Q: What’s a firewall and do I need one at home?
A: Focusing on internet security is key to staying safe online, and a firewall serves as a critical element of defense for your entire home network.
The good news is that you are likely using several firewalls already!
Your private security team
The analogy that I like to use for a firewall is to think of your home network as a concert venue.
There’s a security team at every entrance ensuring that only those with a ticket may enter and to ensure that no dangerous items are allowed inside the arena.
One of the great things about the internet is that it allows any device, anywhere in the world, to connect with any other connected device, but this open connectivity poses an obvious security problem.
Controlling what devices are allowed to communicate with your devices based on a set of rules is the fundamental job of a firewall.
Instead of an open door to the world, your home network’s entrance is hidden and protected by firewalls.
Hardware vs. software firewalls
A firewall can protect you via hardware or software, and both are critically important.
Your home network uses a ‘router’ to route traffic to and from the internet and it has a firewall incorporated as part of its design.
Everything connected to the wired or wireless router in your home (computers, smartphones, webcams, doorbells, etc.) is behind the firewall and invisible to the greater internet.
It acts as your first line of defense, but your computer’s operating system (Windows, macOS, etc.) also has a firewall built-in to act as a second line of defense.
There was a time when you would need to install a third-party firewall program for protection, but unless have a specialized need such as detailed parental controls or enhanced monitoring, what you already have is protecting you.
The built-in software firewall is also important for when you use your computer on public or unsecured Wi-Fi networks.
Smartphones don’t have traditional firewalls, but both Apple’s iOS and Android OS have somewhat similar protections that control what apps can and can’t do as well as limiting interaction between apps and preventing suspicious or unsafe connections.
Compromising your firewall
Firewalls are just one part of a comprehensive security approach, but there are common mistakes users make that could allow the ‘security team’ to be bypassed or compromised.
Not updating your devices can allow newly discovered exploits to trick them into allowing unauthorized access -— kind of like ‘fake credentials’ at the concert.
If you’ve been to a music festival recently, only see-through bags are allowed as a security measure. This ‘rule’ is enforced by the ‘security team’ (the firewall) and other rules are added via the updates to help them identify new threats.
Downloading software or apps from questionable sites can include hidden malware that is designed to ‘punch a hole’ in your firewall —- or open a side gate away from the security team.
Phishing emails with links to malicious code are designed to probe your system to see if you missed an update (forgot to update the security team), which can provide a ‘back door’ into your concert venue
