Which security device can help prevent denial of service attacks?

A firewall is instrumental in helping to prevent denial of service (DoS) attacks by monitoring and controlling incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. It functions as a barrier between a trusted internal network and untrusted external networks, allowing only legitimate traffic to pass through while blocking potentially malicious requests that could overwhelm system resources.

During a DoS attack, the attacker seeks to flood a server or network with excessive traffic, rendering it unable to respond to legitimate user requests. A properly configured firewall can identify unusual traffic patterns and help mitigate these attacks by dropping the malformed packets or rate-limiting the incoming requests, thus protecting the integrity and availability of network services.

In contrast, antivirus software primarily focuses on detecting and counteracting malware rather than managing network traffic, which makes it less effective for preventing DoS attacks. Data encryption is essential for securing data in transit or at rest but does not address network traffic issues. Web filtering software is designed to control access to websites and filter content but does not have the capability to mitigate denial of service threats specifically.