Firewall and Internet security Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Firewall and Internet security - Dissertation Example The advancements in technology have almost pulled every individual on earth into the virtual world of cyber pace.As every day passes by, the rapidity with which internet grows has increased exponentially and the world is shrinking smaller and smaller. People living in extremities of the world could easily communicate just like they are doing it when they are in direct contact with each other. The distance is no more a matter of concern. Despite all the advantages of a networked world, the parallel increase in cyber threats has been an alarming factor. Information is the key to success of any individual or organization. When there is a threat to the security of such an important factor and the manner in which networked computers are hacked within seconds of time has put cyber security as one of the top priorities for technology developers. With the advent of these issues, the installation of firewalls has become a mandatory activity for every internet user. Every time a new level of s ecurity is proposed, a new mode of threat is ‘unearthed’ in this virtual world. So, as a precautionary measure, people protect themselves with having both personal as well as network firewalls. Although many kinds of research has been done on the levels of protection offered by network firewalls and personal firewalls, not much has been done on the perspective of providing a comparison between these two types of firewalls. (CHESWICK et. al, 2003) Continuing on these lines, the primary aim of this research is to examine the current literature comprehensively and produce a compare and contrast analysis of these two types of firewalls in regard to the increase in today's internet security. However, since the category of this itself provides a large scope for a complex and more time consuming analysis, the research question is further refined such that it focuses mainly on the following topic - why implementation of personal firewalls in every system in an enterprise is con sidered to be a difficulty when compared to the implementation of network firewalls. The reason that could be given for the choice of this topic is that irrespective of the number of advancements in firewall technologies, no proper solutions have been found yet, to understand the continued ignorance of affording personal firewalls to every system user in an enterprise instead of network firewalls, which are always considered as the preferred option. (Firewalls, 2003) Objectives of the research Based on the above research questions, the primary objectives of the research can be derived. The most common differences between personal and network firewalls (which are explained in the literature review section) are the architecture and design features, the working environment, technical features and other advantages and disadvantages of each type of firewall. Implementing a personal firewall seems to be a tougher task, as the configuration might not be similar for every system. This makes the process of implementation a difficult task. Each time a firewall is implemented; the system components and modules pose certain restrictions that in turn make the process tedious. The situation is entirely different in a network environment. Since the implementation is done on the network as a whole, the task of installing them in individual system is eradicated. In a network environment, the firewall controls the communication and network traffic. As the functions of a network firewall are composed of easier installation management process, it strikes a greater difference from that of a personal firewall. The disadvantage of a personal firewall strengthens the research question, as it indicates the importance of network firewalls. Hence, the analysis of the areas which were described above is considered to be the primary objectives of the research. Literature Review The progress of internet and development of technology has necessitated the need for