This is pet peeve of mine: Business networks should be behind firewalls, not behind home routers!
When we visit a client location, we generally find one of the following configurations.
- Absolutely NO firewall – just the router provided by the ISP
- A Linksys, TrendNet, Netgear, D-Link wireless router designed for home use
- An actual firewall such as a Cisco, WatchGuard, SonicWALL, but out of date – old, discontinued hardware, not up to date firmware
- A quality firewall that is up to date hardware-wise but out of date with their firmware
- A quality firewall that is both up to date and supported, and has the latest software
Unfortunately, these are listed above in the order of popularity…
That’s right, the majority of businesses have no firewall in place at all, or potentially a router designed for home use is pressed into service, and then of course, a few places purchased a firewall from a reputable business manufacturer, such as Cisco, but have either failed to keep it up to date, or that was 6 years ago and the unit is no longer supported and cannot even handle the latest security software loads.
Only a small number of businesses have done everything they can to insure their network is protected with a reputable business class firewall that is currently supported and up to date. A VERY SMALL percentage in fact.
Why the emphasis on your firewall situation? Because hackers know how to circumvent home routers and many ISP provided routers without much difficulty at all. And old, outdated firewalls are just as bad. There are kits available that hackers can download and simply run through options in an attempt to exploit known holes in inadequate and insecure firewalls. They don’t even have to flex their muscles to do this, just start the script / program and wait for the results.
If you are in the Upstate / Greenville South Carolina area and you would like to discuss firewalls for your business, please give us a call at 864-990-4748 and we will arrange a free consultation.
We are your Upstate dealer for Cisco, WatchGuard, SonicWALL and a host of other quality firewall appliances. We partner with these companies to offer sales and support for businesses just like yours!