firewall, Intrusion Prevention System or IPS, SSL/SSH interception, QoS/bandwidth management, malware inspection, etc. An NGFW includes the typical functionalities of a traditional firewall, yet it is much more powerful than a traditional firewall in detecting and preventing attacks and enforcing security.

NGFW uses Deep Packet Inspection, or DPI (What is Deep Packet Inspection?), to examine the data part of network packets and search for protocol non-compliance, viruses, spam, intrusions, and other statistical information to filter the traffic and better enforce security.

NGFW integrates multiple security technologies efficiently, and it has several advantages over traditional firewalls. It reduces administrative costs, can detect malware concealed in encrypted SSL/SSH traffic, can associate network traffic with users, and improves network throughput.

Interested readers will get more information on NGFW in What is Next Generation Firewall or NGFW?

Firewall technology emerged first in the 1980s, and since then, the technology improved a lot. Now, it has become almost inevitable in network security.

Security Fundamentals Practice Tests

The Security Fundamentals Practice Tests test one’s fundamental knowledge of cyber security. The practice tests are good for those who are preparing for various certification exams like the CCNA, CCNP, or CompTIA. They are also good for students and IT/security professionals who want to improve their understanding of cybersecurity.