When you're connected to the Internet you are in fact connected to a network with many (hundreds of millions) of other users. Unfortunately, when something as big as this is shared, it's wide open to abuse. On the Internet this abuse comes from hackers and virus creators, whose intent is to cause harm to your computer and millions of other computer systems all over the world.

How do you protect your computer system, keep your private information private, and your computer safe from hackers? You need Security Software. Let's discuss the most important and critical computer security software products everyone should have (and use!) on their PC.

The first and most critical element of your defense is AntiVirus Software. If you don't have any antivirus software on your computer, you're in for a lot of trouble. There are currently more than 50,000 viruses in existence and 200 viruses are discovered each month, so if you're not constantly protecting your computer against this threat with security software, your PC will become infected.

Important: it's not enough to just have antivirus software running: your virus protection is only as effective as its last update. Most anti-virus solutions have an Automatic Update option, but make sure it is turned on!

To block suspicious Internet traffic, you need Firewall Software (a personal firewall). A personal firewall is a piece of software installed on your computer which controls communications to and from the PC, permitting or denying communications based on a security policy. A personal firewall can prevent programs that are useful for non-network purposes (like Windows Media Player) from accessing the network. It can also prevent unwanted accesses and is capable of blocking incoming and outgoing IP addresses. It makes your PC invisible on the Internet so that hackers can’t find it.

Do you need a personal firewall? If you have an "always on" cable or DSL broadband connection, you need one. You should also consider one if you use a dial-up Internet connection for hours at a time.

According to an October 2004 study by America Online and the National Cyber-Security Alliance, 80% of surveyed users' computers had some form of spyware, with an average of 93 spyware components per computer. 89% of surveyed users with spyware reported that they did not know of its presence, and 95% reported that they had not given permission for it to be installed. So it is very important to defend your computer system against the spyware threat.

Spyware does not directly spread in the manner of a computer virus or worm: generally, an infected system does not attempt to transmit the infection to other computers. Instead, spyware gets on a system through deception of the user or through exploitation of software vulnerabilities. The most direct route by which spyware can get on a computer is for the user to install it. However, users are unlikely to install software if they know that it may disrupt their working environment and compromise their privacy. So many spyware programs deceive the user, either by piggybacking on a piece of desirable software, or by tricking the user to do something that installs the software without realizing it.

Using Spyware Removal Software, you are able to detect and remove malicious spyware infections currently running on your computer. Then, your best defense against future spyware invasions is to purchase anti-spyware software that will actively protect your computer from new spyware intrusions. Tip: numerous spyware removal software programs can be downloaded for free and most offer equivalent protection to those you purchase.

A Trojan horse is a malicious program that is disguised as legitimate software. In practice, Trojan Horses in the wild contain spying functions (such as a Packet sniffer) or backdoor functions that allow a computer, unbeknownst to the owner, to be remotely controlled remotely from the network, creating a "zombie computer".

Anti-Trojan software is a specialized piece of software used to detect a Trojan horse. Most folk harbor the belief that they are totally protected from malicious trojan horses by their anti-virus scanner. The bad news is that many anti-virus scanners give only limited protection against trojans.

An anti-Trojan software product should therefore be used in addition to, but not instead of, anti-virus and anti-spyware software. After installing anti-Trojan software, immediately check for updates at the vendor's site and turn on the auto update feature (if it has one).

Pop-up ads are a form of online advertising on the World Wide Web intended to increase web traffic or capture e-mail addresses. It works when certain web sites open a new web browser window to display advertisements. The pop-up window containing an advertisement is usually generated by JavaScript, but can be generated by other means as well. (We all know them).

While some browsers offer a popup-blocker, like Mozilla Firefox, free pop up blocker downloads are available to stop pop-ups from ever showing up on your monitor, and the time you will lose downloading the program will be easily made up for in saved time surfing pop-up free online. (Enter 'Free Pop Up Blocker Downloads' in Google: this will produce a list with many solutions for you to pick from).

Never underestimate the danger of pop ups! It is very easy for websites to scan your information, and know when you were online. Tip: constant popups are often a symptom that true danger lurks beneath. You could be infected with spyware, adware or worse.

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