I have a Small Office; do I need to Invest in a Firewall?

All computers, no matter whether they are for home use or business should be protected. While there may not be any individual out there looking to hack into your system for malicious reasons, there are plenty of hackers who will do so simply because they can. With the help of your computer’s unique identification number, hackers can locate your system, recognise that it is vulnerable and attack. If you are the owner of a small office, you are as much at risk as a major conglomerate as your data can be stolen, deleted or broadcast to the world at the drop of a hat.

The Need for a Firewall

As a small business owner with maybe one or two employees, you probably believe that your workers are not going to be surfing inappropriate sites so you do not need a firewall. You are wrong. You do need a firewall for a multiple of reasons. At the very least, you are naïve to assume your staff will not misuse their freedom. Most employees do and if not for immoral sites, they will for social networking sites or gaming applications all of which put pressure on your network. Secondly, you risk losing your data through viruses, hackers and other nefarious online characters, which could put your entire business at risk.

The Software Firewall

Depending on the size of your business, you can choose between a software and hardware firewall. A software firewall is an application that is installed directly on the computer system. These can be purchased from all the major operating system suppliers or even downloaded for free from the web. The way a software firewall works is to review the data that is being received or sent from the web browser via the Internet and compare it against pre-defined rules on what can and cannot leave the network.

The Hardware Firewall

Most networked computers are connected to each other with the help of a router. This router acts as a hardware firewall for all the computers connected through it. They use packet or data filtering methodologies to understand the source and destination of data received and sent from the network. This analysis is compared to the pre-determined rules on acceptable data transfer criteria and the transfer is either permitted or restricted.

You can even use a combination of the two firewalls; however, it is advisable not to use them simultaneously.

All purchases of Sonicwall firewalls or Firewalls such as Cisco Firewalls, Cisco routers, Cisco switches, Cisco Telephones, telephone systems or telephones from Mitel, switches and other Sonicwall products can be easily made online.