Firewall and antivirus software are important preventive measures for cybersecurity. A firewall acts as a barrier between internal networks and external sources like the internet to filter traffic and prevent malicious attacks. Antivirus software searches for and removes viruses and other malware. Both work by comparing network traffic and files to databases of known threats. While they provide important protections, firewalls and antivirus have limitations like not preventing all internal or social engineering threats.

1. ASSIGNMENT
Submitted by
Anju Mohanan.U
Roll no.23
Physical science

2. PREVENTIVE MEASURES-
FIREWALL,ANTIVIRUS
SOFTWARE
Firewall
A firewall can be defined as a special type of network security device or a
software program that monitors and filters incoming and outgoing network traffic
based on a defined set of security rules. It acts as a barrier between internal private
networks and external sources (such as the public Internet).
The primary purpose of a firewall is to allow non-threatening traffic and prevent
malicious or unwanted data traffic for protecting the computer from viruses and
attacks. A firewall is a cybersecurity tool that filters network traffic and helps
users block malicious software from accessing the Internet in infected computers.
Firewall: Hardware or Software
This is one of the most problematic questions whether a firewall is a hardware or
software. As stated above, a firewall can be a network security device or a
software program on a computer. This means that the firewall comes at both
levels, i.e., hardware and software, though it's best to have both.
Each format (a firewall implemented as hardware or software) has different
functionality but the same purpose. A hardware firewall is a physical device that
attaches between a computer network and a gateway. For example, a broadband
router. On the other hand, a software firewall is a simple program installed on a
computer that works through port numbers and other installed software.
Apart from that, there are cloud-based firewalls. They are commonly referred to
as FaaS(firewall as a service). A primary advantage of using cloud-based
firewalls is that they can be managed centrally. Like hardware firewalls, cloud-
based firewalls are best known for providing perimeter security.

3. Why Firewall
Firewalls are primarily used to prevent malware and network-based attacks.
Additionally, they can help in blocking application-layer attacks. These firewalls
act as a gatekeeper or a barrier. They monitor every attempt between our
computer and another network. They do not allow data packets to be transferred
through them unless the data is coming or going from a user-specified trusted
source.
Firewalls are designed in such a way that they can react quickly to detect and
counter-attacks throughout the network. They can work with rules configured to
protect the network and perform quick assessments to find any suspicious
activity. In short, we can point to the firewall as a traffic controller.
Some of the important risks of not having a firewall are:
Open Access
If a computer is running without a firewall, it is giving open access to other
networks. This means that it is accepting every kind of connection that comes
through someone. In this case, it is not possible to detect threats or attacks coming
through our network. Without a firewall, we make our devices vulnerable to
malicious users and other unwanted sources.
Lost or Comprised Data
Without a firewall, we are leaving our devices accessible to everyone. This means
that anyone can access our device and have complete control over it, including
the network. In this case, cybercriminals can easily delete our data or use our
personal information for their benefit.
Network Crashes
In the absence of a firewall, anyone could access our network and shut it down.
It may lead us to invest our valuable time and money to get our network working
again.
Therefore, it is essential to use firewalls and keep our network, computer, and
data safe and secure from unwanted sources.
Brief History of Firewall

4. Firewalls have been the first and most reliable component of defense in network
security for over 30 years. Firewalls first came into existence in the late 1980s.
They were initially designed as packet filters. These packet filters were nothing
but a setup of networks between computers. The primary function of these packet
filtering firewalls was to check for packets or bytes transferred between different
computers.
Firewalls have become more advanced due to continuous development, although
such packet filtering firewalls are still in use in legacy systems.
As the technology emerged, Gil Shwed from Check Point
Technologies introduced the first stateful inspection firewall in 1993. It was
named as FireWall-1. Back in 2000, Netscreen came up with its purpose-built
firewall 'Appliance'. It gained popularity and fast adoption within enterprises
because of increased internet speed, less latency, and high throughput at a lower
cost.
The turn of the century saw a new approach to firewall implementation during
the mid-2010. The 'Next-Generation Firewalls' were introduced by the Palo Alto
Networks. These firewalls came up with a variety of built-in functions and
capabilities, such as Hybrid Cloud Support, Network Threat Prevention,
Application and Identity-Based Control, and Scalable Performance, etc. Firewalls
are still getting new features as part of continuous development. They are
considered the first line of defense when it comes to network security.
Working
A firewall system analyzes network traffic based on pre-defined rules. It then
filters the traffic and prevents any such traffic coming from unreliable or
suspicious sources. It only allows incoming traffic that is configured to accept.
Typically, firewalls intercept network traffic at a computer's entry point, known
as a port. Firewalls perform this task by allowing or blocking specific data packets
(units of communication transferred over a digital network) based on pre-defined
security rules. Incoming traffic is allowed only through trusted IP addresses, or
sources.
Functions of firewall
• Network Threat Prevention
• Application and Identity-Based Control

5. • Hybrid Cloud Support
• Scalable Performance
• Network Traffic Management and Control
• Access Validation
• Record and Report on Events
Types of Firewall
• Proxy Firewall
• Packet-filtering firewalls
• Stateful Multi-layer Inspection (SMLI) Firewall
• Unified threat management (UTM) firewall
• Next-generation firewall (NGFW)
• Network address translation (NAT) firewalls
Limitations of Firewall
• Firewalls cannot stop users from accessing malicious websites, making it
vulnerable to internal threats or attacks.
• Firewalls cannot protect against the transfer of virus-infected files or
software.
• Firewalls cannot prevent misuse of passwords.
• Firewalls cannot protect if security rules are misconfigured.
• Firewalls cannot protect against non-technical security risks, such as social
engineering.
• Firewalls cannot stop or prevent attackers with modems from dialing in to
or out of the internal network.
• Firewalls cannot secure the system which is already infected.

