A firewall is a security device — computer hardware or software — that can help protect your network by filtering traffic and blocking outsiders from gaining unauthorized access to the data on your computer. It allows administrators to determine what can come into a network and what can get out of a network, thus providing security from both internal and external threats.
It needs to be kept up-to-date. Firewall rules typically allow you to whitelist, blacklist, or block certain websites or IP addresses. When they haven’t been configured, everything is allowed into or out of the network. Rules are what give firewalls their security power, which is why they must constantly be maintained and updated to remain effective. Threats change, so must your rules.
Staying up to date with your network security appliance is absolutely necessary. For the same reasons we regularly update our phones, browsers, and desktop operating systems, it’s even more important to update a network firewall.
