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Firewalls are either hardware devices or software programs that protect your computers and networks from attacks like viruses, malware, and hackers. They do this by examining the data that goes in and out of your network, looking for suspicious information, and keeping bad stuff out. They also allow the data to pass through only if it meets certain criteria. To better understand how a firewall works, think of it as a security guard with intimate knowledge of millions of possible criminals—if they see one, they keep it out.

There are different types of firewalls: packet filtering, stateful inspection, proxy services, and next-generation firewall (NGFW) technologies. Packet-filtering firewalls examine each data packet in isolation and compare it to filters, which are used to identify threats. If the data packet doesn’t meet filters, it is discarded and your network stays protected.

NGFWs combine the capabilities of traditional firewalls with those of an intrusion prevention system product (IPS) to enhance security. These firewalls are able to detect malicious activity in a network and block it before it has a chance to spread. Depending on the size of your enterprise, you may want to consider using multiple firewalls to prevent any single point of failure. Ensure your hardware firewall solution supports the environment your organization uses—for example, if you use multi-cloud infrastructure, make sure your hardware firewall is compatible with public clouds. In addition, identifying the environments your organization uses will help you determine what level of security is needed from the firewall.