What is a firewall and what are the 10 reasons that you could use a firewall for?

Answer 1

1. A firewall examines the traffic running between the two computers to see if it meets preset criteria.
2. A firewall filters both inbound and outbound traffic, that means all the information to and from your pc (download/upload)
3. It can also manage public access to private networked resources as in the Intranets of private firms and institutes. Firewalls protect private local area networks from hostile intrusion from the Internet. Consequently, many LANs are now connected to the Internet where Internet connectivity would otherwise have been too great a risk.
4. It can be used to log all attempts to enter the private network and trigger alarms when hostile or unauthorized entry is attempted. For example, ZoneAlarm logs all the attemps to attack my pc.
5. Firewalls can filter packets based on their source and destination addresses and port numbers.
6. Firewalls can also filter specific types of network traffic. This is also known as protocol filtering because the decision to forward or reject traffic is dependant upon the protocol used, for example HTTP, ftp or telnet.
7. Firewalls can also filter traffic by packet attribute or state.
8. Anyone who is responsible for a private network that is connected to a public network needs firewall protection.
9. Anyone who connects so much as a single computer to the Internet via modem should have personal firewall software.
10. Firewalls allow network administrators to offer access to specific types of Internet services to selected LAN users. This selectivity is an essential part of any information management program, and involves not only protecting private information assets, but also knowing who has access to what. Privileges can be granted according to job description and need rather than on an all-or-nothing basis.

Answer 2

If you have been using the Internet for any length of time, and especially if you work at a larger company and browse the Web while you are at work, you have probably heard the term Firewall used. For example, you often hear people in companies say things like, "I can't use that site because they won't let it through the firewall."
If you have a fast Internet connection into your home, you may have found yourself hearing about firewalls for your home network as well. It turns out that a small home network has many of the same security issues that a large corporate network does. You can use a firewall to protect your home network and family from offensive Web sites and potential hackers.
Basically, a firewall is a barrier to keep destructive forces away from your property. In fact, that's why it???s called a firewall. Its job is similar to a physical firewall that keeps a fire from spreading from one area to the next.
A security device built into many Internet servers. Firewalls help prevent unauthorized activity on the server. Programs that charge a fee generally have a firewall that prevents access unless you enter an authorized username and password. On networks, firewalls are used to prevent Internet users from accessing files other than public internet material. Firewall also refers to a class of software that can be installed on computers that use cable modems or DSL. These communication systems are "always on" so it is possible that someone else on the Internet can maliciously access your computer.
Therefore, firewall is a device that interfaces the network to the outside world and shields the network from unauthorized users. The firewall does this by blocking certain types of traffic. For example, some firewalls permit only electronic mail traffic to enter the network from elsewhere. This helps protect the network against attacks made to other network resources, such as sensitive files, databases, and applications.

Answer 3

Firewall is a software, which prevents unauthorised access into and out of your computer.

1. It prevents hacking of your computer. I use ZoneAlarm and it has blocked about 12000 intrusion attempts in just 2 months, and I have got no hackers for enemies. I think you can make out the importance of a firewall from these figures.

2. It also blocks viruses and spyware to some extent, though it is often negligible.

3. It prevents any software of your computer to access the net without YOUR permission. The Windows Firewall lacks this feature, though. So, a firewall makes sure that you remain the master of your computer.

I can't find 10 points, but if you think these 3 are not enough, you are making a big mistake.

Answer 4

A firewall is a piece of software that monitors and manages the connection between your pc and other machines on a network; usually the internet.
Some firewalls are more advanced than others.
1) When in stealth mode it conceals the location of your pc, which helps to prevent hacking.
2) It blocks attempts to access/send info to your pc when you did not send a request for that attempt.
3) It monitors programs on your pc and their attempts to contact the network. If you did not ask a program to connect it will alert you to any attempts to dial out.
4) It monitors attempts made by software to hijack another program to connect.
5) It keeps a log of all its activity such as blocked attempts to access the pc so you can see whats happening.

Answer 5

A firewall is hardware and/or software that limits access to a computer over a network or from an outside source. Used to prevent computer hackers from getting into your computer system.

I can't think of 10 reasons offhand, but they might include:
Destroying the system
Obtaining financial data
Finding passwords
Obtaining personal information
Commercially, industrial espionage
Ask the CIA!

Hope that helps.

Answer 6

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