Assignment task: I need help with 150 word comment about the discussion below:
I unfortunately don't have much experience in the networking field, although I do hope to start branching into it soon, with that being said I am not very familiar with firewalls, different types and their pros/cons. The "best" firewall is obviously a relative term and based on opinion about which functions you need more, and which cons you are willing to accept. Each type and brand of firewall has its pros and cons, just like everything else in the IT world. After conducting some simple research, I was able to come to the conclusion, that in my opinion one of the bets available options is the Avast Firewall. First, it comes highly rated by it's customers and it is available at a relatively low cost, especially compared to other competitors software. Some of the features it includes is operability on multiple Operating Systems (OS) including Windows, Mac and mobile devices. Avast comes with Anti-ransomware software pre-installed into the software, and it can be utilized on up to 10 different devices with a single purchase. Additionally, Avast comes with anti-phishing, anti-fraud, file encryption and even file shredding options. The big downside (more of an annoyance than a con) is the pop-ups even though you've paid for the full software. All of these features provided are important from a security standpoint because there are many different types of attacks that malicious actors will throw at you, if you can protect yourself from a number of these different attacks, you are strongly limiting what they can penetrate your network with, and what they can actually do if they get in.
References:
Cronje, G. (2001). Choosing the Best Firewall.
Ranum, M. (N/A). Thinking About Firewalls. Trusted Information Systems Inc.
Turner, B. (2022, November 02). Best firewall of 2022: top paid and free services.