Firewalls

 

Firewalls

 

 

So what is a firewall?  What does it do?  Who needs one?  These are all common questions that we hear at Blueline.  There is a lot of confusion about the term.  We'd like to clarify it a bit for you and help you understand what a firewall is and what it can do for you.

Originally, a firewall was a wall that was installed inside of a building that was designed to prevent a fire or potential fire from spreading to other parts of a building or compartment.  Then later on, the term was used in automobiles as the manufacturers inserted a metal sheet between the engine compartment and the main cabin of the vehicle to ensure that a fire could not spread from the engine compartment into the inside of the car and harm the occupant.

Today, firewalls are primarily used to describe a system that is designed to keep intruders out and sensitive information in.  The PRIMARY thing a firewall does is stop threats from getting in.

• Stop intruders from attacking and getting into your network and getting your data.
• Stop viruses and spyware.
• Make certain the most important types of traffic get through (Traffic shaping).
• Stop staff from going to the "wrong type" of websites (Web Filtering/ Content Filtering).
• Allow remote users access to company resources (VPN, RDP...)

 To summarize,  the main thing to keep in mind when looking at getting a firewall is; a firewall should keep intruders out and keep your sensitive information in.  We have years of experience installing and maintaining firewalls for many different size businesses with vastly different security concerns.  Contact us today to meet with one of our engineers to discuss what a firewall can do for you.

Also see Blueline newsletter at:

Blueline News Firewalls