A - Z guide of Computer Firewall

A Computer firewall is a barrier to keep destructive forces away from your PC or network. In fact, that's why its called a firewall. Its job is similar to a physical firewall that keeps a fire from spreading from one area to the next. As you read through this article, you will learn more about firewalls, how they work and what kinds of threats they can protect you from.

At present, accessing emails or Internet without a computer firewall is like asking for trouble. There are so many thieves in the cyber-world waiting for an opportunity to access your PC and gather information.

Definition of the Computer firewall

A personal firewall is a hardware or software solution to enforce security policies. In the physical security analogy, a firewall is equivalent to a door lock on a perimeter door or on a door to a room inside of the building - it permits only authorized users such as those with a key or access card to enter. A firewall has built-in filters that can disallow unauthorized or potentially dangerous material from entering the system. It also logs attempted intrusions.

Types of Computer firewalls

There are two types of personal firewalls.

Software firewall.

This is the most common among home PC users. This is a piece of software that mostly available with the Antivirus programs. You also can purchase them separately.

Hardware firewall.

Most of the medium to large companies is using hardware firewalls. They are physical devices and has more advanced features than software firewalls.

How does it work?

Main purpose of the personal firewall is to prevent “un authorised” access to your PC or network. In order to do that, computer firewalls are using set of rules known as firewall rule base. You can setup these rules based on your requirement. This sounds like too technical, but it is not that hard. A typical home computer firewall setup is similar to answering a set of questions.

Common known issues you may experience after computer firewall installations

MSN or Yahoo Messenger is not working
Email is not working
Cannot access the Internet
Home network is not working

The main reason to above is that the newly installed firewall is preventing access. Therefore it has to be configured first. However, most of the new firewall manufacturers are aware of these common issues and configure the firewall automatically for commonly used tasks. Do below if you have an issue similar to above after installing your personal firewall.

Open your firewall program and then stop the firewall. All computer firewalls have the facility to stop it. Then try the desired function. If it is still not working then the cause of the problem is not your firewall.

Let’s say your desired program is working after stopping the firewall. This means your personal firewall is blocking the program. Then you should configure its rules to allow your program to communicate through the firewall.

What kinds of threats computer firewalls can protect you from?

Hacking – Firewalls will block hackers from accessing your PC.

Spyware – This tiny software are used to gather personal information such as passwords, credit card information etc. Firewall will first prevent Spyware installations. It also will block communications between Spyware and the outside world if your PC is already infected. Visit fix Spyware to learn more about Spyware.

Computer virus – Computer firewalls can block distribution of messages generated by virus. Visit computer virus protection software page to learn more about Computer viruses.

Best Computer firewalls

Please visit computer security products page to find the ideal computer firewall for you.

Back to computer security help from computer firewall