The purpose of a personal firewall is to prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to your computer through the Internet or a network. This can be done in several ways.

All firewalls refer to a pre-configured security policy to decide which communications to permit or deny in order to provide a defensive ring. Any large organisation or network, such as a bank or a transit control system will have a Firewall, which will most likely be a combination of a physical appliance or appliances and interrogation gateways, proxy servers and packet filtering. So, whereas a firewall is designed to protect a network or system a personal firewall is only designed to protect the computer or PDA on which it is installed.

Your personal firewall is usually the last line of defense between your PC and the outside world so it’s important to make sure it’s operational. Your PC will already have a basic firewall installed as soon as it comes out of the box. But you might be surprised at how many people have their firewalls deactivated without even realising, whether through oversight, neglect or in some cases hacking!

Assuming your firewall is functioning correctly it will attempt to control information flowing into and out of your computer. It may do this quietly in the background according to predesignated parameters, or it may flag up unusual activity to you so you can establish a rule. With newly installed firewall software this can be a little irritating at first but it’s essential if it is going to ‘learn’ about your preferences. The most important thing about your personal firewall is that it prevents hackers from gaining access to or control of your computer.

So, what kind of personal firewall do you need? Well, one you can trust and rely on. But it’s important to stress that a personal firewall on it’s own is a weak defense – the thin red line. It needs the support and backup of anti-virus, anti-spyware, and anti-malware software to detect and prevent intruders.

But you don’t need to spend a fortune on a separate personal firewall. There are some very good free personal firewalls available, and most commercial anti-virus and internet security suites will include a beefed up firewall.

As you might expect the free personal firewalls available are usually cut down versions of the commercial product, but may well be enough for home users. However, if you rely on your computer for your work or business then you really should consider upgrading. The free versions, though, may be a great way of sampling the goods before you buy.

Free personal firewalls

PC Tools

ZoneAlarm
Download ZoneAlarm Free Firewall Now!

Not-so-free dedicated firewalls

ZoneAlarm

ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall 2010 – Save up to 50%

Small and Medium Businesses

CA Business Intrusion Prevention Systems and Gateway Security Products
Available from the Business Shop at the Computer Associates Store!

Some software promoting itself as security software intentionally hurts end-users rather than helping them. CCSS (Common Computing Security Standards) has created a list of known legitimate software vendors. The listed companies all create and distribute security software legitimately designed to protect consumers. Of course, with the vast amount of software available and the dynamic nature of the market, this list is not a complete representation of all security software, but serves as a starting point to differentiate between legitimate protection and viruses or ransomware in disguise. If you have any doubts about a ‘security software’ provider you could do worse than visit the CCSS Forum.

The site also provides some helpful compatibility information reported by both vendors and software users. This could  be really helpful if your system is acting strangely and you suspect that it might be due to some recently installed security software.

…For more information visit  http://www.ccssforum.org/index.php