What is a Firewall?
If you are using internet at home or office,you might have come across this term,firewall.Here’s what you need to know about it-
A firewall is a program that filters all the information coming through the internet to your private network.It will prevent flagged information from entering your network and harm your computer,through filters.
A firewall is very essential for any connection,especially in big companies where many computers have access to internet. In such case,the company can set some rules,like say only one of the twenty computers can have access to FTP or other web servers. A firewall gives a company great control over how people use the network. Companies can hire a company like Firewall Technical IT Services for an extensive set up.
But how does it work?
A firewall uses one or more of these methods-Packet filtering,Proxy service,Stateful inspection.Packets or chunk of data which pass through the filters are sent in and the rest are discarded .In proxy service method, Information from the Internet is retrieved by the firewall and then sent to the requesting system and vice versa.Stateful inspection,A newer method that doesn’t examine the contents of each packet but instead compares certain key parts of the packet to a database of trusted information. Information traveling from inside the firewall to the outside is monitored for specific defining characteristics, then incoming information is compared to these characteristics. If the comparison yields a reasonable match, the information is allowed through. Otherwise it is discarded.
What does firewall protect from?
Remote login,Application backdoors(some progs contain bugs that provide hidden access),SMTP session hijacking(can send unsolicited mass junk emails),Operating system bugs,Denial of service(crawls),E-mail bombs(innumerable e-mails),Viruses,Spam,Source routing.
Which one should I choose?
If you want to go with a FREE one then I would suggest only one as of mine as it is totally free and no, services are disabled. It is maintained by a open source community. It has a high detection rate and you don’t get those annoying pop-ups to register.
Comodo Internet security
Description:
Comodo claim that their firewall is unique in that it passes all known leak tests to ensure the integrity of data entering and exiting your system. Comodo has put firewall through all kinds of sophisticated tests to ensure its firewall powerful enough to ward off these attacks with default settings. No other firewall has had to work this hard.
- PC Magazine Online’s Editor’s Choice
- Secures against internal and external attacks
- Blocks internet access to malicious Trojan programs
- Safeguards your Personal data against theft
- Delivers total end-point security for Personal Computers and Networks
Technical Details:
| Title: | Comodo Internet Security 4.0.141842 |
| Filename: | cisfree_installer_x86.exe |
| File size: | 59.34MB (62,223,760 bytes) |
| Requirements: | Windows XP / 2003 / Vista / Windows7 |
| Languages: | en-US, es-ES, ja-JP, pl-PL |
| License: | Freeware |
| Date added: | April 13, 2010 |
| Author: | Comodo |
If you want to download the software please Click Here.
But if you want to go with a Paid version of Firewall, then there are many options for you. I will enlist some of the top ranking ones for you. as of today.
1. Zone Alarm Pro 2010
Features
- Free version upgrades
- Two-way Firewall
- Best alternative. Wireless PC protection
- Multi-layered security for your PC
- Quarantine suspicious attachments
- Compatible with anti-virus software
- Complete Package
It is fully compatible with major antivirus softwares and Windows operating system. It is very robust and also improves on the original Windows firewall.
2.Online Armour Personal Firewall
Features
- Easy to use
- Easy on system resources
- Excellent protection
- Advanced features
It is a robust Firewall which can stop almost all the intrusion attempts. The FREE version is not so effective as the paid version as the updates are not available. If you want to use a free firewall it would be the best choice to go with the Comodo.
3.Outpost Firewall
Features
- Preemptive threat protection
- Self-protection
- Essential spyware protection
- Connection security
- Application access control
- Comprehensive coverage
It is good choice for the users who want a proactive preventive measures against hackers, but also want to go smooth on the system resources.
There are several other choices also, and the top position doesn’t always remain constant. It depends on several factors and upgrades provided from the company. If you suspect that your computer is infected you should certainly read the previous post about how to effectively remove them. To read the previous post Click Here.
