Introduction
In the article: How to Secure Your Windows PC: Using Firewall, you may learn what is a firewall, How does a firewall works, and some benefits of it. All the stuff may refer to the following
How secure is your computer system from outside attacks? A firewall is a software or hardware program that protects computers against viruses and other malicious intruders. Learn how to properly configure your firewall settings.
A firewall (also called a security gateway) acts as a gatekeeper between your networked devices and the Internet. Most firewalls allow you to control incoming and outgoing traffic at various levels. They also act as a defense mechanism against malware, spam, fraud, cybercrime, identity theft, hacking, and other network threats.
Windows is great so you must learn about how to secure your windows PC and god mode etc.
If you really want to secure your windows PC with firewall keep reading!
What is a Firewall?
A firewall is a computer security device that stops unauthorized users from accessing sensitive information stored on a networked system. A firewall may be software-based (a program running on user computers) or hardware-based (a specific piece of equipment).
Firewalls are often employed by organizations that share their data with partners or customers. Firewalls have become increasingly popular among businesses in recent years due to their effectiveness in preventing attacks and intrusions on corporate networks.
How does a Firewall work?
Firewalls work by blocking incoming connections, either by denying access altogether or by restricting access to a particular service based on the type of connection being attempted.
By default, firewalls only allow traffic coming in on port 80, allowing web browsing, email, and other standard protocols. This default configuration makes them suitable for protecting small offices.
However, larger companies generally need to configure additional ports to increase the level of protection they offer. While many business owners think of firewalls primarily as tools to protect their company’s data, firewalls also provide much broader benefits.
The Different Types of Firewalls
There are several types of firewalls commonly used today, however a few will be discussed here. The most commonly used firewalls are as under:
Packet filters Firewalls
These firewalls allow only traffic matching predetermined rules to pass through. Packet filtering firewalls are typically implemented using hardware devices called routers. These devices examine all packets passing over network connections. Packets that do not match pre-determined filtering rules are either dropped or redirected to another host. Routers may use various mechanisms to determine whether or not to accept a packet — including examining the contents of the packet header (such as IP addresses), examining the contents of the payload, or examining both header and payload.
Application gateways Firewalls
Application gateways firewalls are capable of acting at the protocol layer above the transport layer. They offer much stronger protection than simple packet filters. Application gateways are able to perform deep inspections of the actual protocols being used and can apply many different rules based on the type of communication. Some common application gateway technologies are HTTP proxies, FTP proxies, SMTP proxies, POP3 proxies, IMAP proxies, DNS name resolution proxies, RADIUS authentication servers, and SIP proxies.
Transparent Firewalls
Transparent firewalls are intended to present themselves as standard ports on the network interface card (NIC). These firewalls do not inspect the contents of the packets passing through, but instead, simply change the routing table and act as transparent bridges between two networks. Transparent firewalls are often used as a way to provide network connectivity to a private network behind a public network. However, since the firewall does not inspect the contents of any packets, this may result in performance degradation and even denial of service attacks.
Term Firewall
The term firewall stems from the need to separate trusted from untrusted traffic. Firewalls were originally developed to prevent unauthorized access to computers on a local area network (LAN). These days, however, firewalls are increasingly used as a means of protecting entire organizations from outside threats. Even though the originator of the term did not intend for it to refer to a computer security mechanism, the word firewall has become synonymous with secure network communications.
Cloud based firewalls
Cloud-based firewalls are a type of firewall that are deployed and managed via a cloud computing environment. These firewalls are designed to protect an organization’s network from external threats by monitoring and filtering incoming traffic. Cloud–based firewalls can be used to supplement or replace an organization’s existing on–premises firewall solution.
Overall, cloud–based firewalls can be a valuable addition to an organization’s security posture. When deployed and managed properly, they can provide a high level of protection against external threats.
Data-base firewalls
A database firewall is a security system that controls access to a database. It can be used to enforce security policies, monitor activity, and prevent unauthorized access. Database firewalls can be deployed as hardware, software, or a combination of both.
