Installing a firewall may help to protect your network, however this will work only if the firewall is properly configured. Let’s see what are the main principles of firewall configuration.

1. Protect your system
A firewall is only a part of your protection. Start with disabling unused accounts and close unnecessary ports on PCs.

2. The easier the better
Before adding any rules to your firewall software, define the principles, on which your security will be based on. It is a good idea to remove all the default rules that a firewall has upon the installation and start from the very beginning, adding your own rules one by one.

3. Strict security means Strict security
Your network should have only allowed traffic. Everything that’s not allowed, must be disallowed. Start with disallowing all the traffic by default and then allow it only for the services that really need it.

4. Monitor your outbound traffic
Usually people think that they only need protection from external threats. But it’s also important to monitor your outbound traffic. This will help you avoid situations when your servers are used as zombie computers within a botnet.

5. Firewall is only a part of Security

Don’t think that if you have a firewall installed, you are safe enough to forget about other components of security. Don’t forget to update your anti-virus, don’t visit the sites that Firefox filters off and be careful at sites that ask for any of personal information except for your name and email number.