The system that provides the barrier between the outside world and your computer is the firewall. The firewall examines all of the traffic that your computer sends and that comes to your computer. It will only open its gates if the traffic is on an allowed list of traffic sources and destinations. This vital computer system is nearly a requirement on all computer systems in order to protect them from viruses, worms, Trojans, and other threats. The question becomes: Should one choose a hardware firewall option, or a software option?
To …