What is an IPS?

An Intrusion Prevention System inspects network traffic and actively blocks threats in real time — unlike an IDS, which only detects and alerts.

IPS = Intrusion Prevention System

An IPS monitors network traffic and actively blocks threats in real-time.

* Both inspect traffic, but an IDS only detects and alerts while an IPS sits in-line and blocks the threat. *

How it works:

1. Inspects all traffic
2. Compares against signatures/behaviors
3. Blocks malicious traffic automatically
4. Alerts administrators

IPS vs IDS:

Memory tip: The key word is Prevention — an IPS doesn't just detect, it takes action and stops the traffic.

Go deeper:

• Intrusion detection system (Wikipedia) — covers the IPS as an in-line, actively-blocking evolution of the detect-only IDS.