This is an older article about Firewalla's security capabilities. For the latest information, please read our article about how Firewalla can protect your network.

Better security is a necessity as we move towards a connected age, where our cars, homes, and money are all connected and controlled by computers and IoT devices. The stakes are much higher, as hackers will be able to attack not just our bank accounts but our cars and homes. Connected consumer and business products have begun flooding the market, but security has been an afterthought. The world now has to figure out how to secure these connected things. 

Are you worried about...

• your baby camera getting hacked?
• someone tampering with your smart speakers?
• your phone being controlled by hackers? 

Or just want to know what all the connected things are doing? And ultimately need something simple and powerful to protect your home network?

Firewalla is a network layer security device 

Inside a tiny Firewalla box lies sophisticated functions to inspect and control your network traffic. It provides layers of protection using:

• Rule-based filtering
• IDS (intrusion detection system)
• IPS (intrusion prevention system)
• Intelligent behavior analytics
• And built-in VPN services (server and client) for secure communications.

Everything is packaged in a tiny 2in x 2in box, and managed by a modern easy-to-use app on the smartphone. 

Rule-Based Filtering

The rules module inside Firewalla filters incoming and outgoing packets at the IP/port level. A rule is defined as an action ("block", and the soon to be supported "allow") against a list of ip addresses (can be individual host, domain, network and region) with ports.  There are different types of list:

• Cloud-based lists: lists maintained in the cloud to drop packets coming from known sources of malicious hosts or ads (if Ad Block is turned on)
• Static lists: rules configured by the user
• Dynamic lists: block lists based on commonly used categories such as gaming, video, etc. They come with a default set of targets, but gets updated dynamically based on your network usage.

Intrusion Detection

Firewalla monitors your network and alerts you when it detects malicious activities & vulnerabilities. Here are some examples of what it can do:

• Detect new devices connecting to your network and disable them if needed.
• Detect if a phishing or malware link is clicked on a PC/Tablet/Phone.  
• Detect if strangers are watching or hacking your security camera, baby camera, or any connected device.
• Detect if your phone is infected with malware, preventing hackers from using your phone for nefarious purposes like cryptocurrency mining.
• Detect if apps are performing malicious activities in the background without your knowledge.
• Scan your network (like open ports) to detect security vulnerabilities and risks early.
• and much more ...

Learn more about Alarms

Intrusion Prevention

Firewalla is not just a passive device when it comes to monitoring the bad guys. Our unique cloud-based behavior analytics engine utilizes deep insight at the network flow level and actively monitor and detect suspicious connections 24/7.  Suspicious connections are categorized into different levels. For the ones that are very sure to be "bad", Firewalla will automatically block the connection.  Otherwise, an alert is raised and the user is given the choice to decide whether to block or not.

Active protect is not just happening at home.  When you are on the road or in coffee shops, if you surf by connecting to the Firewalla VPN server at home, you will be automatically protected as well.

Where can Firewalla Block?

Will Firewalla protects me from all cyber threats?

Intelligent Behavior Analysis 

Firewalla consists of the box, the app, and the intelligent cloud. Firewalla's intelligent core constantly analyzes your behavior and sends you alarms when it detects activity that’s out of the ordinary. These algorithms offer you an extra level of protection that you can control.

Here’s an example of how it works. learn more about Abnormal Upload Alarms

If you are a technology person, here is exactly how we make cybersecurity work. This video is unedited from our internal tech talk

We’re committed to continuously improving our algorithms to make cyber security measures as capable and straightforward as possible.

To learn more about Firewalla, check out our manual pages