Four Steps to Protect Your Computer

Four Steps to Protect Your Computer
There are four simple and inexpensive steps you must
take in order to protect your computer from viruses and
hackers:
1. Use a firewall.
2. Get anti-virus and spyware protection.
3. Use anti-virus and automatic updates.
4. Backup your computer.
Section 4:
Firewalls
Essential Information
A firewall is just that: a wall of fire that surrounds your
computer to protect it. It is software that monitors
information flowing to and from your computer and only
lets through legitimate traffic. It also helps to ‘hide’ your
computer from hackers. Once installed it runs constantly
in the background so you don’t have to set it up again.
Choosing a Firewall
Download one of these best-selling firewalls. Although
there are some free versions available, you’ll have to pay
for most other firewalls, but it is money well spent.
Norton Personal Firewall
symantec.com ZoneAlarm Free Version
zonelabs.com
Windows Firewall
Designed for Windows XP, Windows Firewall comes free
with Windows Security Centre, which can be downloaded
from the Microsoft website. This is explained in Section
5 of this chapter.