FIREWALL

APPLICATION

Personal PCs: 

     Firewalls in personal computing can be designed as a multi layered shield that protects vulnerable areas of a computer.  Vulnerable areas are an operating system, applications content stored on a PC, and a network connection.  There are several types of personal firewall software packages are  BlackICE, CheckIT, ConSeal, Deerfield, eSafe Desktop, eTrust EZ, Firekeys, Freedom, GuardWall. HackTracer, Internet Firewall 2000, Kaspersky, Kerio, Look'n'Stop, McAfee, Mindsoft, NeoWatch, Norman, Norton, Outpost, pcInternet Patrol, PC Viper, Preventon, Privacyware, SecureUp, SurfSecret, Sphinx, Sygate, TermiNet, TGB:BOB, Tiny, VirusMD, VisNetic, Webroot & ZoneAlarm.  Without utilizing some form of Internet security on a computer it is possible for a perpetrator to enter into a foreign computer and retrieve critical. Information about an idividuals acccounts, credit card numbers or any other information that is stored on that PC as long as it is connected to an Internet.

Small to Medium Business Applications:

     Although the Internet and the computer have been a boon to small businesses, this progress has not come without a price. Computer hacking, viruses and spamming have become ordinary, everyday business events. And according to Sandra Johnigan, a Dallas CPA and chairperson of the AICPA’s litigation and dispute resolution subcommittee, small businesses are particularly at risk of computer-
facilitated crimes. “Moreover, there is a growing trend of employees’ using the company’s computer to run their own businesses,” Johnigan observed. She said that dishonest employees also might steal their employers’ technology, customer lists or other business secrets in order to set up a competing enterprise. CPAs should advise their clients to take adequate security measures to protect the company’s secrets, including ensuring that sensitive documents are shredded or otherwise rendered unreadable before they are discarded.

     With limited personnel, small businesses frequently must compromise on the division of responsibilities. Nonetheless, to keep employees on the straight and narrow, managers should attempt to assign separate workers to the functions of data entry and asset control. In the simplest terms, an employee who controls records should not control assets and vice versa. Johnigan said that conducting business on the Internet usually is a safe proposition when accompanied by a few basic security procedures. Last year, the White House released a draft report for small business to be mindful of cyber security and to consider five simple steps to reduce risks of fraud.

       Use a tough password of at least eight digits, with a mix of numerals and uppercase and
          lowercase letters.
       Maintain an updated virus protection program.
       Install update “patches” (that is, check software company Web sites for improvements to
          existing security).
       Use filtering techniques.
        Use firewalls in computers that have “always on” broadband connections.

http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/mar2003/wells.htm

     In small and medium businesses a firewall operates similarly to that of a personal computer by enforcing an access control policy between two networks also It blocks traffic and it permits traffic. One application that can be vital to a business is how well firewall hardware or software can be configured to permit only e-mail traffic to pass, or it can provide less stringent protection, blocking services that are known to be problems. In small businesses the need is to protect sensitive data and corporate resources from intrusion from outsiders.  If an intruder is able to gather sensitive knowledge it may undermine a businesses competitive advantage by compromising new product developments or client base.
 

Large Corporations Applications:

     For larger corporation and the applications of firewalls it is critical that the application is designed to support multiple networks and more complex systems. Firewalls in larger corporations must provide a higher level of security than that of a personal PC or a small business application, because larger corporations have more to protect in terms of money, resources, and research and development.     
 

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