What is a Firewall and How Does It Work?
Keeping digital assets secure is important for every business. One tactic that can be used to protect the network your business uses is a firewall. While you’ve probably heard the term “firewall” before, and you may have known that it had something to do with security, the details of what it is and how it can help may be fuzzy. This article will break down those details and help you gain a firm understanding of what a firewall can bring to your organization.
The Basic Concept of a Firewall
At the heart of a firewall is a simple goal – to keep ill-intentioned traffic from gaining access to your network. A firewall can use either a piece of hardware or a piece of software to establish control over who comes and goes within a network. Keeping certain people out of the network – such as hackers with the goal of stealing data or corrupting your files – can be a huge boost to security and could save you a significant amount of time and money in the long run.
Many Different Possibilities
There are plenty of different ways in which a firewall can work to filter traffic. As a starting point, you can use the potential visitor’s IP address to decide if they should be allowed in. You aren’t going to want to use this approach to determine who can visit your public website – no one in the general public would be able to reach it – but it’s a great tool for restricting access to the back end. This way, you can create a closed system with a firewall that will only grant access to IP addresses already on the approved list.
Stopping unwanted incoming traffic via IP address restrictions is a good start to using a firewall effectively, but it’s only the beginning. In addition to handling incoming traffic, a firewall can also be used to place controls on outgoing traffic from within the organization. For instance, if you want to make sure employees aren’t wasting time on websites that could distract them from getting work done, or on sites that aren’t appropriate to visit while at work, you can use a firewall to control browsing. You’ll be able to customize your firewall’s settings to match the needs of your business so the restrictions can provide benefits without getting in the way of operations.
How Expensive are Firewalls?
While it’s pretty easy to understand the benefits of having a firewall in place for your business, you may hesitate to take further action due to concerns over the cost of such protection. Fortunately, you are likely to be surprised by the modest cost of this feature. When you work with a proven IT Company like ComTech on this project, you’ll get outstanding results and great value for your money.
To work with a provider that can offer firewall protection in Raleigh and nearby areas, look to ComTech for assistance. The pros at ComTech will work with you to create a custom solution that properly addresses the security requirements of your business.
Firewalls Are Not a Set It and Forget It Protection
Technology is always changing, and this applies to firewalls too. Just as your computer has updates to patch holes or vulnerabilities, firewalls need updates as well. Having an IT company manage your firewall will ensure it is always up to date and configured correctly. These updates often must be done in the middle of the night to eliminate any hiccups during the workday. Since a firewall is the middleman between your network and the rest of the internet, it is important someone has eyes on it all the time. Trust a company like ComTech to provide you with a managed firewall service that will protect your business.
