Difference Between Antivirus and Firewall

Antivirus vs Firewall

Both Antivirus software and Firewalls are mechanisms that are used as security measures in computer networks. A device or set of devices intended to allow permission to accept/deny transmissions based on a certain set of rules is called a firewall. Firewall is used to protect networks from unauthorized access, while permitting legitimate transmissions to go through. On the other hand, Antivirus software is used for the prevention, detection and removal of malware.

什么是防火墙？

A Firewall is an entity (a device or a group of devices) designed to control (permit or deny) network traffic using a set of rules. A Firewall is designed to permit only the authorized communications to pass through it. A Firewall can be implemented in both hardware and software. Software-based firewalls are a common place in many personal computer operating systems. Moreover, firewall components are contained in many routers. Conversely, many firewalls can perform functionality of routers as well.

There are several types of firewalls. They are classified based on the location of communication, location of interception and state being traced. A Packet filter (network layer firewall), looks at packets entering or leaving the network, and accepts or rejects them based on the filtering rules. Firewalls that apply security mechanisms to specific applications, such as FTP and Telnet servers are called Application gateway proxies. In theory, that Application level firewall is able to prevent all unwanted traffic. Circuit-level gateway applies security mechanisms when UDP/TCP is used. A Proxy server itself can be used as a Firewall. Since it can intercept all messages entering and leaving the network, it can effectively hide the true network address.

What is an Antivirus?

防病毒软件（防病毒软件）是一种用于预防，检测和删除恶意软件的软件应用程序。恶意软件（恶意软件）可以以多种形式出现，例如计算机病毒，计算机蠕虫，特洛伊木马，间谍软件和广告软件。Antivirus软件使用了不同的策略，例如基于签名的检测。基于签名的检测通过在可执行代码中寻找已知模式来运行。但是，此方法对尚不清楚签名的新类型恶意软件不起作用。为了解决此问题，使用了诸如通用签名之类的启发式措施。由于云计算和SaaS的出现，最近基于云的防病毒软件变得流行。

What is the difference between Antivirus and Firewall?

So, it is clear that both Antivirus and Firewalls are seemingly similar because they both act as security measures for computer networks, but they do have their differences. In fact, network firewalls will prevent unknown programs (or processes) from accessing the system. But the difference is, unlike antivirus software, they do not attempt to identify and remove any threats. A network firewall can actually stop or limit infections reaching the protected unit and can limit malicious activities of an already infected machine by blocking unwanted incoming/outgoing traffic. But, a network firewall can never replace antivirus software, because their duties (or roles) are different. A firewall is dedicated towards protection from broader system threats compared to antivirus software.