Bruce’s Shorts | 4.10 - Firewalls

You’ve got a firewall and you think that’s enough? When is the last time it was updated? In this series of Bruce’s Shorts, Bruce Devlin looks at computer security.

The word "firewall' doesn't really describe what an IT firewall does. It's more like a hazmat suit (hazardous materials suit) that forms a barrier between your computer or computer network and the outside world.

A simple firewall can monitor incoming traffic for threats. More sophisticated firewalls can learn how a network behaves and report strange behavior. This knowledge can be shared by large groups of users to mutual benefit and to update their firewalls. When did you last update your firewall?

Once a virus is inside the firewall, it isn't going to remove the virus, you need other software for that. 

VPNs may puncture the firewall. It is worthwhile learning how to configure your firewall. It won't solve all your problems, but it will help.

You might also like...

HDR & WCG For Broadcast: Part 3 - Achieving Simultaneous HDR-SDR Workflows

Welcome to Part 3 of ‘HDR & WCG For Broadcast’ - a major 10 article exploration of the science and practical applications of all aspects of High Dynamic Range and Wide Color Gamut for broadcast production. Part 3 discusses the creative challenges of HDR…

IP Security For Broadcasters: Part 4 - MACsec Explained

IPsec and VPN provide much improved security over untrusted networks such as the internet. However, security may need to improve within a local area network, and to achieve this we have MACsec in our arsenal of security solutions.

Standards: Part 23 - Media Types Vs MIME Types

Media Types describe the container and content format when delivering media over a network. Historically they were described as MIME Types.

Building Software Defined Infrastructure: Part 1 - System Topologies

Welcome to Part 1 of Building Software Defined Infrastructure - a new multi-part content collection from Tony Orme. This series is for broadcast engineering & IT teams seeking to deepen their technical understanding of the microservices based IT technologies that are…

IP Security For Broadcasters: Part 3 - IPsec Explained

One of the great advantages of the internet is that it relies on open standards that promote routing of IP packets between multiple networks. But this provides many challenges when considering security. The good news is that we have solutions…