Step Five: Should You Have a Firewall?As we previously discussed, the Internet is littered with lots of evil intentions and malicious - albeit smart and brilliant – plotters. They are constantly on the lookout for innocent, vulnerable and unprotected computers. Internet hackers tend to use all sorts of codes such as viruses, worms, and Trojans, in order to crack into and damage your computer. You must therefore be well prepared to block them off from ever entering your computer’s system at all times.
It is very often said that the best cure for this is prevention. And the saying applies also to your computers. If you would like to protect your computer from the threat of viruses, worms, Trojans, and other malicious code, one of the best options you should take is setting up a firewall.
What is a Firewall?You can try to imagine a firewall to be the fence that sits between your computer and the Internet, or between your computer network and all the other computer networks which exist out there.
It can serve as a mechanism of defense against harmful codes or data that might destroy your computer, and it might works through examining the information that attempts to enter your computer or your network.
When a firewall is properly set up, hackers won’t be able to detect your computer in their search for vulnerable workstations to victimize.
What are the different kinds of Firewalls?Generally, firewalls are divided into three categories: software firewalls, hardware routers, and wireless routers. In order to know which kind of firewall is most suitable for your needs, there are two factors on which your decision should always depend on:
1. The amount of computers that your firewall will service.
2. The type of operating system that you might use (it can be Linux, a version of Windows, Apple Macintosh, and so on).
More useful information and tips on the next page: Reasons Why You Should Have A Firewall - 2
