Firewalls are the number one security tool, and our readers frequently ask us about them. Use this primer to make sure your firewall is right for your network.
A firewall is a set of related programs, located at a network gateway server, that protects the resources of a private network from users from other networks. (The term also implies the security policy that is used with the programs.) An enterprise with an intranet that allows its workers access to the wider Internet installs a firewall to prevent outsiders from accessing its own private data resources and for controlling what outside resources its own users have access to. Learn more about firewalls and how they work in this guide.
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