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When to use a firewall? The answer to that question is very simple. You should be having the properly configured and workable firewall installed on your computer all the time.

Why, you may ask, should you use the firewall and what exactly it does for your computer?

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER FIREWALL

To explain in a simple terms the firewall is a security system for your computer. Compared to your home or car alarm, the computer firewall will keep your computer out of harm's way by acting as a security buffer (thus a name firewall) between the information stored on your computer and unauthorized attempts to access such information by anyone outside your trusted zone of contacts and web sites (resources you authorize to have an access to your computer).

In maintaining the proper security for your computer it is not only important to have the firewall but it is also important to have the firewall configured and operating properly. Just as your home or car alarm will not stop a thief if it is not installed and running properly, the computer firewall will not prevent an intruder from gaining the unauthorized access to your computer unless it is running and is configured properly

TYPES OF COMPUTER FIREWALLS

The computer firewall may consist of software (program you have installed or enabled on your computer) and hardware (a piece of equipment that sits in between your computer and the unsecured Internet connection) or it may be the combination of both. Depending on the size of the network (how many computers the firewall is protecting) you can have a simple or a complex firewall set in place. But in the end regardless of the topology and the complexity the basic principle and operation of the computer firewall can be simplified to few general observations.

PROTECTION OF INFORMATION

What value does your private information (stored on your computer) have to a potential intruder? The answer is a lot. Even if you do not use your computer to store any personal information (social security number, bank and credit card numbers, address, phone number, contact list of your friends and associates, etc.) your computer can be still a potential tool to an intruder that he or she may use to launch further attacks against the targets of more value.

Commonly referred as zombie computers or collectively as
botnet groups such compromised computers had been used to relay spam to other machines, launch crippling attacks to web sites and other machines (distributed denial of services or DDoS attacks,

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