6. Antivirus
Antivirus software is a program(s) that is created to search, detect, prevent and
remove software viruses from your system that can harm your system. Other
harmful software such as worms, adware, and other threats can also be detected
and removed via antivirus. This software is designed to be used as a proactive
approach to cyber security, preventing threats from entering your computer and
causing issues. Most antivirus software operates in the background once installed,
providing real-time protection against virus attacks.
While you may believe that your computer is safe as long as you don’t visit
questionable websites, hackers have far more sophisticated methods of infecting
your computer, which is why you need a powerful antivirus to stay to secure your
data and system. The implications of a virus getting into your computer might be
fatal. Viruses can cause a wide range of malicious behavior. They can crash your
device, monitor your personal accounts, or spy on you through your webcam. So,
always use antivirus software.
How Antivirus Works:
Antivirus software works by comparing your computer applications and files to
a database of known malware kinds. Because hackers are continually creating and
disseminating new viruses, it will also check systems for the presence of new or
undiscovered malware threats. The antivirus checks files, programs, and
applications going in and out of your computer to its database to identify matches.
Similar and identical matches to the database are segregated, scanned, and
eliminated.
Most programs will employ three types of detection devices:
• Specific detection, which looks for known parts or types of malware or
patterns that are linked by a common codebase
• Generic detection is a type of detection that looks for known parts or
types of malware or patterns that are related to a common codebase.
• Heuristic detection is a type of virus detection that looks for unknown
infections by spotting suspicious file structures.

7. Examples of Antivirus:
The antivirus software is available in 2 types:
(i) Free: Free anti-virus software provides basic virus protection
(ii) Paid: commercial anti-virus software provides more extensive protection.
The following are some commonly used antivirus software:
1. Bitdefender: Bitdefender Total Security is a comprehensive security suite that
protects against viruses and dangerous malware of all varieties. This user-friendly
antivirus software is compatible with all four major operating systems and smart
homes, and it also includes a free VPN with a daily limit of 200MB, parental
controls, camera protection, a password manager, etc. This security suite is
reasonably priced and will protect up to five devices 24 hours a day, seven days
a week.
2. AVAST: This is a free antivirus available. All you have to do to obtain top-
notch protection on your computer, emails, downloads, and instant messages in
the free version is register (for free) once a year. It includes a sophisticated
heuristics engine that enables it to detect viruses.
3. Panda: It can detect viruses, trojans, spyware, adware, worms, and malware at
the same level as other antiviruses do. It is different from others because using
this software, when you scan your computer, it doesn’t consume any of your
computer’s resources; instead, it runs in the cloud, allowing your machine to
continue to function normally.
Advantages of Antivirus:
• Spam and advertisements are blocked: Viruses exploit pop-up
advertising and spam websites as one of the most common ways to infect
your computer and destroy your files. Antivirus acts against harmful virus-
infected adverts and websites by denying them direct access to your
computer network.
• Virus protection and transmission prevention: It identifies any possible
infection and then attempts to eliminate it.
• Hackers and data thieves are thwarted: Antivirus do regular checks to
see if there are any hackers or hacking-related apps on the network. As a
result, antivirus offers complete security against hackers.
• Protected against devices that can be detached: Antivirus scans all
removable devices for potential viruses, ensuring that no viruses are
transferred.

8. • To improve security from web, restrict website access: Antivirus
restricts your online access in order to prevent you from accessing
unauthorized networks. This is done to ensure that you only visit websites
that are safe and non-harmful to your computer.
• Password Protection: Using antivirus, you should consider using a
password manager for added security.
Disadvantages of Antivirus:
• Slows down system’s speed: When you use antivirus programs, you’re
using a lot of resources like your RAM and hard drive. As a result, the
computer’s overall speed may be significantly slowed.
• Popping up of Advertisements: Apart from commercial antivirus
applications, free antivirus must make money in some way. One approach
to attaining these is through advertising. Many times these advertisements
degrade the user experience by popping up every time.
• Security Holes: When security flaws exist in the operating system or
networking software, the virus will be able to defeat antivirus protection.
The antivirus software will be ineffective unless the user takes steps to keep
it updated.
• No customer care service: There will be no customer service provided
unless you pay for the premium version. If an issue arises, the only method
to solve it is to use forums and knowledge resources.
References
1.www.javatpoint.com/firewall
2.en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewall
_(computing)
3.www-geeksforgeeks-org.