Three Things that will Protect your PC

Submitted by Patrick on Sun, 10/29/2006 - 9:57pm.

Written By: Joe McHenry
Date: July 20, 2003 (Previously Published)
Section: Hints and Tips

Hackers, spyware and viruses all combine to make it essential that you have a firewall, a spyware detector and an anti-virus program - all up to date and operating on your system.

1. Safety First - Get Yourself a Firewall Now

If you don't have a firewall installed and operating on your computer then you are risking an attack by a cracker.

Without a firewall your computer is like an open door. Private and confidential information may become available to hackers with basic computer skills.

Not only could information be stolen but a cracker could leave your computer in a state where they could return and take control of it.

A firewall monitors all incoming traffic and only allows in what you have authorized.

You can even make your computer invisible when on the Internet so hackers are not even aware of your presence!

A very good, free solution is Zone Alarm Pro from Zone Labs.

2. Keep Those Spyware Cookies Off Your Computer

Most of the cookies you collect while using the Internet are harmless and just kept on your hard drive in case you return to the same website again.

A new type of cookie is now accessing your computer and sending information about your activities on the Internet back to it's originator. These cookies are known collectively as Spyware.

So why not get yourself a free copy of Lavasoft's Ad-aware which is a spyware removal utility. It will scan your PC memory, your registry, and hard drives for known spyware and allow you to remove them.

You can even update the data files regularly so that your protection is always up to date!

3. You Have Anti-Virus Protection - Haven't You?

I have assumed that everyone now has some type of anti-virus software to protect their computers against virus attack.

There have been so many well documented cases which have caused considerable financial loss to small and large companies.

The best free option for virus protection is AVG. You can download a free, fully functional version and use it on as many PCs as you'd like.

You know it makes sense!

With the three types of protection mentioned above you will be able to surf the Internet, content that you have taken all reasonable precautions without being paranoid!

About the author: Joe is the webmaster of http://www.tips-for-boomers.com where tips and self improvement techniques can be found.