Security Firewalls - Hardware VS Software

[Vio|37]

Hi Guys,

I would like to know your feedback/thoughts when comparing hardware and software application firewalls.

Many companies that I have worked for in the past have used hardware firewalls for eg: Cisco PIX, Cyberguard and Juniper etc...

I've been doing some research lately on software application firewalls and a very popular one out there is Microsoft's ISA Server 2xxx.

I have heard all sorts of hype about it and even heard that the US Defence also uses it to protect their systems but I am still a little iffy about it.

Having a software application firewall means that it will be run on an OS such as Windows or Linux, which will be sitting on a server of some sort therefore that, in itself I can see that there are already some major downsides but nevertheless I am very interested to see what some of you guys think about this topic.

[paleghost]

Re: Security Firewalls - Hardware VS Software

well, i use both. Linksys router firewall and zonealarm. I think i could do with just zone alarm because the program just plain out rocks.

[Yawgm0th]

Re: Security Firewalls - Hardware VS Software

well, i use both. Linksys router firewall and zonealarm. I think i could do with just zone alarm because the program just plain out rocks.

I have that exact same setup, but a software firewall isn't even comparable to a hardware firewall. It's a program and is simply easier to get through. On the other hand, my hardware firewall doesn't prompt me when a program tries to access the Internet. They both have their uses and I would hope to never be without both.

[Mutineer]

Re: Security Firewalls - Hardware VS Software

It's different in the corporate environment. When you've got 100 basic users, who will have various networking needs, a software firewall client on each PC isn't always the best option. Things like Microsoft's ISA server, and Novell's BorderManager firewall are good in this regard, as they do a great job of preventing a lot of external attacks / requests from getting in. Of course, that is only good for protecting things from outside the network, not internal attacks.

A properly setup Windows server isn't really that much of a problem as people make out. As long as you're secured it effectively, only allowing access to things that need it, then it's a great system.

If there's a risk of internal problems, then you'd maybe need to consider software firewalls on each machine. However, with the right setup, there shouldn't be a need for it.

[tuxfreak]

Re: Security Firewalls - Hardware VS Software

hardware filewall for any environment is best imo
although, a software firewall does have it uses (a dorm PC on a college LAN for example)