Technology

Firewalls are important…

I know, it sounds strange making such a statement without letting you know why they’re important.

Well, consider this…back in 2004, it was considered such a hazard to be connected to the internet without some form of protection, that there was a possibility of your computer getting hacked within the first 20 minutes you were online.

This was way before software manufacturers had taken steps to increase security in their operating systems, but still the war wages on, and one of the best defenses to have for your business network is a firewall.

The way a firewall works may sound complex, but there’s a way to break it down so it’s easy to understand. When you’re connected to the internet, your computer or network will constantly send and receive packets of data. Without a firewall, these packets are unfiltered and can push through any unpatched security holes in your network.

When they do, any information whether it’s a keylogger program, trojan virus or whatever can be exchanged to your computer, and either collect keystrokes from your keyboard (passwords, bank numbers, etc.) or give access to an outside party.

So you can see why it’s important to have a firewall installed on your computer.

Now someone may say they have a basic firewall on their Windows computer, but that may not be enough. Those type of firewalls typically only monitor inbound traffic and filter out unwanted data packets. More complex firewalls offer filtering for both outbound and inbound, which allows sensitive information like bank account numbers, that are being sent out to the internet to be monitored.

If you really want to get fancy with your firewalls, there are ones manufactured by companies that contain lists of known malicious programs. This gives it a more accurate way to filter inbound and outbound traffic to your computer.

Whatever you choose, and even before you choose a firewall, check out what QTSCOM has to offer, or contact us for more information.