A firewall is a piece of software that decides whether to accept or block network connections coming into and going out from your computer. It allows most outgoing connections, but blocks most incoming connections. Its purpose is not detect viruses but rather to stop other computers from gaining access to your computer. Routers have inbuilt firewalls so if there is a router between your computer and your Internet connection, then you are pretty safe. You should never go on the Internet without either being behind a router or having firewall software running on your computer. If you are accessing the Internet using a public wireless network (e.g. in a cafe or at a library) then you should have a firewall enabled on your computer because, although you are protected from computers elsewhere on the Internet, you are not protected from nearby computers that are accessing the same public wireless network.
Information on enabling your firewall can be found by a Google search such as
this one.
- Hans (EnterpriseDT)
