According to the SANS Institute (www.sans.org), an unprotected computer is compromised in three days.  As soon as your computer is connected to the Internet, it receives an address either from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or your hardware router device. Contact me if you don't have one or don't know what that is.

     Your computer becomes visible to all the other computers connected to the Internet, especially those programmed to detect other computers.  While some programs are merely annoying (such as adware), some try to glean information about you (spyware), and others attempt to damage your system (viruses).

     So before you surf the Internet, it is vital (but inexpensive) to have basic security measures in place first. If you have any sensitive, critical, or financial data on your computer, then getting the right protection is not optional.

     The three main ingredients you will need are anti-malware software, a software firewall, and a hardware firewall.  The term malware comes from the two words malicious and software, and it includes viruses, spyware, adware, worms, Trojan horses, and the like.  A firewall is a part of a computer system or network that is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting outward communication.

    To avoid confusion, we'll just to stick to the term anti-virus.  The old adage that you get what you pay for doesn't hold true when it comes to virus protection.  The best ones I've used have free versions for home users, and even the paid software protection costs about the same or less than the well-known products such as Norton and McAfee.  What you're paying for is the brand name and marketing costs.

     Good products with free versions that I've used and tested are AVG and Avira.  Another one that has gotten good reviews, although I haven't tried it yet, is Comodo.  If you would like to check them out, their websites are as follows:

·         AVG - http://free.avg.com/

·         Avira - http://www.free-av.com/

·         Comodo - http://antivirus.comodo.com/

     A couple things to keep in mind are the free version of Avira does not have an e-mail scanner whereas AVG does.  On the other hand, Avira was able to detect certain infections that AVG could not.

     Installing programs nowadays is a snap.  You'll want to make sure that your protection is set to update and scan automatically because it won't be very helpful otherwise.  Bear in mind, some free versions of software do not allow you to schedule automatic updates. 

     You will find that some features of the free programs do not work when you click on them.  However, often there will be a message letting you know you have to pay for certain features.

    The next piece of the security puzzle you will need is a software firewall.  This is a program that watches and controls information that tries to come in or leave your computer; such as when Internet Explorer attempts to talk with the outside world.

     Again, there are good, free software firewalls that I would recommend to my clients.  We'll talk about that next time.

Fast, Easy, and Safe Computing is brought to you by Mike Siemers.  He has been in the IT field for over 11 years.  He is owner and consultant for Service Intelligence Agency (formerly Provident Digital).  He can be reached by e-mailing michael@providentdigital.net.