Firewalls have come a long way since 1985, when U.S. Department of Defense experiments spawned basic packet filtering technologies.

At their most simple, firewalls protect networks from other untrusted networks by filtering packets based on origin, destination, application type (FTP/telnet), and packet type (TCP/UDP). Some firewalls also provide proxy server technology.

The rash of virus and worm infestations that began in the second half 2003 altered the nature of organizations' firewall needs. This week, we look at how the latest crop of firewalls are fortifying enterprises with the addition of anti-spam, anti-virus, and anti-worm deep packet inspection capabilities. We will also spotlight two companies building firewalls with unique capabilities.

By Ben Freeman at Hardware Today.

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