A Quick Review of Viruses, Firewalls & Spyware

There seems to be some confusion over anti-virus programs, firewalls, and anti-spyware programs. These are the 3 basic security programs you should have running on your computer, if you want to surf the Internet safely. But what do they do? How many of each should you have? How and when should you run and update them? Here is a brief review.

An anti-virus program, as the name implies, catches and keeps out viruses, trojans, worms and other junk that circulate on the Internet. There are more than 150,000 of them, with new ones added every day. You should have only one anti-virus program running on your computer, otherwise they will conflict with each other, and cause crashes and other problems. It runs in the background, so you do not have to do anything except make sure it updates itself every day or two, or do a manual update yourself.

A firewall hides your computer on the Internet, so hopefully you will not be attacked by malware in the first place. If you are, the firewall should prevent the rogue program from communicating with its master via the Internet. Again, you should only have one firewall on your computer, otherwise they will conflict with each other. Your firewall also runs in the background. Updates are infrequent, so check in the program or watch your email for update notifications..

Spyware, malware and other evil programs can steal your passwords, slow down or hijack your computer, throw ads at you, record every keystroke you make, etc. You can have as many anti-spyware programs as you want; you should have at least two, because sometimes one will catch what the other misses. You usually must launch and run these programs yourself. Run them one at a time. Update them once a week, or more often if your kids surf the net and play games online.

Do not forget to update your Windows once a week as well. If you have an older version, previous to XP, you cannot update it.

These simple steps will go a long way toward keeping you and your family secure on the Internet. Happy (and safe!) surfing.