What type of firewall is considered software-based and filters traffic for an individual computer?

A host-based firewall is designed to protect individual computers by monitoring and controlling incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. This type of firewall operates at the host level, which means it is installed and runs on a specific device, providing a personalized layer of security that is tailored for that machine.

Host-based firewalls are beneficial for protecting devices against unauthorized access, malware, and other threats that may originate from the network or the internet. They offer capabilities such as blocking specific types of traffic, establishing rules based on application or service, and logging traffic for monitoring purposes.

In contrast, network-based firewalls protect an entire network rather than individual devices. Circuit-level gateways and application-level gateways serve specific roles related to session establishment and application traffic filtering, respectively, but do not function as standalone security solutions on an individual computer. Host-based firewalls are essential for safeguarding personal devices in environments where network-based security measures may not be sufficient.