What is a firewall? Basic concepts

About what a firewall, which is also called a firewall, knows the majority of network users. It is a hardware or software complex that monitors both incoming and outgoing connections. The essence of his work lies in the fact that he, on the basis of the settings set by the administrator or the owner of the PC, permits or blocks certain connections.

What is a firewall, and what kinds of firewalls exist? Firewalls are divided into personal and corporate. The first are programs installed on the computer itself. The latter can be not only software, but also hardware, and they are installed on the gateway between subnets or between the Internet and the local network. The main difference of the personal firewall is that in its settings, in addition to the address, protocol and port, you can specify the programs that are allowed to establish connections. The firewall always acts according to rules created by the administrator, and if they were not installed, then before making a decision, it displays a message on the monitor in which the user should make a choice: to allow or block the connection.

So what is a firewall? It is a tool whose work completely depends on the owner of the PC, that is, the security of the computer will be ensured in the event that the user makes the right decisions. Therefore, it is important to observe the following rules: monitor the firewall messages and read them carefully; To give access only to those programs that he really needs; If there are doubts, it is better to be safe and forbid connection.

To date, many paid and free personal firewalls have been developed, which have almost the same functionality and differ only in the interface.

One of the most popular tools is the free firewall Comodo, which is not inferior to paid versions for reliability. Its manufacturers offer a wide range of Internet users a complete software version of protecting your computer from external threats and information leaks. It should be said that it is designed for ordinary PC operators who are not versed in network settings.

What is a Comodo firewall? This is a small program that does not require special resources, capable of recognizing up to 10,000 applications in categories such as advertising, spyware and others. Among its main characteristics are the following:

1. Convenient and understandable for the "teapot" interface.
2. Providing protection against viruses, scripts, hacker attacks.
3. The activity of programs on the Web is constantly monitored.
4. Control of traffic on-line.
5. Automatic update of the program.

"Komodo" is a firewall that "communicates" with the user through pop-up windows with messages in which it is as clear as possible and in all details the information about what is happening is presented. The program can independently analyze each connection and notify of a possible threat.

However, the firewall is not a replacement for the antivirus, but serves as its complement. Thus, the complex protection of the computer from intruders is provided.