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Internet Security

Why You Must Install a Firewall

Many professional PC owners agree that connecting to the internet without a firewall is like leaving your house unlocked when you leave for work. Eventually someone will find your open door and wander in to snoop through your house and leave with all your valuables. Why take these risks when there is a large quantity of free firewall software available for immediate installation? Even experienced PC users find it very difficult to configure and understand Firewall’s. So, if you’re one of those procrastinators who keep putting off downloading this valuable free software, STOP. It’s time to protect your PC like you protect your home. Take a few minutes and find the firewall for you.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes the original meaning of firewall as “a wall constructed to prevent the spread of fire.” PC firewalls are made to prevent any unwanted intrusions from anywhere on the internet and into your PC. Unlike an actual fire, internet threats don’t jump out at you through simple proximity. These internet threats develop when a user imposes a combination of your computers Internet Protocol (IP) address and one or more of the hundreds of thousands Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Universal Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports that is utilized as the door to your system.

1. Firewall’s secure PC’s and their networks and protect them from viruses, spy ware, hackers, worms, website and email threats, along with a wide variety of other threats out there lying in wait for their next victim. Without an installed firewall on your PC, your chances of becoming their next victim increases every day.

2. If the first reason wasn’t enough to convince you to install a firewall, maybe this one will. Most of them are FREE. That’s right, free to download and free to install. Some free firewall’s are: Zone Labs Zone Alarm, Agnitum Limited, Outpost Firewall Free and Sygate Personal Firewall. Some of these programs may require a brief training period while the firewall is downloading.

3. When viruses and worms attack a PC, the whole computer can crash, costing you money to repair and time without your computer. This can be extremely harmful if you run an online business. Labor costs and replacements parts for computers can cost a pretty penny. And that’s if the computer is able to be fixed. Are you still willing to take that risk?

4. Firewall’s protect you from these threats to prevent your personal information from being stolen. Having a firewall can prevent hackers from getting in and stealing your account information. Whether it’s an account you hold with an online merchant, or you do your banking, bill payments or investing on line, if the money is there, there will be someone trying to get to it. Not having a firewall would be like leaving your house unlocked and your wallet on the kitchen table.

5. Along with blocking these unwanted intruders, firewall’s can prevent unwanted programs from running on your PC and will block these programs from sending data to outside servers and also from accepting data to an incoming connection.

Did you know that every time you use a web browser, email, or some other software to retrieve information, whether it’s from an ISP, website or other outside server, data courses through these ports? Regardless of whether the transgressor is a twelve year old hacker trying to gain access to your PC, a pop up spam Messenger, or spy ware trying to communicate with an outside server, the strategy is still the same. Someone or something is trying to find an open port to your PC or trying to trick your PC into opening one.

Firewall’s are installed to watch these hundreds of thousands of ports, whether it’s connection is through broadband or dial up, the firewall is there to deny access to all unwanted and unauthorized traffic. Most unwanted traffic that can be very harmful to your PC can appear very innocent and safe sounding, but beware and avoid temptation. Always deny access to any program you are not sure about. You will always have more chances to change your mind about them later. Anyone can install a firewall with just a few clicks of their mouse, isn’t it worth it?

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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007

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