What is a Firewall?

If you pay attention to the news whenever there is a few virus outbreak, you have probably heard something about a firewall. But what exactly is a firewall? And what does it do to protect you?

In simple terms, a firewall is a barrier between you and everyone else on the Internet. Think of it as a shield that protects you from everything evil to the world outside of your own computer.

When you have a firewall, it will protect you from all that is evil, both attacks that are targeted specifically to you (think competitor who wants your company information) as well as random. However, like even the best protection, it will not provide you with 100% security, so you still need to employ safe surfing habits. The only way to have true 100% security is to be completely disconnected from the Internet at all times. But obviously, this is not very practical. A firewall goes a lot way to protect you from all that evil.

Installing one of the most popular firewall programs can protect you against most attacks from hackers while your computer is connected to the internet. So it is critical that you do have firewall protection installed on your computer - and all computers on your network, so that you have the best chance of keeping your computer, as well as all the data you store on it, protected. And if your firewall requires updates, be sure to set your firewall to auto-update for the best protection.