Firewall and Antivirus: Is It Better to Use Together

Firewall and Antivirus: Can We Use Both Simultaneously

Both firewall and antivirus are security mechanisms designed to protect your system. A firewall is a low-level network security system designed to protect your system and network from malicious damage. Antivirus, on the other hand, is a software utility program designed to protect your computer from insider threats like viruses, malware, spyware, etc.

 

The purpose of a firewall is to restrict any unauthorized access to the system by monitoring network traffic inside and outside the system. It inspects the flow of data from the Internet to the system to decide which should be allowed and which should be restricted. The purpose of an antivirus program is to detect, scan, prevent, and remove harmful programs that can compromise your computer.

Typically, a firewall works at the network protocol level to protect public and private networks from unwanted intrusions. Setting up a firewall has its benefits, but it also has its drawbacks. It can only prevent unauthorized access between computer networks based on a predefined set of network protocols. Antivirus, on the other hand, works at the file level, which means that the software program will only search for harmful programs that are installed on your system, such as Trojans, adware, spyware, malware, rootkits, Keylogger, etc.

Is Virus Protection Enough?

Users often ask about the most appropriate way to configure their computers to protect against threats such as worms and Trojans. They claim that they have installed virus protection and that they have never opened spam email attachments.

Still, they wonder if those measures are enough. Antivirus protection is a fundamental part of an effective protection solution. It allows you to detect known threats and many that are new using heuristic technologies. But another technology can help strengthen your protection: a firewall.

How the Firewall Helps You Protect Your Website Vulnerabilities

While antivirus software helps you protect your file system from unwanted programs, the use of firewalls prevents attackers or external threats from accessing your system.

Other threats spread from computer to computer without the user noticing. If one of those computers has low-security settings or unpatched vulnerabilities, they can infiltrate the system without the user noticing. A good number of worms and Trojans, also called “bots”, spread in this way, using the Internet to search for computers to infect. The user will never realize that his system is in danger because the threat infiltrates his computer stealthily.

This is exactly where the firewall protection works.

The firewall monitors all network traffic and has permissions to identify and block unwanted traffic. The fact that today most computers are connected to the Internet provides attackers with endless potential victims. Attackers probe other computers connected to the Internet to determine if they are vulnerable to various kinds of attacks. When they detect a suitable victim, they can bypass your security systems and infiltrate that computer. At this point, the attacker can force the team to do just about any task he wants. Attackers often try to steal personal information to commit financial fraud. All this activity takes place in the background, without the user being aware of what is happening.

There are two basic classes of firewalls: client firewalls and firewall teams.

A client firewall is a software that resides on the computer itself and monitors all network traffic on that computer.

A computer firewall is a physical device connected between the Internet and the computer.

These devices are often used in small network environments where multiple computers must share the same Internet connection. Small routers in many homes and offices often have built-in firewalls. If you use a router, make sure it has a firewall.

Both of these types of firewall can prevent unwanted access to your computer.

Users who physically roam should always have a client firewall installed on their system. When we connect to the Internet outside of the office or home, we cannot take chances.

While antivirus software is an excellent means of protection, adding a firewall can be that right hook that knocks the attacker out of the game.