Firewalls: Protect Your Computer, Personal Information, and Help Prevent You From Getting Scammed

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What kind of information do you store on your computer?  Do you store financial documents?  Are you one of those people that receive all of you bills via electronic statements and stores them on your computer?  Or maybe you are one of those people that has scanned and saved important documents like birth and marriage certificates.
The next question is what security measures have you implemented to safeguard that important information on your computer?  Many may reply to this question with stating they use antivirus software to protect their computer and information.  Well, that is a start; however, another line of defense to add to your information security arsenal should be to implement and maintain a firewall.
According to Audri and Jim Lanford, "Independent tests show that without a firewall, a standard PC that is connected to the Internet can be compromised in 10 to 20 minutes"  (http://www.scambusters.org/firewall.html).  If that statistic doesn't motivate you to learn more about firewalls and implement one at your home and maybe even your business then I don't know what will.  If you have decided to continue reading then I have probably got your attention.
A firewall is a shield that protects malicious content from the Internet from entering your network or computer.  They function by monitoring incoming Internet traffic for known malicious content or content that appears suspicious.  When known or suspected content is discovered a properly configured firewall will block the content and alert the user of the activity.
Firewalls come in two forms, hardware or software.  Home networks and computers often utilize firewall software.  This is mainly due to their ease of use and affordability.  Hardware firewalls are commonly used in organizations with extensive networks and can be quit complicated to configure.  They provide better protection and are more expensive when compared to software firewalls.  However, hardware firewall purchase costs continue to decrease which has triggered the implementation of them in homes and other small networks (Audri Lanford and Jim Lanford, n.d., http://www.scambusters.org/firewall.html).
It is apparent that a firewall can strengthen your information security by providing another line of defense that must be circumvented in order to get to your valued information.  It is important to note that a firewall doesn't always protect you from malicious attacks.  Scammers are constantly inventing new methods that attempt to evade your information security measures.  That is it is important to have multiple lines of defense (education, training, antivirus, etc.) to protect your personal information and lessen your chances of falling victim to a scam.

References:

Lanford, A., & Lanford, J. (n.d.). How does a firewall work and how can it protect your computer? Retrieved February 12, 2013, from http://www.scambusters.org/firewall.html

OCAL. (n.d.). Firewall network block communication data clip art [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.clker.com/clipart-1771.html