A firewall is defined as a wall between a computer and hacking activities from intruders. Today, the Internet had made a large contribution in information technology to us. People had been fascinated and enjoyed browsing various websites of their interests. Some geeks have spent almost the entire day surfing the net while other people consider the information accessed through the Internet beneficial and an advantage to them.

However, connecting a computer to the Internet had posed some security risks causing the confidential and sensitive data stored on the computer disk may be accessible to susceptible attacks from an unknown remote hacker. So, it is important that computer users must be aware of these threats and must have the knowledge to protect their critical systems and valuable assets.

A firewall must be used by anyone who connects their computer to the Internet whether it’s just a single computer or a whole corporate network. A firewall can shield both of these against dangerous attacks that can be generated from the local network or from the Internet itself. It further saves valuable resources that are stored in the computer disk from thefts.

Secondly, a firewall is capable of logging all attempts of entering an individual computer or private networks. It poses an alarm every time an unauthorized and suspicious entry is attempted. Other firewalls have the feature of monitoring and logging all outbound data traffic to prevent unauthorized access on valuable resources.

Thirdly, firewalls have also the capability to filter traffics that can be found on destination address, source and port numbers. Traffic can also be filtered by firewalls using the packet attribute and state. Furthermore, a firewall can be organized to allow traffic if it is from a determined trusted host. Also, with a firewall, restriction of traffics from defined ports can be accomplished and these ports can be opened for the data to enter. Some firewalls have the feature that offers protection against harmful viruses, worms and Trojans.

These firewalls are not expensive and most are free of charge for home users. New version of released firewalls is user-friendly and easy to use. Windows operating system had free built-in firewall that users have been grateful with. Moreover, firewalls are available for both hardware and software. Both have similar and different features that are distinct for its purpose.

Therefore, it can be concluded, after reading the three main benefits of firewall that it is necessary to serve as a security product. Without it, our computers can be exposed to destructive intrusion of hackers.