but now they have to pass through a security checkpoint on the way to the airport terminal.
Software: This type of firewall runs on your computer blocking malicious or unwanted activity from entering or in some cases leaving your computer.
Cloud: Cloud firewalls are simply firewall software running on someones server located in a remote data center. All the local network traffic routs through the cloud firewall before going out to the Internet, and all Internet traffic has to route through the cloud firewall before entering the local network.
Why should I be using a firewall?
A dedicated firewall appliance for the home? Considering current threats? Yes, absolutely! As with everything, security comes at a price. This is no different than keeping your home safe with good quality locks and a burger alarm system.
Every business should not only be running a client firewall, but also a good quality hardware firewall that is regularly maintained and kept up to date. There are numerous manufacturers to choose from.
7 Best Open Source Firewall to Protect Your Network
Modern personal computers that run Apple MacOS and Microsoft Windows already have built in client firewalls. They should be turned on by default.
Instructions to check if Windows 10 firewall is turned on
Instructions to check if your MacOS firewall is turned on
If the builtin solutions are not satisfactory, there are also numerous third party software firewalls to choose from.
Article by: Rick Naujokat
