Protect Your Computer with a Firewall

December 22, 2008

A firewall should be installed on your computer given the rise in numbers of computer hackers, scammers and viruses around the Internet. Defense from malicious data harming your computer is provided by a firewall. Dangerous attacks to your computer can negatively impact you but these can be avoided with firewall protection.

You first need to determine what kind of firewall you need for your computer as there are many available including some from major corporations such as Microsoft. A computer that came installed with the Microsoft XP or Vista operating system is likely to have a firewall already set up and ready to use. Check that it’s turned on and working properly. Purchase your own software if you don’t have one of these newer operating systems. The XP version hasn’t had great reviews so you may still want to buy a separate firewall software if you have Microsoft XP.

You can either visit a store that sells computer software or download a firewall product through the Internet – the most popular products available are Norton, AVG and McAfee. Prices vary depending on sophistication of the software, but there are also plenty of low cost versions available, even from the big name companies. You need to consider a few things prior to installing your firewall. These programs can block certain functions that you need so you need to configure it to allow those programs such as file and printer sharing. Settings can be configured during installation or at a later date using the documentation provided.

Firewalls tend to stop you from going to certain parts of the Internet as well. You should be aware how you connect to your computer as this may happen if you use a local area network or a router. When you have your firewall in place, secured networks in particular are difficult to access. A PC linked to a company network may require specific settings configuration to allow you to connect a firewall to them and the company’s IT department should be able to advise you with this.