Computer experts tell us that any computer connected to the internet can be hacked by a hacker, in average of twelve minutes. One important way to protect our computers from hackers is use of a firewall. Both hardware and software firewall can be used to provide security, and they both differ from each other slightly. Home computer users can use software firewall but Business owners are recommended to use both hardware and software firewall.
Continue reading this article to find out the difference between hardware and software firewall.
Hardware Firewall
Hardware firewalls provide more protection from most form of hacker attacks, and a single hardware firewall can protect every computer on a local network. Most hardware firewalls come with at least 4 ports that can be used to connect to other computers on the network; Firewalls with many more number of ports are also available. Hardware firewalls come as a stand-alone product and now hardware firewalls even come integrated in broadband routers. Like any computer software or hardware, hardware firewalls must also be learnt before use so that they could be configured properly and per your network security settings and requirements.
One good hardware firewall product are called Firewalla and Fortigate, available at Amazon.com
Software Firewall
Software firewalls are more common compared to hardware firewalls and they are used both in home and enterprises. If you are running Windows 7, Windows 10 or Windows 11, you are already running software firewall in background. Microsoft included software firewall in every Windows operating system to provide security to the computer users, and of course their data.
Software firewalls are configurable and we can set port numbers that the firewall should monitor and block unauthorized access to. You can even enable or disable firewall for your hardware like printers, etc, and software like Microsoft Live Messenger, Skype, MS Outlook, etc. Software firewall protects only the computer which it is installed on. to protect multiple computers, separate firewall installation is required.
Tons of firewall software programs are available. Some are paid and some free. Some of the good free firewall software available today include OpenBSD and ZoneAlarm, which really work well.
So, Which Firewall Should You Get?
Hardware vs. software firewalls, which one is better? comparing software and hardware firewall both have the same function and use. But for home use, software firewall is better and more than enough. Businesses require both as they want to ensure maximum security, and because they are more vulnerable to attacks than a home user. If you use your computer at home remember you should always use firewall with antivirus software, which has a different function of detecting and removing viruses from your computer.
Check out the huge variety of software firewall selling on Amazon.com
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