What is a Firewall Really?
What is a Firewall Really?
A firewall’s basic function ‘hides you’ from the outside, by denying communication with other programs through certain ‘channels’ or ports.
Most of you have heard the term Firewall, but do you truly understand what a firewall does? Do you realize that firewalls can protect you from some harmful intrusions, but, they don’t protect you from everything?
Firewalls can provide a false sense of security.
The main purpose of a software firewall is to eliminate potential entry points attackers could use to get on your computer. But, what if you activate your firewall after you already have malware on your computer? Well, the Malware is still there, the firewall can’t block the malware already on your device. Firewalls aren’t built to detect malware that is already active on your computer, which leaves you wide open for a hacker to retrieve personal information such as passwords, logins, among other personal information.
But, why don’t firewalls detect malware?
If you already have malware on your computer, the malware probably has written code to disable your firewall allowing it to communicate to the hacker on the other side. It’s too late to simply add a firewall. You need to install an anti-malware software which will detect malware hijacking your computer.
How do I make sure my computer is protected?
If you frequently travel and connect your laptop to different networks such as public WiFi and Cafes, you need an internet Security software that has a built-in firewall. This will protect you from all the dangers of connecting to public WiFi’s. However, if you mainly use your computer on the same internet WiFi (such as your home) you need an anti-malware along with your firewall already on your computer. (Windows 7 and above has a built-in software firewall).
Always stay protected, never allow any software to run on your computer unless you know who it’s from and set your anti-malware to run scans at least once a day.
Until Next Time,
Karen Beth
Categorised in: Computer Security
This post was written by Karen
