Computer Protection 101: Firewall Vs. Antivirus Software

“Congratulations! You’ve been chosen as our lucky prize winner of $100,000,000! Claim your prize money by clicking here!” Most people would know better than to open any link or file sent by unknown parties. However, sometimes these ‘offers’ may also appear in the form of emails claimed to be sent by a reputable organization or bank. The gullible are lured into these fraudulent scams and become victims of unwanted computer viruses. Without protection, the internet can be a dangerous place for computers. With a good network security, you can protect your computers from harm.

 

Before you start looking for them, let us get a better idea on the more common types of network security, namely the firewall and antivirus software.

 

FIREWALL

For starter, let us look at an analogy. At the custom immigration checkpoint, the immigration officers will follow a set of regulations, ensuring only certain things or people can enter the country. Just like the firewall, with a security policy, it has a set of pre-defined rules that only permits authorized traffic to transfer across it. Firewall acts as a shield that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic.

 

When you receive a 200 MB file from the network, you don’t receive the entire file at once. Instead, you receive them in chunks, say 5 MB per second. These ‘chunks’ are called data packets.

 

The firewall inspects the incoming data packets from untrusted outside network the internet to a trusted internal network your computer.

 

ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE

Before we explore the antivirus software, we need to firstly understand the malware. Malware is basically derived from the words Malicious and Software. Often written by hackers, these programmes are designed to gain access to your computer system without permission. Viruses, spyware, ransomware, Trojan horse, adware and worms are some examples of malware. They do damages to the computer, steal data and causes a series of problems.

 

But thankfully, there is the antivirus software that serves as an application software to offer protection against these diabolical malwares.

 

Antivirus software deals with both internal and external threats by scanning infected files and software. It deletes infected files, quarantines them and monitors the internet traffic which helps to prevent further attacks. Additional regular antivirus scan, vulnerability detection and internet traffic control are known to be performed by many traditional antivirus software.

 

To simplify the approaches of an antivirus software process, it is divided into three stages, namely detecting, identification and removal.

 

Firstly, the antivirus software locates the infected file or program. Then, it identifies the type of malware in the computer. Lastly, it removes the infected file and all its traces before restoring the original backup file or programme.

 

CONCLUSION

To sum things up, firewall only deals with external attacks. It monitors and filters data packets by restricting or blocking incoming/outgoing traffic, ensuring the prevention of untrusted or unauthorized programmes from gaining access to your computer.

 

Antivirus software deals with both external and internal attacks. It detects, identifies and removes malwares by scanning the infected files and software in your computer.

 

With a better idea of the differences between these two types of network security, you will need to protect your computer by finding an antivirus and firewall dealer. In Malaysia, there is a wide range of IT solution companies to choose from.

 

Mewamax Solutions Sdn Bhd is recommended as your first choice for additional computer network security. In addition to bringing in an extensive range of well-known brands related to IT, Mewamax Solutions Sdn Bhd is also an authorized firewall and antivirus dealer in Malaysia such as Fortinet and Webroot. Providing people with top quality IT products and services is how we ensure our customers stay happy and satisfied.

 

So, what are you waiting for? Visit our office or call now at 03-6272 8031 to let us offer your computer the protection it deserves.