The Importance of Computer Firewalls

Without a firewall, a computer can be hijacked in a matter of just a few minutes. Although this may seem a bit extreme to some who are used to just turning a computer on and off without any preventative maintenance besides an antivirus protector, which many believe is the answer to all computer problems.

Unfortunately, this is not the case at all.

A firewall blocks malware that would be able to scan your computer to find its vulnerable areas and then attempt to break it while it is at its weakest point. First of all there is only one way to make your computer completely safe from attack and that is either when it is off or unconnected from the Internet.

Other than that there are always vulnerabilities. However, you can make it as close to hacker proof as possible while it is connected to the Internet. The way to do this is to have a personal firewall installed along with anti virus and anti spyware protection. Plus you have to make sure that all three of these are updated on the regular.

Additional protection is available to a network that used a router with a firewall feature. Firewalls protect your computer from outside attacks by guarding it from unnecessary Internet traffic.

They can however be configured to block certain data while letting other data in. The importance of a firewall on your computer can not be underestimated especially for those who are always connected to the Internet.

There are two forms of firewalls, hardware and software. Each one has advantages and disadvantages but more important is the fact that you have a firewall. Here is a little information about both types. Hardware firewalls or network firewalls are external devices. They are positioned between your computer and your network.

These are very powerful firewalls that are great for protecting multiple computers but also offer a great degree of protection for single computer use too. Hardware firewalls have the advantage of being separate devices that run on their own operating systems which allows them to provide an additional line of protection.

The hardware firewalls are more expensive than the other type which seems to be the biggest drawback.
Some operating systems actually offer a built in firewall so you should check it out and see if yours does and make sure that it is enabled even if you are using an external firewall.

If you do not have a built in firewall you can purchase the software very inexpensively from a computer store, software vendors, or ISP. Because there is always risks when downloading anything from the Internet onto your computer try to install your firewall from a CD, DVD or floppy disk. Most commercial firewalls, both hardware and software based are usually already configured.

Just read the documentation that comes along with your firewall to see if the way that yours is configured actually meets your needs. You can usually find more help from tech support from your firewall vendor or your ISP.