Firewalls as a Defense

A good information protection strategy uses multiple layers of defense. One such layer is a good firewall.

Would you place your computer on the internet knowing that hackers are constantly probing and attacking it looking for your credit card and social security numbers? I don’t think so, but hackers are doing just that. They constantly look for vulnerable systems that are easily compromised, and they receive that satisfaction every day. Trust me – as an IT professional for over 20 years I look at the logs and see constant threats to information security.

Your internet router provides a little protection, but you are not truly invisible to hackers unless you have a computer-based firewall. While Windows Vista/7/8 have a built-in firewall (hopefully you have yours turned on and configured correctly) the standard operating system firewall does not look for outgoing sensitive data such as provided by Comodo Internet Security Pro 6. Don’t even think about trusting the Windows XP firewall if you are unforunately still using this 13 year old operating system that will officially be dropped from Microsoft support in April 2014.

Most computer users simply don’t have the knowledge to properly configure a firewall. It’s best to use a product that requires minimal skills to properly defend your important information. Our recommendation is to use the integrated firewall in McAfee Total Protection.