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Both antivirus software and firewall are popular names in the world of cybersecurity. Firewall and antivirus are similar tools, designed to defend computer systems from possible threats so that they can run smoothly without any trouble. Although they share the same goal- that is safeguarding systems and ensuring seamless operation, the difference between these two lies in their purpose and approach. Let us delve deep into this topic and discover the major differences between these two-
What is a firewall?
A firewall is ultimately a network security device. It acts as a barrier between external network and internal network. It analyses and modifies incoming and outgoing networks and takes decisions whether to block or permit certain traffic following a certain set of rules. Firewalls can exist as hardware, software or as both.
What is antivirus software?
Antivirus software is also a security device that identifies and blocks malicious viruses or worms from computer systems or network systems. It ensures data protection by monitoring and then neutralizing infected files, so that the system can run smoothly.
| Firewall | Antivirus |
| Firewall works to protect networks and computer system from external threats. | Antivirus basically protects system as well as network from internal threats menaces such as harmful viruses. |
| Firewall can be deployed as a software, hardware, or combination of both. | Antivirus is essentially a software. |
| Its primary goal is to prevent unauthorized and suspicious external traffic. | Its main focus is to eliminate threats such as malicious viruses and spywares already present within the system. |
| Firewall works based on rules and policies in order to determine which networks should be allowed and which one should be blocked from entering. | Antivirus is programmed to detect malicious activities within the system based on their behavioral patterns. |
| Its major limitation is that it cannot restrict threats that are internal or has already bypassed the network coverage. | It lacks in protecting the system from unauthorized data transfer. Antivirus also falls short on protecting computer system from dangerous intrusions. |
| Firewall is incompetent in defending the system from malware and viruses post intrusion. | Antivirus software is highly qualified in providing internal security. It thoroughly looks for threats, identifies them, then neutralizes these threats to safeguard the device and its network. |
| Firewall monitors and filters. | Antivirus scans files and software. |
| Firewall looks for danger from incoming packets. | Antivirus looks for danger from software. |
| There is a possibility of counter attacks for example, IP spoofing and routing attacks. | There is no chance of counter attacks here after eliminating the malware. |
Additional benefits of Firewall:
- Setting a solid boundary–
Firewall basically provides network segmentation. It sets a network boundary so that any traffic cannot flow in without going through proper inspection. This helps an organization in securing corporate resources so that company’s resources do not get accessed without permission. Its network segmentation feature prevents an organization’s private network from being a part of the public internet.
- Next Generation Firewall incorporates network routing-
Besides providing cyber security, Firewall also offers network routing. It implements NAT or network address translation and also can behave as a virtual private network (VPN) endpoint.
Additional benefits of antivirus software:
- Antivirus can quarantine malware-
Quarantine is the process by which antivirus software isolates system’s infected files. Antivirus isolates malware by putting them on quarantine. This also makes sure that malicious files are not deleted from the system entirely before thorough inspection.
- Antivirus software performs automated remediation–
Antivirus software can automatically remediate or eliminate an infection or malware. You can trust your antivirus software to clean the system with its automated eradication feature. The best thing is does not wipe out the suspected malware completely.
Which one to choose?
Although both firewall and antivirus are both security tools, you don’t need to choose one between the two. On one hand, Firewalls serve protection against external threats while on the other hand, antivirus software gets rid of internal malicious activities. Firewall technology has vastly evolved over the years. Nowadays, there are advanced next generation firewall technology that has in-built antivirus properties. However, that does not reduce the need for dedicated antivirus software. In fact, organizations should rely on both more secured and layered protection. Firewall and antivirus are widely known for complementing each other.
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