Install and activate software firewalls on all your business systems.
Install, use, and keep updated a software firewall on each computer system used in your small business.
If you use the Microsoft Windows operating system, it probably has a firewall included. You have to ensure that the firewall is operating, but it should be available.
To check the software firewall provided with Microsoft Windows XP, click on "Start" then "Settings", then "Control Panel", then "Windows Firewall". Select the "General" tab on the top of the popup window. You can see if the firewall is on or off. If it is off, select "On-Recommended" in the hollow circle next to the green check-mark icon.
To check the software firewall provided with Microsoft Windows Vista, click on "Start" then "Control Panel" then "Windows Firewall." If your firewall is working, you should see a message that "Windows Firewall is helping to protect your computer." If not, click on ‘Turn Windows Firewall on or off" (in the upper left corner of the window) and select "Turn on firewall."
When using other commercial operating systems, ensure that you fully review operations manuals to discover if your system has a firewall included and how it is enabled.
There are commercial software firewalls that you can purchase at a reasonable price or free that you can use with your Windows systems or with other operating systems. Again, internet searches and using online/trade magazine reviews and references can assist in selecting a good solution.
As recommended in Section 2.1, ensure that your home systems and your employees’ home systems have firewalls installed and operational on them.
It is necessary to have software firewalls on each computer even if you have a hardware firewall protecting your network. If your hardware firewall is compromised by a hacker or by malicious code of some kind, you don’t want the intruder or malicious program to have unlimited access to your computers and the information on those computers.
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