Best Firewall Software – 2023 Reviews, Pricing and Demos

Your business network and devices such as computers and laptops are connected to the internet, making them potential targets for viruses, malware, ransomware, and other types of cyberattacks. Firewall software can help protect your systems against such cyberthreats and unauthorized access by acting as a gatekeeper.

It offers features such as traffic filtering, network monitoring, threat inspection, intrusion prevention, and reporting to continuously monitor your systems and provide real-time protection. For most businesses like yours, firewall protection is a basic component of their network security mechanism.

Firewall software is closely related to network security and web security software. So, it can be confusing and time-consuming to differentiate between these and select the right one for your business. This buyers guide has all the information you need to choose software that best fits your security needs.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

What is firewall software?

Firewall software is a software solution installed on computer systems to protect them from cyberthreats such as viruses, malware, ransomware, hacking attempts, and unauthorized network intrusions. It monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic—based on a set of security rules—in real time. Any traffic data that doesn’t meet the predefined security criteria gets blocked by the software.

Setting custom firewall rules in Modshield SB (Source)

Common features of firewall software

These are the common features most buyers seek when purchasing a firewall system:

Internet protocol (IP) filtering

Use packet filtering firewalls to manage network access and monitor incoming and outgoing network traffic. Allow or block data packets based on their source or destination IP addresses and protocols.

Network monitoring

Scan your networks regularly, and identify malicious activity or policy violation using a combination of threat and intrusion detection methods.

Reporting/analytics

Generate reports that provide detailed records of security incidents, network activity, activity time, access attempts, and security failures, among others. Use the reports for analysis, record-keeping, and compliance purposes.

Security/authentication rules

Configure firewall settings and authentication rules to let only authorized users access your networks. Rules can include network security policies, firewall protection levels, IP address blacklisting, and compliance assessments.

Alerts/notifications

Receive instant alerts and notifications in case of any firewall security breach or intrusion. Real-time alerts allow your IT team to identify potential hackers and take preventive steps.

Task automation

Automate repetitive or time-consuming tasks such as monitoring systems, testing rules, setting notifications, and filtering false positives.

Virtual private network (VPN)

Implement site-to-site encryption and anonymize your IP address so that hackers can only see that you’re connected to a VPN server, without knowing what you’re looking at or doing on the internet.

What type of buyer are you?

Before you start evaluating firewall software options, you’ll want to know which buyer category you belong to. Most buyers belong to one of the following categories:

• Small and midsize businesses (up to 500 employees): These buyers include SMBs that monitor fewer employees, applications, systems, and devices compared with large firms. They have a small IT team and a limited budget, so their main goal is to ensure basic firewall protection for their employees, systems, and networks. Firewall software with features such as IP filtering, data backup, anti-spam, and application monitoring would be a good fit for these buyers and help them secure their business networks.
• Large enterprises (over 500 employees): These buyers include enterprise-level firms that manage large numbers of employees, systems, and networks. They have multiple applications running on multiple web and mobile devices, as well as various network endpoints to monitor. Thus, their security needs are more complex than those of SMBs. These buyers should opt for a unified firewall solution that offers advanced security features and supports multiple devices. Besides basic IP filtering and network monitoring, they need features such as task automation, antivirus, VPN, real-time alerts, internet security, and intrusion prevention.

Benefits of firewall software

Let’s go through some of the key benefits of using firewall software:

• Better protection: Firewall tools offer data, system, and network protection by monitoring and restricting access control, which is a must for all businesses. These tools provide a layer of security and help prevent any misuse of sensitive information. They not only protect confidential business data but also secure the devices connected to your enterprise networks.
• Real-time network monitoring: With features such as IP filtering and network monitoring, firewall software continuously tracks the traffic passing between the internet and your business networks. It inspects the traffic for any possible threat and if found, immediately blocks its access.
• Prevents hacking: Firewall software offers the threat detection capability, which continually monitors your network traffic and sends instant alerts about any potential security threats. These real-time notifications help prevent unauthorized hacking attempts by allowing your IT team to take immediate action.

Key considerations

Listed below are some important considerations to keep in mind when purchasing firewall software:

• Check support for multiple devices. The bring your own device or BYOD policy allows your employees to use their personal devices such as cellphones, laptops, and tablets for work-related purposes. This increases security risk for your business, as you have to ensure all of these devices are also secured. Thus, ensure the firewall software you are planning to purchase supports all the types of devices used by your employees. Also, look for a tool that lets your IT admins create different policies for different devices and enforce strict security protocols for personal devices.
• Take business size and software scalability into account. As your business grows in size, the number of employees, systems, networks, and devices you manage will also increase. That’s why it’s important to take your business size into consideration when purchasing a firewall system. Software that supports scalability will be able to accommodate more devices and networks as your security needs increase.
• Look for integration options. The firewall software you’ve shortlisted should integrate well with your existing IT infrastructure and applications. It should support various plugins that facilitate functions such as content filtering, data integration, and multidevice support. This will make it easier for you to adopt firewall technology as well as reduce integration issues during the implementation phase.
• Have a budget in place. Firewall solutions come in a variety of options, and budget can be the deciding factor for your eventual choice. While some vendors may customize the pricing model and payment options per your business requirements, not everyone would be willing to do that. Therefore, consider purchasing firewall software as a long-term investment and select a tool accordingly.

Market trends to understand

Here’s a recent firewall software market trend you should be aware of:

• Increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled firewall solutions. Today’s threat landscape has changed drastically, and traditional firewall solutions aren’t able to keep up with advanced security threats such as zero-day attacks. AI- and machine learning (ML)-enabled firewall solutions can analyze user and network behavioral patterns to identify and stop threats before they even begin. These firewall solutions can also analyze large volumes of traffic and user data to identify potential threats. Thus, they are being increasingly adopted by companies to ensure better enterprise security.

Note: The application selected in this guide is an example to show a feature in context and is not intended as an endorsement or recommendation. It has been taken from sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication.