Computer’s suffer from security issues like everything else. Probably more so. As such, you need to keep your computer secure. Aside from potential data loss and theft of personal information, you may be liable to legal implications if your computer is used to commit illegal activies by hackers.

For instance, millions of computers around the world have been taken over by hackers and placed into groups of hacked computers called BotNets. BotNets can carry out internet attacks, send out spam, etc. Most of the people who own computers in these Bot Nets don’t even know it … You might even be in one them right now!

Definitions:

• Virus: A computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without the permission or knowledge of the owner.
• Trojan: A Trojan horse, or trojan for short, is a term used to describe malware that appears, to the user, to perform a desirable function but, in fact, facilitates unauthorized access to the user’s computer system.
• Spyware: Spyware is a type of malware that is installed on computers and that collects information about users without their knowledge.
• Malware: Malware, short for malicious software, is software designed to infiltrate a computer without the owner’s informed consent.
• Freeware: Computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee. The first and foremost thing you should do is always keep your operating system up-to-date. Exploits and vulnerabilities are the first thing that can get your computer compromised. Microsoft releases updates on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Update during that time, or even better put your computer on automatic updates (click here for info on how to turn Automatic Updates on).

There are a variety of anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-malware and firewall applications available on the market. The most popular anti virus products are McAfee Anti-Virus, Symantec Anti-Virus and Kaspersky Anti-Virus. While there aren’t any major differences between the products in terms of detection of viruses, there might be some feature differences. The problem with these 3 most popular AV products is that they use a lot of system resources. If you have a slow computer, or you are a gamer, you will notice that your computer will run slower. I recommend you use Eset NOD32. It’s just as powerful as the major 3 (if not more in some ways) and it uses a fraction amount of system resources. A firewall is a part of a computer system or network that is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting authorized communications. The most popular software firewalls are Symantec, ZoneAlarm and the built-in one in Windows. If you are using the built-in one in Windows, i suggest you use one of the others (Symantec, ZoneAlarm, etc.) the windows one is very basic and doesn’t offer very good protection. Below is some other software programs you should have installed on your computer to protect it:

• Spybot Search & Destroy (Freeware) Spybot Search & Destroy is the best known and widely used Spyware scanner and cleaner.
• Spyware Blaster (Freeware) Spyware Blaster prevents the installation of spyware and other potentially unwanted software.
• Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (Freeware) Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a very powerful malware scanner. It makes a very good companion to the other Malware scanners. It picks up a lot of stuff the others do not detect.
• Super AntiSpyware (Freeware) Another spyware scanner, this one doesn’t have anything too special about it, but it does detect stuff the other Spyware scanners do not.
• Prevx (Yearly Fee) Prevx is a computer application designed for the removal of and protection from malware. This one is probably the most important thing you need. It scans your computer in the background and prevents damaging programs from starting. It requires an active internet connection to function, so if you are on dial-up and you are offline; it won’t work.

So in summary you should keep your Windows OS up to date and Install Anti-Virus, Firewall, Anti-Spyware and Anti-Malware scanners. You should also manually run a scan with all your installed security products at least once per month. P.S. Do not forget to keep all your security applications updated. They need updates to keep detecting new threats.