Hardware–based database firewalls are typically deployed as a network appliance. They are placed between the database server and the network, and they inspect all traffic between the two. Hardware–based database firewalls can be used to enforce security policies, monitor activity, and prevent unauthorized access.
Database firewalls can be used to protect databases from a variety of threats, including SQL injection attacks, denial of service attacks, and unauthorized access. They can also be used to monitor database activity and to prevent unauthorized access.
How to set up Firewalls:
Things you must know before setting up a firewall
Firewalls are an important tool in computer security. They help prevent unauthorized access to your system and network, as well as protect against denial of service (DoS) attacks.
Setting up a firewall can be time-consuming and confusing, so this article provides a step-by-step guide that will help you get started.
Get the right software
To set up a firewall, you need to have a Windows computer with an operating system that supports it and the appropriate software from Microsoft or other vendors. The typical firewall is part of an anti-virus program, but some older models may not have one built in. You can also buy standalone firewalls, but they are more expensive than those integrated into antivirus programs.
Create an account for your router
A router is a device that connects devices on your network and allows them to communicate with each other without using cables or wireless connections. Routers are also sometimes called access points because they’re used to connect computers directly to the Internet without using a modem/router combo device such as a cable modem or DSL modem (if you use DSL). For example, if you want to connect two computers together wirelessly but they don’t have USB ports on them,
Step-by-step process
- Install the firewall software.
- Select the type of firewall you want to install, such as a personal firewall or network firewall.
- Choose whether to use an external firewall or an internal firewall.
- Decide whether you want to allow or block specific services on your computers, such as Web browsing or e-mail access over the Internet or intranet.
- Set up port forwarding (forwarding ports) if needed for services such as Web browsing and email access that are not supported by the firewall software you’re using but are allowed by default in Windows Vista and later versions of Windows.
Benefits of using a firewall
-
Increased Security
By controlling what kind of traffic enters and exits your organization, you can reduce exposure to viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. In addition, by monitoring who connects to your internal systems, you can identify potential threats. Finally, by limiting the services that are accessible from outside your network, you can prevent outsiders from performing inappropriate actions on your systems.
-
Improved Network Performance
Because firewalls filter out unwanted traffic, they improve performance for both users and devices on your network. When you block certain types of traffic, you prevent collisions between two different pieces of networking equipment trying to transmit packets simultaneously. As a result, your network performs more efficiently than if you had not blocked any traffic.
-
Reduced Risk of Data Loss
Data loss happens when someone accidentally deletes files or sends documents over email without sending them first. If you use a traditional file server setup, where users connect directly to the computer holding the files, you run the risk of losing data. However, even if you place those files on a central location, such as a flash drive. You still face the possibility of data loss. With a firewall, however, you don’t have to worry about accidentally deleting files. You can monitor what kinds of requests are being sent to your servers, and block any activity that does not belong on your network.
The article: How to Secure Your Windows PC: Using Firewall, was all about securing your PC. It shows that using a firewall you can secure your windows PC.
How Do Firewalls Work?
ACLs example:
The simplest way to understand how firewalls work is to look at an example. Say you want to open a website called “123456789.” At first glance, the Internet address seems pretty straightforward. That’s because the website owner has registered the domain name 123456789.com
Now imagine that the website owner wants to restrict who can view his site. To do so, he could simply add an entry to his DNS zone file. He would add a line of code that says something like this:
127.0.0.1 www.example.com
That means anyone attempting to connect to the website from an IP address of 127.0.0.* will be given access. Anyone else will get a “Forbidden!” message instead. These restrictions are known as Access Control Lists or ACLs.
Conclusion
In the article: How to Secure Your Windows PC: Using Firewall, now using a firewall you can secure your PC. It is indeed the fact that security and privacy are everything to us.
If you like our article I am sure that you would like to read our other articles on windows such as: Every Information about Microsoft Windows and many more.
You can check up on our other articles like Android Operating System: A Complete Guide, Every Information about mac OS, Types of Operating System
No Responses