An Intrusion Detection System (IDS) makes use of a hardware and software combination that evaluates network traffic. The software evaluates and checks traffic patterns and activities that are considered to be malicious.
Sophisticated intrusion detection system components can cut off a connection automatically and send alerts to administration the very moment that it finds suspicious activity.
An IDS is used mainly by companies that want to find various types of suspicious behavior, mostly on the Internet, that can put their networks and computers at severe risk. It can find any type of attack on a network in addition to unwanted logins and access to important information. IDS works by finding a possible security breach, tracking the information, and sending out alerts in a passive system.
However, in a reactive system, the IDS answers unknown activities by logging off users or reconfiguring the firewall to block traffic from the suspicious source.
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