A firewall is a security system that can be hardware or software-based, and it controls and monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic based on security rules that have been predefined.
You can think of it much like a digital doorman. A doorman looks at the traffic of people coming in and out of a building, and a firewall looks at packets of data coming in and out of your computer or network.
Why Firewalls Are Important ?
Cyber threats are ever-evolving. Virus and malware, ransomware, unauthorized access....you see them everywhere. Firewalls can:
- Block malicious traffic into your system.
- Prevent unauthorized access to your network.
- Monitor the network for suspicious behaviours.
- Manage security policies across users and devices.
By not having a firewall, you are walking to the front door of your network, opening it wide and inviting an attacker to walk in.
Types of Firewalls
There are many different types of firewalls designed for specific purposes:
Software Firewalls.
This type of firewall is installed directly onto individual computers, and it only controls the traffic that goes through applications or ports.
Eg. Windows Defender Firewall
Hardware Firewalls.
This type of firewall is an actual physical device that lives between the network and the internet and serves as the first line of defence for an organization.
All businesses and enterprise networks use a hardware firewall.
Cloud-Based Firewalls (Firewall-as-a-service)
Cloud-based firewalls are managed by a third-party, and provide protection against attacks across infrastructure and often with the added benefits of scale.
Next Generation Firewalls (NGFW)
Next-generation firewalls are modern firewalls that are advanced and have two, three, or all four of the previous firewalls built-in. They generally also include Internet Protocol Security (IPsec), firewall appliance and a virtual private network (VPN).
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