In
today's wired world, with many daily activities heavily reliant on
computers, there are many cyber threats that can ruin your day.
Worms, spyware, malware, viruses, denial-of-service attacks—all
have the potential to creep onto your computer and wreak havoc on
your system. Warding off such threats requires a solid network of
firewalls to protect your personal digital fortress.
Firewalls contain a
number of basic features. Inbound and Outbound Filtering helps a
single computer liaise with another computer beyond the firewall, but
not with other specific computers. A stealth-mode function can allow
the computer to continue accessing the Internet but not make it
visible to hackers by rejecting their probes.
At
the same time, a privacy-protection suite in the firewall helps
safeguard the machine against spyware or malware that attempts to
implant itself in the computer. These destructive programs are often
so prevalent in websites that a search engine may warn you that
proceeding to certain sites may potentially harm your computer. Such
sites include peer-to-peer filesharing and pornographic pages.
Installing a firewall
will be one of the best things you can ever do for your computer or
server network. Proper maintenance and monitoring can tell potential
intruders to back off.
