Updating firewalls

Again, the people who develop the threats are always at work developing new ones that were not there when your firewall was developed. When you buy your firewall from a supplier, it is usually their job to help ensure that you get the updates that your computer needs to remain safe.

If it is a good supplier, they will tell you when your firewall needs to be updated. You can also have a setting whereby your firewall updates automatically. As we have already indicated above, if you rely on software such as TotalSystemCare , you can always relax as your job will be done for you. As you can see in the name, the software looks at your computer as a total unit. It will manage issues that have to do with any updates that need to be done on your malware and firewall. It will scan the computer at regular intervals, and if something is not right, it will be corrected before you even know.

If you want an effective firewall, you certainly want to use a program from a reputable supplier. Feature releases cannot be skipped. For example, to get from 8. Remember to read the release notes for the version you want to update to. When using HA, one node can be upgraded at a time, which minimizes downtime.

Then upgrade the other node. NOTE: Even with the lower risk of downtime, a few packets can be dropped during failover, so schedule the update during a maintenance window. Log onto each firewall Active and Passive , and check that the versions you need are downloaded. Also check if the Applications and Threats updates have been installed. Normally, preemption is on. This enables the passive firewall to automatically take over if the active firewall fails.

When this is done, commit the config, and confirm the config is replicated to the passive unit. It will be grayed out but this is no problem, go ahead and install all updates listed there. For other firewall software or older versions of Windows 10 you need to run an installation wizard yourself. This includes updates for the operating system and any installed applications. Other firewalls should have their own update processes — check your manuals to see how to proceed.

If the firewall software does not offer any updates you might need to check for them manually via an internet search engine or by browsing to their website. Most firewalls have a number of pre-defined levels for updates. It should be set automatically to update at most once or twice a day , but when in doubt you should contact your support provider.

Firewalls, like all other programs, are rarely free of vulnerabilities and can prove to be an easy target for malware attacks. Whenever a new security exploit in your firewall is found by its makers, they release an update with a patch to close the hole.

If you do not update your firewall, its rules remain unchanged and only apply to connections that were allowed when the software was first installed.

While this is usually fine it means that if you need to open a specific port e. If the firewall in place is not up-to-date, it becomes more vulnerable to attacks. Malware running on computers connected with your network might try to exploit vulnerabilities with the goal of gaining access or stealing data. You cannot update your Windows Firewall automatically, but you can check for patches and then install them manually. Select Advanced settings from the left menu. You can check for updates from the pane that pops up.