Many of the planets in our Solar System have a system of moons. But among the rocky planets that make up the inner Solar System, having moons is a privilege enjoyed only by two planets: Earth and Mars.
Functionally, the two arenât so different. Hardware firewalls are basically a specialized device running software. They can be set-and-forget solutions if the default configuration works for your company. Plus, because they run on a dedicated, hardened device, they provide a higher level of security.
Its worth noting that the firewall built-in to Windows 7 (and Vista before that) doesnt automatically block outgoing traffic by default -- only incoming. Its one of the reasons to consider a third-party firewall, since they generally handle both out of the box. (You can manually configure the Windows firewall to block outgoing traffic, but not very user-friendly.). Heres a good way to sum up the difference between a hardware and software firewall. Think of a hardware firewall as a club bouncer who checks everyone coming in against a list to make sure they have an invitation.