Firewall software can protect you against hacking attempts, data theft, and network intrusion. Here we feature the best available.
The best firewalls help protect against malware infection by preventing unauthorized programs from accessing the internet. Trojans could open up ports on user PCs to secretly send data, and sniffers could look for vulnerabilities in your network connection that would allow it to be exploited. Even though developments in anti-virus and malware technology have improved significantly over that time, firewalls still remain a recommended requirement for all PC users because the risks have evolved rather than stopped. While any good anti-virus program can prevent obviously malicious activity on your PC, sometimes software and apps can abuse their permissions to create unauthorized network connections, which could be exploited to collect user data from your computer. This is where firewalls really come into their own, insisting that the software on your PC has your express permission to connect online, while also keeping remote attacks blocked. While some firewalls are provided as standalone products, others come as part of an internet security suite from antivirus companies which can offer a wide range of additional protections. Business users can also enjoy the protection of cloud firewalls. For Linux users, we’ve featured the best free Linux firewalls and the best Linux firewall distro. In the meantime, here we’ll showcase the best in firewall protection for your computer, covering first the best paid firewall protection platforms, followed by the best free ones. Bitdefender Total Security is a powerful internet security suite that offers a firewall among a range of featured security protections. There’s also anti-virus protection, but its multi-layered malware protection also protects against ransomware. Other features include anti-phishing, anti-fraud, and anti-theft options, as well as a performance optimizer. A wide range of privacy protection options include anti-tracking, file encryption and shredder, parental controls, as well as protection for microphones to prevent them being used by a third-party., Bitdefender Total Security isn’t just for protecting Windows users either, but can also be used to protect against attacks for Android, macOS, and iOS as well. Even better, a single product licence allows you to use the software on up to 5 different devices, so you can use Bitdefender Total Security for your home PC as well as smartphone. Overall, Bitdefender Total Security pretty much does what it names suggests, offering a very wide range of security protections that goes beyond just a firewall. However, pricing is very reasonable, making it cheap and easy to get peace of mind. Avast Premium Security is another paid-for full-feature internet security suite which comes in two main forms: single PC use, or up to 10 devices including macOS, iOS, and Android. As with Bitdefender, this means that you can protect both a home PC as well as mobile devices. However, because there’s an option to protect up to 10 devices it means you can use a single license to protect the family as well. As well as a firewall for all devices, Avast Premium Security also protects anti-ransomware protection, file encryption and file shredder options. There are also anti-phishing and anti-fraud protections for safer online banking, and there’s also protection against your webcam being hacked by a third-party. Overall, Avast Premium Security is another solid and reliable internet security suite, but one thing that does let it down is the constant pop-up ads pushing on cross-sell for PC tune-up and other software. Norton 360 Deluxe offers an even richer and more feature-packed internet security suite than just providing a firewall. While it provides for antivirus and standard anti-malware protections like the above internet security suites it dares to go further.
