Use Firewall to Protect Your Computer

Use Firewall to Protect Your Computer

Author: James Madison

A personal computer without firewall means an apartment without any lock. We all know the importance of lock for an apartment. The same is applied for your computer as well. When a computer is connected to the Internet without a firewall the hackers can easily access to it and steal your important information. Only a firewall can block spyware, malware, viruses and other malicious objects that try to break in at a weak point. So, in the realm of growing cyber crime, firewall has become imperative for all the computer users.

Your computer is 100% secure when it is not connected to the Internet. But you need to connect your computer to the internet to execute various tasks. And the challenge is to make the computer 99.9% secure when it is connected. Here comes the importance of a computer repair company that offers technical support to the PC users to protect their computer from hackers. You can also try some simple things in this regard. There must be a personal firewall and anti-malware software installed on your computer and it should be kept up-to-date. It will help you to find and remove Trojans, viruses, spyware, and other malware. Whether you are using wired or wireless router, its firewall software must be configured.

If it is the question of home PC firewall, there are several options. Microsoft Windows Firewall is a renowned name in this context. There is firewall inbuilt on the Windows 7, Vista and XP Service Pack 2/3 operating systems. Firewall is by default turned on for blocking threats from the Internet. You should check whether it is turned on or not. If it is not on, turn it on. If you install a third-party software and/or hardware, then you can turn it off.

There is also two-way third-party firewall Software which blocks both incoming and outgoing threats. If your computer is infected with a virus, Trojan horse or spyware, mails or data that you send will comprise threats. This firewall will stop these virus infected files. There are many internet security software suites which comprise two or more security features like personal firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware and more. Some of the most renowned names include Norton Internet Security 2011, Kaspersky Internet Security, Webroot Internet Security Complete, Checkpoint ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite, etc.

Usage of hardware firewalls is also very common in recent days. For better computer security, users use this hardware firewall. There is "network address translation" (NAT) that hides your PC from the Internet. Hardware firewall may also include NAT plus "stateful packet inspection" (SPI) for better protection. For home users, three basic types of hardware devices are available in the market. These include Wireless Routers, Wired Routers, and Broadband Gateways. You can use any of them for better protection of your computer and online identity.

There are many computer services companies that offer tech support for firewall configuration to the computer users. Consult any of them and enjoy secure computing.

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