What Are Personal Firewalls?

Personal firewalls are software applications that are capable of protecting the security of your computer system.

They are also referred to as desktop firewalls, and are designed for use on a single computer.

Designed to close any existing security holes on your computer, personal firewalls help to maintain secure communications over the Internet. They provide exceptionally good protection for systems that are constantly connected to the Internet.

Personal firewalls can be used to set up barriers that prevent malicious programs and hackers from invading your computer system. They filter the information that enters and exits your computer through the Internet by setting up rules that are consistently employed.

Personal firewalls monitor and control the Internet transmissions on computer systems in one of the following ways.

Stateful inspection uses comparison to determine what goes in or exits your computer system. It compares key parts in the information packet, rather than the entire packet. A predetermined base of trusted information is used for the comparison.

Packet filtering analyzes small bunches of data against predetermined filters. Some of the information will pass through the filters and some will not. The individual computer user determines the parameters of the firewall filters during the initial setup of the personal firewall. The filters can be modified anytime.

Proxy service employs the firewall to retrieve or select the information for transmission. It controls the sending or transmission of the data.

Personal firewalls allow the computer user to modify or customize the filters of their firewall. The filters act as guidelines for the type of Internet traffic that you will allow on your computer. A tight filter is one with a high level of security that is very limiting. A loose filter has a low level of security and limits very little.

If the limits are set high, then many threats as well as innocuous material will be blocked from your computer system. If the limits are set low, then many threats as well as innocuous material will not be blocked from your computer system. Personal firewalls are designed to allow each individual determine his or her level of security to meet his or her own needs.

Filters can be used on IP addresses, protocols, domain names, and ports.

IP addresses are the identifying numbers that are assigned to computers on the Internet. A personal firewall allows you to block specific IP addresses from your computer system.

Protocols include the following: HTTP, TCP, FTP, Telnet, SMTP, SNMP, IP, UDP, and ICMP. Protocols refer to the manner in which the Internet communication will take place on your computer system.

Domain names are the easy-to-read names or words of the IP addresses. Firewalls can block access to your computer from particular domain names.

Ports allow entrance to the computer. To use the Internet, the computer needs a port that is marked with an identifying number.

Personal firewalls are capable of blocking many threats from your computer system. The list includes:

• Application backdoors
• Viruses
• Macros
• Spam
• E-mail bombs
• Remote logins
• Redirect bombs
• Source routing

Before installing a personal firewall on your computer system, it is important to uninstall any firewalls that already exist. Even if you did not install one yourself, you need to check. Many operating systems come with firewalls incorporated into them. Consider installing a personal firewall on your machine for the protection that you n\might need tomorrow.