A firewall is an architectural element that is used to prevent fire from spreading within a building. Its objective is that, in the event of a fire on one side, the fire does not pass to the other.
For this, the firewall is built with fire retardant materials. The presence of this construction element prevents the fire from spreading and other rooms or buildings neighboring the fire source are protected.
According to abbreviationfinder.org, the notion of firewalls is also used in the rural, forestry and agricultural fields. In this case, the firebreak is a strip of land that does not have any type of vegetation. In this way, said strip acts as a barrier to fire, since it does not allow it to spread.
Firebreaks can be natural (such as a stream), man -made (a road), or created specifically to prevent the spread of fire (a deliberately deforested area).
For computing, a firewall or firewall (by its name in English) is a device used to protect a network. What the firewall does is block unauthorized access, limiting traffic according to various criteria.
Firewalls can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of both. One of the most common uses of the firewall is in private networks connected to the Internet, so that unauthorized users do not have access. The firewall analyzes each message that enters or leaves the private network (intranet), blocking those that do not meet the security requirements.
Advantages and disadvantages of firewalls
The concept that people usually have of the firewall is that it is a real wall that stands between the computer and any external entity that tries to enter it to harm it. However, a more realistic view speaks of a filter that allows the data the user needs to pass through and blocks potential threats before they have a chance to disrupt the system. In practice, not all firewalls are effective all the time, as many have flaws that are exploited by viruses.
One of the main advantages of the firewall is that it prevents the system from being infected by viruses and malware that often reach such deep levels that an antivirus is unable to completely eliminate them. Before such threats, the solution usually requires manual intervention, something that only a few users can do without worsening the situation or permanently ruining the computer.
Another strong point of firewalls is that they protect personal information such as credit card and bank account numbers against spyware and keyloggers, since once they have stolen our identity, it is not only necessary to eliminate them but to proceed to change our secret keys already. carry out procedures such as requesting new cards.
With regard to its disadvantages, it is common for firewalls to block absolutely safe programs, both those that the user usually uses regularly and those that are installed after activating the firewall, which generates a series of complications and disorders that often lead the user to refuse protection.
On the other hand, there are firewalls that considerably slow down the system, to the point of offering less performance than the user needs to carry out their usual tasks, which also usually leads to their deactivation, putting the computer at risk once again.
To find a good firewall, the best advice is to investigate forums and opinion sites, read many testimonials and evaluate the available products according to the characteristics of our equipment and the type of activities we need to carry out, since there is no ideal protection for all cases.