[Infowarrior] - Hardware Versus Software Firewalls

[Richard Forno]

Hardware Versus Software Firewalls
by Chris Swartz and Randy Rosel
02/15/2007

According to estimates, an unprotected Windows computer system connected to
the Internet could be compromised within twelve minutes. In light of this,
the need for computer security has expanded in the last few years. Today, it
is just as necessary for home users to secure personal computers as it is
for businesses to secure office computers. In order to gain security
benefits like those many businesses possess, home network security often
utilizes the same models. The difference, however, has been that most home
users do not have the financial resources for top of the line security
equipment. This has led many home users to begin using security tools such
as freeware firewalls and over-the-counter hardware firewall solutions.

This raises a question. How do the freeware firewalls compare to expensive,
all-in-one firewall solutions such as the Cisco PIX? The goal for this
project, then, is to compare the Cisco PIX with two freeware firewalls.

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http://www.oreillynet.com/lpt/a/6937