This guide will inform people about the neccessities of Personal Computer security. The risks of not having one of the following products could leave your computer open to attacks and loss of data. Not only could your data could be lost, your computer could suffer problems caused by viruses, trojans and worms that are spreading rampantly over the net.
As long as you are connected on the Internet, whether you are on IRC, just surfing or trading files on those popular filesharing programs, you are leaving your computer open to the possibility of being hacked, or being attacked by a virus. You are unknowingly inviting these people to your computer and say come on in take what you want. This is the equivalent of leaving the door to your house unlocked and taking the chance that no one would turn the knob and clean you out.
This article will go into detail of how to protect your computer with some products out there, you wouldn't believe that you can protect your computer for free, but you really could!
Firewalls
A firewall is a program in which blocks "outside people" from trying to get into your computer, whether you are on dialup, DSL or cable connection. They look for what is called "open" ports to try to get into your computer secretly. For novice users, an open port is the equivalent of a house with all its locks unlocked. The burglar could try to go through the back door, the windows, through the roof etc. A firewall would be the equivalent of a home security system. There are also hardware firewalls which use computer components, but this article will not discuss this in further detail.
As stated before, there are a lot of different firewall programs out there, some are free, and some cost money. Things that are free does not mean there is any downside it. There are free firewalls out there such as Zonelabs' ZoneAlarm, Agnitum's OutPost Firewall' and Tiny Personal Firewall and probably dozens of others, but these are the most popular. These programs all have one thing in common, to protect yourc computer from potential danger. Their setups could be different in which, you would really have to read the insturctions on how to use it for maximum protection, or in the case of ZoneAlarm, allow certain programs permission to be allowed to access the net.
There are also the non-free firewall programs out on the market from some well known companies as: Symantec, McAfee, Zonelabs, Agnitum, NetworkICE and more. All these programs have different features with them. For instance, Norton Personal Firewall allows you to network another computer to your existing computer easily and also an assistant to help you on what you should do. Not all programs are simple to set up and sometimes their warnings could be sort of cryptic.
The setups of these firewalls are different from one another. To make sure that you know if you are getting set up right, you should learn how to operate the program, like you would if you are getting a home alarm system. Some of the firewalls allow you to keep certain ports that you specify opened whether its for an online game, or a network setup, while keeping the other ports closed.
Firewalls are not the only thing you need to have to protect your computer from damage. An antivirus program is needed to also secure your computer from potential attacks whether its from a file you received over the net or you unknowingly opened an infected email. The antivirus program seeks out potential code that is destroying your computer without you knowing it.
Antivirus
Antivirus programs are used to seek out and get rid of malicious code that could ruin files, make your operating system unstable and not work. Worms are similar to viruses but are spread usually through email. These worms could seek out your private information, delete important files, and spread itself to other people through the contact list of your email program.
Today about a dozen viruses/worms are being created everyday wreak havoc not only for people who use the net, but are targeting company websites for the thrill. The creators of these viruses or worms "enjoy" the devastating effects that their worm did.
Now with the advent of all these viruses out on the net, antivirus companies have to keep up with finding solutions of stopping these deadly viruses. Like firewalls, antivirus programs do one job and that is protecting your computer. There are different options to choose from. There are some reviews of antivirus programs on this site, and to date I have liked a lot of programs out there.
The most popular antivirus programs out there are from Symantec with Norton Antivirus, Panda Antivirus, McAfee, the free AVG antivirus program and more. Now, antivirus makers are making their popular antivirus scanners accessible online, some are free, or there could be a small fee. Trend Micro is one of a few places that offer their free online scanning product called Housecall Antivirus. Panda Antivirus, Symantec and McAfee have online scanners from their products as well.
You may be thinking, "Why should I buy an antivirus program when I could scan my computer online for free?" The answer is very simple. Online scanning, although updated, does not do the same job as would a program would. You wouldn't want to scan your whole computer after you downloaded one file would you? You wouldn't want to scan your whole computer after getting a file from peer to peer networks? An antivirus program is just that a tool that sniffs out viruses on your computer in real time. Antivirus programs are not 100% fullproof as with anything out there, there are viruses that can disable your antivirus program and render it useless. There are a minute number of worms/viruses that are able to do this, but don't be alarmed. The dependency upon online virus scanners is a mistake that could be costly in the end. If you think about it what if a virus deleted files and you can't connect to the internet? How would you be able to use an online scanner? So purchasing a software program is important and there are a variety of packages etc.
Conclusion
Making an investment of time and money is the best way to make sure your data is well protected. You don't want unwanted people to snoop out information on your computer or try to ruin your PC by deleting files. Not everyone is a computer "technician" that knows what to do in the case of having to start over from scratch. If you want to play the risky game of trying to save money and not install a firewall and have an antivirus program it's up to you, but the prices these professionals charge, it would be a whole lot cheaper investment to go out there and protect your PC.
Read the manuals and get yourself the know how to use these programs properly. Using common sense too is also a method of prevention. Do not open email attachments from people you don't know. Don't open files that end in .vbs.txt because most of them are viruses and worms. When you download files off the net, even from trusted sites, you should always scan your files before opening to make sure the program isn't hiding a virus. Get into the habit of preventative computer use to make sure your experience isn't ruined by someone who enjoys making viruses.
To download firewalls or antivirus programs please click appropriate links: Firewalls, Antivirus Software