Software Firewall

Software firewalls offer basic protection from both inside and outside attacks to your computer and they do allow you to move from one network to another. In contrast, hardware firewalls offer additional protection that is suitable enough to hide more than one computer from harm through a secure platform.

Software firewalls do a reasonable job of offering protection but the problem is that most people never quite figure out how to configure them correctly therefore they can never get maximum protection if they are not completely optimized. When you are setting up a software firewall you are able to specify which applications should be allowed to communicate over the Internet from your computer.

If it is not on the list of accepted applications then they would either be blocked or would need permission before they are allowed to pass. Software firewalls are also useful in cases where an email worm with its own server attempts to pass through the router and is aborted because it does not come from a trusted origin.  For that matter, the application's attempt to use any port would be blocked if the firewall was configured that way.

A disadvantage to software firewalls is that they can only protect the computer that they are installed on. This would be alright if it is only one computer that you need to protect but if you are in any type of business, having to buy, install, and configure a software firewall on each and every computer can be time consuming and expensive.

This is when it would be more advantageous to go with a hardware firewall instead. However it is software firewalls that offer the best protection against such things as Trojans or email worms. Of course you should never rely solely on any type of firewall to protect you from such things as viruses and worms. You should always use an anti virus software supplement in conjunction with your firewall.

The need for more drastic security measures on computers has increased dramatically just within the past decade. Firewall technology has also had to make some major changes to accommodate those needs.

Originally there was just the traditional firewall which was fairly simple but as hackers got more sophisticated so did firewalls. There had to be changes made for both small home computer use as well as business use. Experts say that the very best measures of defense are layers of defense which would then include both a software firewall and a hardware firewall.

As a matter of fact you should never layer your firewalls unless you do it in this manner. In other words do not layer with two software firewalls or two hardware firewalls together.

Each hour someone is developing a new worm, Trojan horse, virus, spyware, or something to tear down your firewall with a vengeance. Updating your products regularly, even daily can protect you from attacks. Never make it look harder than it is because be assured that you can get a good level of security with minimal effort and without breaking the bank.