Dissecting Firewall Myths: The Real Deal on Firewalls

I’ve been in networking and security long enough to witness firewall fallacies circulating more widely than bad password practices (yes, people still use Password123). Firewalls have been one of the cornerstones of cybersecurity since the 90s, but companies, even the ones spending big on security, still get it wrong. I want to clear the air.

The thing is — firewalls are important, but they are not magic. If you believe a firewall is all you need and you’re invincible, we need to talk.

Quick Take

For busy readers, here are the main points:

• Firewalls don’t prevent all attacks (but they’re a vital front line).
• Free firewalls? Not for serious businesses.
• Hardware vs. software? It depends on your needs.
• The future is zero-trust architecture—firewalls are only a small part of it.
• Simple purchase a firewall, not simple configuration.

So let’s buckle down and explore the most common firewall myths I encounter (and bust those myths with real-world experience).

Do All Evil Have the Possibility to Be Stopped by Firewalls?

No. And it frustrates me that some people still believe this. Firewalls do a perfect job at filtering traffic according to well-known rules, preventing unauthorized access and enforcing policy. They aren’t, however, going to put an end to phishing, social engineering, or insider threats.

Back in 2003, when the Slammer worm came out, I watched a number of companies that just trusted their firewalls get wrecked. Slammer worm propagated through a UDP socket with any form of authentication, bypassing improperly configured firewalls that did not have deep packet inspection capabilities. The lesson? Firewalls alone don’t cut it.

They Don’t Prevent:

• Zero-day (new vulnerabilities with no patches).
• Credential theft (a firewall is no use if an employee hands over their password).
• Phishing attacks (emails don’t respect your firewall settings).

What does work? Multilayered security—this means endpoint protection, intrusion detection, proper patching, and most importantly, user awareness training.

Are Free Firewalls Sufficient?

For your home network? Maybe. For a business? Absolutely not.

Clients say, “We’re using a free firewall solution. It’s doing fine.” My response? Define fine.

A Free Firewall Might:

• No advanced intrusion prevention.
• Security updates are delayed.
• Provide dull logging and monitoring.
• Need manual configurations the majority of businesses overlook.

What did all three banks have in common when I recently upgraded them to zero-trust architecture? An enterprise-based firewall that is now configured, managed, and monitored properly.

A free firewall is not enough though if you do store sensitive customer data, financial records, or intellectual property.

The Real Deal Between Hardware and Software Firewalls

This debate strikes me as reminiscent of the old Mac vs. PC wars — but here’s my take.

• Hardware Firewalls: Generally more suited for perimeter security, preventing threats from ever reaching internal systems.
• Software Firewalls: When you need fine-grained control at the endpoint.

A client of mine — a small-medium business (SME) believed that buying a top-tier hardware firewall kept their employees’ work laptops entirely secure when working remotely. Nope. Those laptops were no longer behind the firewall once they left the office. Guess what happened? Compromised endpoints.

The most secure setup? Use both. Once again, a good hardware firewall at the perimeter and enforce the endpoint firewalls on every device. It’s not either-or — it’s yes, and.

PJ Networks’ Expertise in Fortinet

We work exclusively with one of the best firewalls in the industry—Fortinet. I’ve also worked with Cisco, Palo Alto, and SonicWall, but Fortinet always provides the finest safety with deep packet inspection, built-in danger intelligence, and seamless SD-WAN connectivity.

Just recently, in aiding a financial institution’s upgrade, Fortinet’s AI-powered threat detection (yes, I’m generally skeptical of stuff sold as “AI-powered”) detected an advanced persistent threat (APT) in real-time, which their previous firewall would have missed. That’s the kind of difference a good firewall configuration makes.

Reason 1: Why Businesses Are Confident in Our Firewall Solutions:

• Correct setup & configuration—the majority of security failures come from misconfiguration.
• Active seeking & notifications (instead of “set it and forget it”).
• Zero trust architecture—trust itself in cyber is a weakness.
• Expert triage & long-term support — because security is not just a one-time event.

Conclusion

Firewalls are good—but they’re not a cure-all. If you believe simply installing a firewall will protect you, you are going to fail. Security is layered, ongoing, and dynamic.

• Use an enterprise-grade firewall, not a free one.
• For complete protection, pair hardware & software firewalls.
• Configure correctly—incorrectly configured firewalls are the same as not having firewalls at all.
• Layered security & zero-trust strategies — don’t just stop when you stop at the firewall.

Contact us if you aren’t sure your firewall is securing you correctly. I’ve watched too many companies believe themselves to be safe — until they weren’t. Don’t let that be you.