A firewall is a protective system that lies, in essence, between your computer network and the internet. When used correctly, a firewall prevents unauthorized use and access to your network. Firewalls and routers work by examining information coming from and going to the Internet. They identify and ignore information that comes from a dangerous location or seems suspicious. If you set up your firewall properly, hackers searching for vulnerable computers cannot detect your computer.

Firewalls can be either hardware or software:

• Stand alone software. Software firewalls that can be installed on individual PCs to offer basic defense from outside and inside attacks.
• Networking software with firewall features. Software firewalls that can be installed to protect an entire network of PCs.
• In-modem. A modem that attaches to your PC that offers “built-in” firewall features.
• Hardware router with firewall features. Hardware routers that sit between your modem and your computer to provide an additional outer layer of defense. Routers can be “wired” or “wireless: Wireless routers can be connected to your PC -- and are actually wired routers with wireless accesss points built in so you can have wired and/or wireless at the same time.

Contact OrLANtech today for expert advice on the ideal firewall configuration for your office network.