Why Your Business Needs Both Software and Hardware Firewalls

When you search for firewalls, you will find combinations to protect hardware, software or both at the same time. While they are both valuable components of your cybersecurity, each type of firewall serves different purposes. Learn the difference between hardware and software firewalls and determine which one offers the best protection for your company.

Many internet security products bundle antivirus and firewall software. This combination is marketed to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs); however, many users don’t know the difference between them or how each one works. Let’s be clear about what they do.

Hardware Firewalls

A hardware firewall is a physical unit or device, much like a server, that filters the traffic going to a computer acting as a perimeter boundary. It protects your entire network from the outside traffic with a single physical device. This device is installed between your computer network and the internet, but instead of plugging a network cable directly into a computer, the cable is plugged into the firewall first. The firewall sits between the external network and the server, providing an antivirus solution and a hard barrier against intrusions.

Some of the advantages of physical firewalls:

• One single device for controlling your network and every computer connected to your server

• Simultaneous updates and upgrades for all computers on the network

• Always on providing constant protection

• Better security with their own, separate operating system

• Prevention of threats from reaching internal drives

Software Firewalls

They operate from inside your computer via an application.

Although the physical device has the same general mission as the virtual product, they operate slightly different. Software firewalls work only on the computers on which they are installed, therefore, you need to buy multiple licenses to protect several computers. You also need expertise to manage the firewall to keep up with changing threats.

Since they don't have their own operating systems, software firewalls can drain crucial computing power and memory. And there are security threats. Bad actors target software firewalls because they're right there on the computer they seek to exploit.

Advantages coming from software firewalls:

• Lower initial investment. Normally, they come with a relatively low monthly fee

• No physical space is required

• Easy installation; a few clicks to be up and running

Fortify Your Security

As IT experts, we recommend having both types of firewalls to add security to your company, whether this is a small business or a big enterprise.

The hardware firewall is like the border guard keeping an eye out for dangerous traffic. It inspects incoming internet traffic to protect you from malware and cyberthreats, providing dependable protection while saving memory and processing power. With many devices getting data from the same server, a single physical firewall can provide valuable and convenient security to many devices at the same time, saving your IT team time and effort.

At Zakini, we can set up firewalls to pass only safe data. This adds a layer of protection to your network and also secures network-connected devices. Workstations, printers, digital equipment, and telephone systems often don't have software firewalls.

So, combining firewalls protects both local computers and other devices on your network. The hardware firewall checks traffic coming in from and going out to the internet, whereas the software firewall secures what’s coming into or out of the computer, even from internet sources.

Think about it this way: A cybercriminal is trying to access your systems. They take many approaches, one of which is trying to breach your network perimeter. Another is sending targeted communications to sucker someone into clicking on a virus-laden email. The hardware firewall could stop the perimeter attack, but the software helps stop the malware infection spreading from the user’s computer to others in your office.

We Are Firewall Experts

Firewalls can give your business tremendous control over:

• How users connect to the internet.

• What information is retrieved from the internet.

• Whether files can leave the company over the network.

• What devices are accessible and from where.

Yet both software and hardware firewalls need the right expertise to install correctly. Firewalls must be regularly monitored and closely managed, because threats are constantly changing.

Combining firewalls adds protection but only if you configure them to minimize weaknesses. You’ll need someone to identify compatibility issues and avoid blocking legitimate data.

Partner with us. We know how to work with firewall rules and we understand what they mean and how to react to alerts generated. Have you heard of a breach that compromised Target's point of sale systems? That fiasco involved ignored firewall alerts! Don't let it happen to you.

Let us help you set up and maintain the firewall protection that you need. Give us a ring today! 305 400 0992.