Why Should You Have A Home Firewall

This is the age of Information Security. Almost everything you need (or want) today connects to the internet. The rightly named Internet of things (IoT) brings us a whole new world of device management, automation, and convenience. Adding on top of that, though, is security.

Why should home users worry about security, or even bother purchasing a firewall? The answer is simple: to protect your information. You might say, "Well, I don't have anything to hide," and maybe on the surface sure, that's accurate. Dig below the surface and you find that you have bank accounts, social security numbers, family photos, passwords for financial accounts, and much more. Protecting your information is more important today than ever before.

I am a Senior Systems Engineer for a Boston MSP, and I also work with a lot of home users on the side. The Bitdefender Box is a great solution for home users / home office devices to provide the protection you need at a great cost. The firewall is 200$ as of this writing and includes the first year subscription (99$ per year after). It supports very simple setup via a mobile application, which would be great for all end users.

Security Features include, but not limited to:

Intrusion Prevention / DetectionVulnerability scanner for all devices (Includes your internet connected refrigerators)Anti-Malware, Phishing and Fraud ProtectionAnti-Virus / Anti-Malware for all PCs, Macs and mobile devices on your network.

Have an internet connected baby monitor? You need a firewall. Have internet connected security cameras in / outside of the home? You need a firewall. Do you have an internet connected thermostat, washing machine or dishwasher? You need a firewall.

I've seen a lot of responses online about similar to, "Who cares if someone can remotely control my washing machine?" Sure, it might not be a big deal if the only risk was driving up your water and electric bill. Not only could that happen, but attackers could use the unprotected washing machine as a way to gain access to the rest of the devices on your network and attempt to inject malware or steal your credentials. The Bitdefender Box and other home firewalls aim to reduce this risk as much as possible, and hopefully eliminate the possibility.

This is not a normal "How-To" article that I usually post, but in today's world, we all need to be flexible and be able to talk about what is important.

Links to the Bitdefender Box are below.

(NOTE: I DO NOT WORK FOR, OR RECEIVE ANY COMPENSATION FROM BIT DEFENDER FOR THIS PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION. www.bitdefender.com/box/)