Network security deals with the requirements needed for a company, organization or a network administrator to help in protecting the network, computer systems and the resources that are network accessible. They are protected from any unauthorized entry, malicious components as well as monitoring continuously, consistently and measuring the effectiveness or lack of effectiveness of the network.

Network security is a major concern of every company that has a computer and is connected to a network. A network security that has been compromised means that a competitor or any hacker can gain entry to the sensitive or critical data and they may delete or make off with the information resulting in data loss or complete system destruction. The terms information security and network security are most of the time used to represent the same meaning. Network security, though, is more specifically taken as the provision protection from outside intruders.

The process of network security begins from the authentication of any user who logs in with the appropriate password and user name which is ‘one factor authentication’. There is another method of authentication known as ‘two factor’ where when one is using an item like an ATM card or mobile phone and another three factor authentication can also be used where a body part is used like a retinal scan or fingerprint. When authentication has been verified, there is a firewall that decides, which programs or services are allowed for network users to access. This component may be effective in the ability to prevent any unauthorized access but it fails to check harmful contents like computer worms that are transmitted across the network. An IPS or intrusion prevention system is able to detect and stop the activities of this sort of malware. The firewall and IPS settings are created by the network’s System Administrator who also installs a viable antivirus system, which is up-to-date.