firewall
/ˈfʌɪəwoːl
/noun
1A wall or partition designed to inhibit or prevent the spread of fire.In a building, a firewall prevents a fire from quickly burning through, giving firefighter a chance to douse flames, and occupants a chance to find safety....
- When we had the chimney cleaned, we were told the problem could be taken care of by adding a firewall instead of replacing the back wall.
- When a garage is added to a dwelling, a primary concern is altering the partition wall between the house and garage to comply as a one-hour firewall.
1.1 Computing A part of a computer system or network which is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting outward communication.The risk can be managed by aggressively monitoring computers and networks through firewalls, strict download policies, and frequent security audits....
- Invest in a software firewall and keep your system up to date.
- They should ensure they have up-to-date anti-virus software and personal firewalls.
1.2 another term for Chinese wall.Here in the modern age, we are supposed to construct a firewall between science and religion....
- Racism creates a false and entirely regrettable firewall, but on the occasions where one culture can simply sit down and talk with the other, there is much to agree on and much to be enjoyed.
verb [with object] Computing
Protect (a network or system) from unauthorized access with a firewall: (as adjective firewalled) a firewalled network (as noun firewalling) our security products offer integral firewalling...
- Providing systems are properly firewalled then attacks should fail.
- I quickly firewalled a sensitive server, but that was not the end of the project.
- Preventing infection from Worms is the number one reason people are firewalling their computers.