BotNet News

Firewalls act as a first line of defense, separating internal networks from untrusted networks like the internet and filtering data packets to admit only legitimate applications, communication, and connectivity. A firewall uses pre-programmed rules to assess each data packet and determine whether to allow it, block it or record it in logs. It also mitigates the risk of cyber attacks such as ransomware, viruses, worms, spyware, adware, and Trojan horses that can compromise and control network systems.

Firewall technology is built into many devices and appliances, including the routers that bring the internet to your home or office and the computers you use at work or school. Firewalls can be hardware or software, but they are essential in every network, whether on-premises, in a private or public (virtual) cloud, or in multi-national locations or distributed branches.

The most common firewall issues are misconfigurations, bloated rules, and false positives that can block legitimate traffic, frustrate users, or overload IT teams with alerts. Firewalls use multiple technologies to protect networks, including packet filtering, stateful inspection, and proxy services. Packet filters examine each data packet on its way into a network and either accept or reject it based on its characteristics, such as the device in use, active ports, and transfer protocols. Stateful inspection technology goes beyond this by tracking the status of established connections in a database, which enables more precise access decisions. It also “learns” and applies that information to future decisions, improving security over time.