Network Firewall

Introducation to Firewall

A firewall is considered as a first line of defense against the unauthorized access, internet hackers and internal and external security threats. A firewall is a software or hardware and it is usually installed and attached with the gateway computer that sits between the private computer and the public computer.  The basic purpose of the firewall is to block the unauthorized access and filter the internet traffic. Once installed, firewall sits in the background and monitors all the incoming and outgoing traffic.  Firewall software provides the convenient interfaces and other features to define the custom rules.  Firewall secures company’s internal network from the unauthorized external access in the form of internet hackers.

Firewall is implemented in the LAN, MAN, WAN and wireless network.  A firewall is specifically installed on the designated computer known as gateway.  Different companies use different firewall products and the main features include logging, reporting, filtering, blocking and monitoring.   The most common firewall techniques are packet filtering, network address translation, application gateway, proxy server and circuit level gateway. Network Firewall A network firewall can be implemented in a variety of ways.  Firewall selection and implementation can be a time consuming process. Organizations with a connection to the internet or any other untrusted network must implement a trustworthy firewall solution for blocking the unauthorized access.  A firewall can be consist of a router, multilayer router, single computer, multiple computer running firewall software and hardware to provide the firewall functionalities. The major functionalities of the firewall as mentioned above are the user authentication, logging, monitoring incoming/outgoing traffic and reporting.  Along with the positive features of the firewall there are some negative features and that includes the traffic bottleneck in network computing, single point of failure, increased management and customized configurations for the different network applications, network computers and users.  Most network firewall software uses the preconfigured rules to filter out the incoming and outgoing traffic. The well known methods on which firewall software works are packet filtering, stateful packet inspection and applications gateway/proxies.  Hybrid packet filtering is used to combine two or more firewall methods to provide the additional security.  The packet filtering rules allow or deny the traffic based on the IP addresses of the source and destination, protocol type, source and destination ports of the network devices.  Packet filtering works at the lower level of the OSI model and it gives minimal impact on the overall network performance. Top Network Firewall Software Following list provides the detailed review of the well known and standardized firewall software. Zone Alarm Zone alarm is a well known firewall software and it provides protection against the hackers, data theft, pop ups, viruses and other security breaches on the internet. Outpost Firewall Pro Outpost firewall pro provides protection against the unauthorized access, intruders, spyware, network attacks and malicious software. Norton Personal Firewall Norton Personal Firewall software is well known firewall software.  The key features are filtering the outgoing and incoming internet traffic, defense against viruses, Trojan horses, viruses, pop ups and other internet threats. McAfee Personal Firewall Pro McAfee Personal Firewall Pro is award winning software that defends your business against the unauthorized access, viruses, hackers and internet spasm. Bull Guard Bull Guard Internet security 7.0 has all the security features, which your computer requires.  The main features includes spam filter, firewall, anti spyware, antivirus and all in one security features. Sygate Personal Firewall Sygate Personal Firewall provides multilayer security for the network, operating system, content, applications and internet access.  The advanced features provide protection against the intruders, Trojan horses and DOS attacks. Panda Platinum Internet Security Panda Platinum Internet Security protects your confidential information and keeps the hackers out.  The key features include antivirus, anti spyware, anti phishing, firewall, identity protect, backup, anti spam and parental control.