Posts Tagged ‘Software Firewall’

A firewall is a part of a computer system or network that is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting authorized communications. Since their creation, a battle has raged between those who believe a hardware or software firewall is better. In truth, even the hardware devices utilize some type of software and every product has it’s own strengths and weaknesses.

No matter what your opinion, the fact remains that Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) is the best protection for a Microsoft environment. The reason is because ISA authenticates access at the edge of the network rather than allow traffic to penetrate the firewall and access a server directly. For Outlook Web Access, Terminal Services Gateway, or SharePoint, ISA authenticates logons before any servers are accessed. For hardware devices, the appropriate port and URL is opened and direct access is provided to the server through the firewall. Conceptually, once you have access to the server it’s much easier to do harm.

Typical arguments tend to follow:

ISA is not a real firewall.
It has more than a 10 year history of use in all sectors including high security Government and Financial customers with highest certifications in the industry.

Windows has too many vulnerabilities.
Every system has discovered flaws and Windows/ISA has no more than any other offering. Further, ISA has Microsoft Update for security patches and enhancements while hardware updates are manual.

Hardware firewalls are faster.
Server processor, RAM, and NICs all offer higher performance and more expandability.

Hardware firewalls are cheaper.
Like everything in technology, it depends upon the offering and configuration on what is more expensive. Microsoft software generally has a 5 year standard and 10 year extended lifecycle with servers warranted for 4 years. Most hardware firewalls have a warranty of 3 years with annual maintenance, so total cost of ownership over life of the equipment tends to be higher.

If you prescribe to the notion of having two firewalls from different manufacturers, you can put a hardware firewall in front of ISA and still enjoy the edge authentication and perks like Active Directory integration to filter by user/group instead of just IP address. If you must have a box to put in the rack, then purchase an appliance that has ISA. In 2010, ISA runs on Windows Server 2008 with more features and a new name of Forefront Threat Gateway.

Kevin Fream is the CEO of Matrixforce Corporation, with a 20+ year track record of helping customers focus on business rather than technology. Since 1978, Matrixforce has offered flat cost, outcome based technology implementation and support.

Contact us today for a no obligation consultation at http://www.matrixforce.com.

Author: Kevin Fream
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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In the not to distance past, antivirus firewall software did not exist. You would have to purchase antivirus software, firewall software and spyware all separately. There was not an all in one package containing all three together in the same suite like there is today. Software manufacturers are now making software in combination packages that are a perfect fit for small business owners and home computer use too.

Antivirus Firewall Software comprises three parts. One is the antivirus portion that keeps viruses from attacking your system and can remove those already on your system. Another part of the system is the Firewall software that prevents any information from your computer or to your computer without your permission in the prescribed code written into the software. The third part of the software would be the Spyware Software to prevent and remove Spyware from your system.

Why do you need all this protection you ask? Antivirus Software is to prevent and remove viruses from your computer. Firewall software is to prevent hackers and hacking software from accessing your personal information like bank account numbers or your identity. Spyware software is to prevent and remove Spyware from your system. Spyware tracks your movement on the Internet for reasons that can be good or bad. The good is depositing cookies on your computer to recognize you when you revisit a site. Banks use this type of cookie to help keep other people from accessing your information for example. Some sites use cookies for advertising purposes. Some of these are harmless and some are not.

How does each of these work you ask? Antivirus Software scans all incoming data from email, Internet downloads and file sharing you may have with other people. Any good Antivirus program updates itself often to keep up with all the new known codes viruses are written with. Without keeping current the software can not know which codes to exclude. New viruses are written constantly in very large numbers. Virus codes can be very complex and creative but are written in code just like beneficial software. Keeping up to date is critical for good protection.

All computers talk to each other using data packets. This is where Firewall Software comes in. It is the job of the Firewall Software to monitor this data for corrupted or altered packets of info. It will not allow any data to enter your system if it notes any packets that are not written into the software to accept. The software can even pop up a box to ask if you want to accept this type of data if it is not recognized. Good Firewall Software is needed to keep your system safe.

The third part of this software suite is Antispyware Software. Spyware programs are not designed to crash your operating system but are designed to spy on all your activity on the Internet as well as files on your computer and gather that data for someone else’s benefit. Antispyware Software is to keep this software from attaching to your computer system and to remove any of this software already on your system. Spyware can cripple your system performance over time if it allowed on your system. I have seen computers with hundreds of spyware cookies on the system and the computer was so slow it was unusable. After the spyware was removed the computer operated at normal speed.

My advice is to purchase good Antivirus Firewall Software and keep it updated. With this type of software loaded on your system you can enjoy your computer for surfing the Internet and for file sharing with your friends or for business purposes.

Posted by LaZinnia Manley on December 08, 2009

Please visit Antivirus Firewall Software for more information. If you need this software Please go to Antivirus Firewall Software and follow the instructions.

Author: LaZinnia Manley
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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