Firewalls

Taking advantage of the protection provided by a firewall is important in order to maximize your protection from the possibilitiy of a “hacker” gaining access to your computer (and the data stored on it) as well as to prevent viruses and spyware from taking over your computer and communicating with others via the Internet without your knowledge.  In this article we describe the function of a firewall, why the Windows Firewall may not provide adequate protection, what to expect when you first install ”third party” firewall software, and we list two of the most popular free firewall programs availabe for download from the web.

From Wikipedia:  A firewall is a part of a computer system or network that is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting outward communication. It is also a device or set of devices configured to permit, deny, encrypt, decrypt, or proxy all computer traffic between different security domains based upon a set of rules and other criteria.

Firewalls can be (contained within a hardware device or implemented via an installed software program), or a combination of both. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private (computers or) networks connected to the Internet, especially intranets.

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Although Windows XP and Windows Vista both come with built-in firewall software, it should be considered as “bare minimum” firewall protection since it, by default, only filters incoming Internet traffic (“one way” protection).  Most other software firewalls will provide “two way” protection, meaning they also monitor outgoing Internet traffic to prevent unauthorized programs on your computer (including viruses and spyware) from accessing the Internet (with or without your knowledge).

Bear in mind that there is a mild “annoyance price” to be paid for having the added security provided by a firewall.  A good firewall will present a pop-up message every time a new program or process on your computer attempts to access the Internet for the first time.  This pop-up will ask you to either allow or block the program from accessing the Internet.  If you tell the firewall to block Internet access for that program, the the program will not be able to access the web and may be partially or totally unusable.  If you allow access then that program will be allowed full access to the Internet.  You can also tell the firewall to “remember” your answer so it automatically knows whether to allow or block access the next time the program attempts to access the Internet (thus supressing the pop-up authorization request message and prevent that “annoyance” in the future, for that program).  Better firewall programs will “know” the most popular “safe” programs (such as ITunes) that should automatically be allowed access to the Internet and will never present a pop-up authorization request message, making them even less “annoying” than other firewall programs with this feature.

ZONEALARM FREE FIREWALL – We recommend the free version of the ZoneAlarm software firewall as an excellent choice for most home and small business users.  It is easy to install and configure, and will provide excellent “two way” (incoming and outgoing) protection for your computer.  ZoneAlarm also offers a paid version offering more features and functionality and more complete support, as well as other security products.  However for most users the free version will do just fine.

COMODO FREE FIRWALL + ANTIVIRUS – Another excellent firewall choice is the Comodo Free Firewall + Antivirus.  Comodo offers a very good free firewall program plus a free anti-virus program in one download and installation.  If you prefer another anti-virus program you can choose to install only the firewall portion of the program.  Comodo also offers a paid “pro” version of this program, as well as other security products.

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