What Does A Firewall Do For A Network? | Anderson Technologies

A hardware firewall protects not just computers, but printers, servers, and any other device on the network. It is constantly on guard against intruders and puts up a good defense by acting as a gatekeeper, blocking unauthorized access to the network. When a hardware firewall is configured correctly, input from your IT provider informs the hardware what is safe and what is not, and it combats the threats while allowing the authorized users to access what they need.

Enterprise-grade firewalls permit each user account to be configured and managed, allowing for specific securities per user. This provides different levels of access to confidential data and tells your firewall how to act in regards to usage.

While a hardware firewall is meant to protect your network from the outside, it’s always best to have a layered security system, just in case one element fails. This is where a software firewall comes into play.

A software firewall is an application on your computer or server that alerts the user or IT manager to any problem, if a security risk gets through the hardware firewall. This is what many people associate the term firewall with and would recognize on their computers. Windows Defender Firewall, or any firewall program that comes with an operating system is considered a software firewall.

In combinations with other security measures, an enterprise-grade firewall can help your business fulfill security standards §164.308(a)(4) Information Access Management and §164.312(a)(1) Access Control. It also provides traffic logs that can help you audit (§164.312(b)) your network activity or find the source of a breach should one occur (§164.308(a)(6)).