Firewall protection keeps your computer safe from intrusion by hackers while it is connected to the internet. It does so by examining the electronic data coming in to and out of your computer.
What is firewall protection?
Basically, a good firewall provides protection from prying eyes. It stops thieves and intruders from accessing your computer, laptop, workstation or server. A good firewall can protect your computer from malicious ‘worms’.
A firewall also prevents confidential information from being sent out from your computer without your permission. This could be your passwords, bank details and other personal information.
A great firewall is included in BullGuard Internet Security. Try it now
Firewall protection from identity theft
A good firewall goes a long way to protect you from ‘identity thieves’ – internet hackers who can break into vulnerable computer systems and steal private files, credit card information, tax records, passwords and identification or reference numbers. Remote thieves can even hijack your system to send spam messages, or plant destructive computer viruses.
So what does a firewall do?
Quite simply put, a firewall protects your computer from intrusion (scanning or attack) by hackers while it is connected to the Internet. A firewall examines electronic data coming in or out of a computer (or network) and compares it to the rules it has been given. If the data matches the rules, it’s allowed to pass. If it doesn't, it is blocked.
You can think of a firewall as a piece of software that keeps the bad guys out and lets the good ones in.
Research shows that an unprotected computer system will come under attack within the first 15 minutes of Internet use. This is why it’s so important that you have security software installed on your PC before you connect to the Internet.
If your computer is new and has no internet security software installed, we recommend you download and install such software along with all necessary Windows updates and patches needed to make it secure before starting to browse the Internet.
What does a firewall NOT do?
A firewall, however, will not give you full security and make you completely safe online. It is one of the first lines of defence, but on its own it will not protect you 100%. That’s why an internet security software suite includes several other pieces of software as well.
Some of the things a firewall does NOT protect you against:
• most viruses
• spam messages
• a poorly configured Wireless Network
• malware software installations (it prevents spyware actions, although the spyware may still be present in your computer)
Read our security articles and learn more:
What is a firewall?
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How does a Firewall work?
Windows Firewall vs BullGuard
For the very keen:
TCP-IP Ports
How Proxy Firewalls work