How to Find Free Network Security Software

Instructions

• 1

  Intrusion Detection:
  
  One of the worst nightmares for a Network Administrator is to protect their LAN from Network Intrusions. There are always employees or users, who tend to gain access to sensitive or secure information, and for this purpose they try to intrude the network security.
  
  Snort is one of the free intrusion detection programs. Its versions are available for both Windows and Unix-based operating system.
• 2

  Packet Sniffing:
  
  Packet Sniffing is another important aspect of network security. It enables a network administrator to analyse all the data, which is going in or out throughout the network. It is one of the tools that hackers use to gain access for moving data. However, a network administrator can also use this for network security purpose. Ethereal, which has been renamed to Wireshark, is one of the most commonly used program, which is available for free on the World Wide Web.
• 3

  Port Scanning:
  
  Open Ports in any LAN can be easily used to break in. In order to ensure that one’s LAN has not a single open port, one should port scan regularly to determine whether all the ports are closed or not. Shields Up and LAN Spy are some of the most common programs used for detecting open ports.
• 4

  Antivirus:
  
  One of the most common problems faced by a Network Administrator is protecting the Network from Viruses. Millions of viruses are circulating on the World Wide Web, and any computer connected to the Internet can be damaged due to them. In order to complete the Network Security, one must ensure that all the connected computers to that Network are running Antivirus programs.
  
  There are several Antivirus software or programs available, and one can easily download any of them. However, most of them are available for free. AVG and Avast are both available for free, and are extremely effective in protecting one’s system from viruses.