Firewall

A firewall is software that every device, both in personal and enterprise setting, needs in order to prevent unauthorized access to a network. Using a set of rules to identify and block threats, a firewall inspects incoming and outgoing traffic, in order to mitigate threats.

Other important functions of firewalls include:
- Performing important logging and audit functions - they keep a record of events, which administrators use to identify security patterns and improve rule sets, to keep up with ever-evolving cybersecurity threats.
- Help vendors discover new threats and develop patches to cover them as soon as possible.
- Guarding an organization's network perimeter against external threats, and within a network to create segmentation and protect from insider threats.

In a single home network, personal firewalls, unlike corporate ones, are usually a single product as opposed to a collection of various products.
Addtionally, a firewall is often used alongside an antivirus solution.