What Does a Firewall Keep Away?

As a business owner, you depend on your network security solution to protect your assets. You trust it to do its job without your intervention, but do you know how it works? One of the most basic parts of network security is a firewall. These are the first lines of defense against threats which can potentially steal information or destroy it completely. In order to get the most out of your network security solution, it’s your responsibility to understand how a firewall works.

By understanding what firewalls protect you from, you can make better choices concerning the security of your network in the future. Here’s how a firewall works, and what you can expect it to protect you from.

What a Firewall Does
In the simplest terms, your firewall scans the information flowing to and from your network to check for threats. It acts as a bouncer, effectively preventing potential threats from entering or leaving your network. This means that, even if a threat gets in, you’ll be able to destroy it before it causes significant damage. In fact, more powerful firewalls have the capabilities to investigate network traffic, validate connections and data packages, and even check for legitimate application data. These advanced settings are all designed to help you ensure that threats stay as far from your network as possible.

What a Firewall Doesn’t Do
Unfortunately, there are some threats that firewalls can’t protect you from. Generally, the ability of a firewall to keep threats out of your network is commensurate with its strength. Advanced threats like viruses, spyware, adware, and phishing scams have a way of working themselves around your firewall, especially through the use of social engineering tactics (tricking users).

How to Integrate a Firewall
While most computers you’ll work with, like PCs and workstations, come equipped with built-in firewalls, these shouldn’t be trusted on an enterprise level. Your company needs a much more powerful firewall to protect your data. Incidentally, most pieces of hardware, like wireless routers, have built-in firewalls; though, it should be mentioned that these, too, aren’t as powerful as you want for a business-class solution.

Ideally, you want a firewall at each network access point. This is what a Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution is capable of accomplishing. The UTM is a comprehensive solution designed to maximize network security and reduce the possibility of a debilitating hacking attack. The UTM consists of a powerful firewall, antivirus solution, spam-blocking, and content-filtering features, allowing your business to optimize network security and prevent data breaches. Call us today at (847) 697-3282 to learn more about how to protect your network.