Firewalls seem to be in fashion currently. For those unfamiliar with what a firewall is, It pretty much is a program that sits between you and the outside world- think of a toll booth that stands at the edge between your world and the digital world. There are many different producers of firewalls from companies like Linksys, D-Link, Netgear, and many others.
Actually if you are familiar with Windows XP, there is a free firewall program that you can use to furnish a basic protection between you and your network. If you prefer more advanced solutions you can do a search for free firewall programs on the net or purchase one.
It’s billed as the one-stop solution to prevent hackers and unauthorized access by intruders (both human and bot generated). However firewalls are not unassailable.
A passably intelligent hacker could hijack you firewall and make it execute in ways that are not to your profit. There are online testing services that are either free or charge a token fee that will help you check to see if your firewall is working or not, or whether it has been compromised.
You may have also found that a firewall will not always work nicely...