On the Internet, millions of different viruses, “worms” and other hacker inventions wander, which can attack your personal computer and home network at any time. To prevent such dangerous software from damaging your PC, “universal security gateways” were created.
Security gateways are a huge security system, which, among other things, includes a firewall or firewall (these are synonyms).
What is a firewall and what is its function?
The Firewall is a protective shield that sits between your local computer network and the Internet as a whole.
It, as a kind of filter, passes network traffic through itself and filters it in accordance with the requirements (which you yourself can configure), discarding information that was prohibited and passing the one that fits the list of rules. After that, it records the number of attempts to attack the PC or gain access to the network.
Firewall types:
- Hardware. Expensive professional devices that are difficult to bypass, besides, they do not burden the computer and have high performance. They are usually used to secure the traffic of the entire local network. Check the received information for the presence of malicious elements and other prohibited content.
- Software. Applications installed on a specific PC that play the role of a firewall and some security functions. Compared to hardware, they are quite easy to install and configure, but they are easier to break through with virus attacks. If you rarely update the system, then the firewall may be disabled or partially damaged. The load on the processor is also quite noticeable.
- Hybrid. They are built into a variety of hardware and software systems and are used as an addition to antivirus, modem, access point, etc. For a home network, such a firewall will be quite enough, since it allows you to create basic and most necessary settings for filtering incoming traffic.
Which firewall should you choose?
Norton Internet Security
This firewall, in addition to its main function, also has a number of additional and no less useful. It combines ad blocking, IDS and antivirus. The only problem is the heavy load on the system, since Norton requires a lot of resources. But the disadvantages are covered by its good efficiency in terms of system protection.
BlackICE PC Protection
This program monitors the processes of new applications appearing on the PC, and provides you with the ability to block them if necessary (this is called the AP system). This function helps in the fight against various Trojans and a number of other viruses. It can capture packets in order to analyze for the presence of danger. In general – a standard firewall that does not stand out from the rest.
AdGuard
It has a small size and a user-friendly interface. Quite easy to use, but does not support application, port and attack scanning functionality. Although, despite this, it is quite versatile and can please with such features as blocking ads, setting work with cookies, and so on. It’s bad that the developers did not add some important elements, but if you do not take this into account, then the program came out quite usable.
Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro
This firewall has a Russian-language interface, which already puts it in an advantageous position compared to the others. If you look at the convenience and functionality, then it definitely wins, moreover, it is quite common (which can be considered a disadvantage, since it follows that it is easier to get around it). No obvious disadvantages were noticed, so Agnitum Outpost is recommended for use.
Sygate Personal Firewall
It has a built-in IDS, due to which it can block an attack within 8-9 minutes. In general, this program has a fairly high skill in recognizing various types of attacks (from port scanning to various types of flooding). Sends you information about the dangers by email. It can also capture packets for further analysis.
