Remote working of a system using broadband internet services can be a great asset to a company. it will increase the productivity and efficiency of the company immensely. The point to consider here is the risk factor involved with this. For example some attacks can deny access to your own e mail account or the web site. That is the nature of the attack. They may even delete the files in the system. Trojan horse attacks are another type of common threat that involved with internet work. Trojan horse is a small program which enters into your system and stays there till the time comes. When the programmed time comes it will start its work. It can be deleting the files or doing some other sort of destruction. Best way to avoid all these is to install a firewall in your system. It prevents many attacks.
It acts as a filter or a barrier between the internet and your system. It can be a hardware component or software installed. Firewall make sure that unauthorized access is not possible t your system. It prevents from someone entering into the system and performing un intending activities. It will also take care of the sites you are visiting. If they are dangerous the firewall will block the access to them.
It has a specifically prepared algorithm to decide on whether to pass the data packet through or not. Any data which does not fit into the algorithm will be blocked from accessing the network.
Firewalls are not meant to stop viruses entering into the system. They only block the unauthorized access. In order to prevent from viruses it is required to have a virus scan installed. Anti virus software takes care of virus attacks.
Even though there is a firewall it is better to keep back up of all the important data regularly. Also it is advisable to update the firewall at regular intervals to keep the latest threats out. Anyway nothing is perfect in this world. There is always a chance of risk involved eve with a firewall installed. Better be alert all the time.
There are two types of firewalls available.
Hardware firewall is equipment which is connected to the system. They are generally much more reliable and faster in data processing than the software firewalls. It is bit more costlier than the software firewall. But it comes with so many additional features in the package. It mostly has an inbuilt router. Sometimes it will also have an integrated DHCP server.
software firewall is a software program which tries to filter the incoming and outgoing data from the network while running on the operating platform. This is a cheaper option for the user than hardware version of it. it can be installed in the router to protect the full network. Windows XP comes with an inbuilt firewall.
Convenience to use:
Starting from the setting up to the usage of the firewall should be easy for the user. It should not be complicated to navigate through the network because of the firewall. Basically it should not affect the processes of the system.
Update automatically:
Updating of the firewall is very important to keep the threats away. It eliminates most recent threats getting into the system. Some companies offer the uses life time or one year free upgrading facilities with the firewall package. Better to analyze all these aspects before deciding on a firewall package.