While the latter are often more proficient in blocking intrusion attempts, they are also much more expensive and infinitely more complicated than software firewalls that are often available for free. Such technology can come either in the form of a software package that can be installed on personal computation devices, or as Hardware-based firewalls that typically run on dedicated systems to protect entire networks from hackers. What is a Firewall and Why do we Need One?Ī firewall is a network security system that monitors the incoming and outgoing traffic to and from device(s) connected to a network (typically, the internet), and serves as an intrusion and extrusion detection mechanism to prevent attacks. In the following article, we’ll take a look at some of the best free firewall software you can install on your Windows PCs right now, but before that, let’s just take a look at what firewalls really are and why we need to take them more seriously than we generally do.
