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Your Quick Guide To Internet Security

dotBiz logo Hold on to your hat as we take a whistle stop tour of firewalls, antivirus programs, spyware blockers and more in our promised look at internet security.

First of all though let's cut through some of the jargon, starting with firewalls. What is a firewall and do you need one? If you connect your computer to the internet you most certainly do. Without one, your PC could become hijacked by automated hacking programs within minutes. A firewall is a bit like the bouncer on the door at a nightclub, checking to see what's coming in, and if it's on the banned list it won't let it through.

Windows XP comes with a firewall already built in, but many people are happier running stand alone versions. One of the most popular ones is Zonealarm from Zonelabs. The basic version is actually free to use - just check on their website to see if you would qualify to use it rather than have to fork out for the pro version.

Norton is another big name in security you may have heard of, and Panda is another one worth considering, although my personal experience of Panda's technical support leaves a lot to be desired.

Antivirus software is designed to detect and respond to malicious software, such as viruses and worms. Responses may include blocking access to infected files, cleaning infected files or systems, or informing you that an infected program was detected. They should check your emails to make sure that there are no nasties lurking there, either.

Starting at the "free" end of the market, AVG Antivirus from Grisoft is top notch, with McAfee and Norton popular paid-for alternatives. Some packages will even bundle firewall and antivirus software together for you.

Ok, now we've got the bare essentials, is there anything else we need? Well, we still have to contend with spyware, which covertly gathers information about you through your internet connection without your knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. "Spybot Search and Destroy" is a great piece of free software that you can use to check if your machine has been affected. Microsoft also has a free download that can detect many forms of spyware trying to install themselves on your machine.

Adware is considered to go beyond the reasonable advertising that you might expect from some other free-to-use programs. Typically it's a separate program that is installed alongside it, and will usually continue to generate advertising even when you are not running the original program. Lavasoft produce the most popular free detector - "Adaware".

Once you have these safeguards on your PC, it's vital to keep them up to date and run them regularly as there are new security threats every day. Whichever package you decide to go for, it will have a guide telling you the best way to just that.

Click here for a list of useful links