The first thing you can do is install a firewall to protect your computer. This will monitor your computers communications ports and block any unauthorized activity. There are no 100% guaranteed protection packages out there but it can keep many of the harmful virus at bay and out of your machine. Save yourself an awful lot of grief and install a firewall before you get an infection they are much harder to deal with once they are in your computer.

The second thing that you can do is to make sure you have some kind of antivirus software on your machine. This is taking an active way of protecting rather than it being a passive one. While passive protection protects by immunization and blocking problems active protection works by seeking out threats. Once an active protection program finds a threat it will often ask you what you want to do and then take the appropriate action.

Identifying a garmful file or virus is not a perfect science and therefore the antivirus program needs you to work with it. Sometimes legitimate programs can be identified as threats simply by the nature in which they work. If you know for a fact that a found program or file is something that you use then you will in most cases tell the scanner to ignore it now and forever. This results in fewer false positives down the line.

If your anti virus application finds a file or a document that you are not familiar with it is most likely that it is harmful to your computer. In most cases you want to tell the program to heal the file, delete the file, or quarantine the file. Quarantining is done when the antivirus software cannot remove or heal the file but can lock it down and prevent it from accessing the rest of the computer. While it’s still on your machine it’s safely locked away and in most cases a copy can be uploaded to the protection software company’s database for study and analysis.

This is how they develop new detection rules and removal routines. Aside from having programs installed to protect and scan your computer there are a few common sense things that you can do to protect yourself. Having an external hardrive and completing backups of all your personal files and data is a good way of making sure that your computer is never totally wiped out.

You should also never open any spam email or any email that has an unfamiliar name or a strange subject line. Do not be tempted to click on these pop ups that tell you your are a winner or collect your prize now. These are unfortunately there to trap you and if your not carefull they will catch you out.

By implementing some of thses suggestions it will hopefully give you some idea of how you can protect your computer from a virus. They can keep many of the nasties out there that cause infections away from your computer although it is not 100% fool proof. Remember to update your protection once a month and scan every week to be on the safe side.

You can defend both the system and your computer from almost all threats to your privacy and security, if you have a similar policy or just implement these points.

1. Each and every patches to Windows security for your Windows OS must be updated. All you need is a working internet connection and you will have an always updated Windows OS without any cost.

2. Have the best antivirus software installed. Consult software review for the best antivirus ranking to date. Nowadays, antivirus software solutions are sold at very affordable price; some with limited capablities are even free. Provide internet connection to let the antivirus update itself anytime, and let it run automatically when the computer starts. This can be done automatically by default with most programs.

3. Have a firewall installed and configure it well. A software or hardware based firewall is ok, as long as it is working and set properly. A router, in case you are using it, usually have a firewall already built in it, so that you just need to set the rules to make it work properly and effectively. Software version of firewalls are widely available, even the free ones!

4. Don’t install or run any program, but test them in different system or computer first to be safe. A virtual machine or a virtual computer can do this tricky job with no cost at all and act as a free virus protection.

5. Backup your files regularly, just in case. A best plan includes a way out of the worst. The cost may just be a few DVD’s. If you have a big harddisk to store a backup, there will be no cost at all!

It’s clear that it cost very low and even free if you want to protect yourself from threats.

Zone Alarm Free

To prevent unintended intrusion from the network and internet by using a network firewall is basically very effective. By applying all of it’s list to block packets, programs, and IPs, a firewall will minimize infiltration to over 80% of the time. However, this applies to only some situations.

How can we tell if a firewall is effective?

Firewalls should be tuned for each unique environment in a network. It depends on the behavior of the data exchange between the users and the network or internet that is permitted by the administrator. I think this is the basic conditions a firewall should be installed upon, so as not to set the firewall to a “default-allow” rule, which will practically make the firewall useless.

To make the best of a firewall, it should be set to the “default-deny” rule, with exceptions for a list of IP’s, applications, access types and confirmations, only to the widest range that the company would really need in network and internet access. It’s best to apply the “default-deny” rule with exceptions that’s based only on a daily needs of the users of the network, although a dedicated technical support that’s responsible for intelligent-”allow-rule”-supervision should be available.

This setting may be the best security firewall system setting besides antivirus with a comprehensive built-in firewall in it.

Why is it not effective?

It’s tempting to think that we are being under protection. It’s only that not every network owners really dedicate their small portion of investment to the “default-deny” set of rules implementation, because they refuse to have to add additional exceptions in the future upon someone complaining that he can’t use some internet resources.

They resent more on the necessity of having to add exceptions based on a daily basis. what they’re looking for is an easy to implement procedure, without having to mess with it later to make it work.

This issue is not there because the system administrator has no idea regarding the case, but mostly because it is a common practice. Commercials and marketing advertising copy that don’t want their products to feel hard to be used effectively also takes the part.

How can we make the best out of it?

To acquire number one firewall solution installed is fine. It’s just that it’s not good enough. It needs us to have at least a bit more knowledge about networking, computer security, and network firewall.

None that I can remember of all vendors is providing that yet, because that is our part as users. A little priming is crucial after the installation is done.

I’m talking about making use of a free firewall, Zone Alarm Free, install and prime it for the best. By watching the video guide, first-time and fire-and-forget users can benefit from it.

When we take care of things nicely, and the firewall is effective, all we have to do is just relax and enjoy the day. Well, you worked hard for it that you inevitably deserve it, don’t you think?

The most important thing!

To achieve things that we want, (network computer security is one of it), the major thing to do is ACTION. Now, what are we waiting for? Let’s do it, and relax when you have a secure networking and internet!

Computer guru Kim Komando recommends Comodo as the best option for PCs running the Vista operating system. (Gannett News Service column, Dec. 31, 2008)

Comodo Internet Security Pro includes the firewall, anti-virus and security software found in the company’s free product, with these additional features:

TrustConnect, which can be used at coffee shops, hotels, airports, City/Town Public Wi-Fi hubs, or anywhere you need to use unsecure wireless connections.

Security & Protection Services: Keep your computer secure from hackers, malware and viruses. The company’s support experts will help you stay protected by diagnosing and removing all threats. Virus Diagnosis, Virus Removal and Internet Login Protection are among the services included.

Setup and Installation: The company will set up and install your Comodo products and Internet-based email account. Includes: Email Account Setup, Comodo Internet Security Pro Software Installation and Printer Setup.

PC Tune-up and Green Configuration: Save money on your electric bill. The company will optimize your power management setting based on how you use your computer. Slow-running computer? They’ll give it a full scan and fine-tune key areas to improve speed and stability. Includes PC Tune-up service and Green PC Configuration.

Another endorsement: “The professional version steps up personal security and computer maintenance to another level … LivePC allows you to connect to real expert, 24 hours a day, to help diagnose security issues. You’ll even find people on hand to help you install the program, so the support starts from the very first time you download. This is perfect for people who understand how important internet security is but don’t have the time to dedicate themselves to learning every single thing about virus protection. Even if you consider yourself tech savvy, we bet you’ve got a friend or relative who could really benefit from a service like this!”
software-today.com

There are a lot of choices out there, but you can go with the one recommended for Vista by perhaps the leading consumer advocate for computer owners and users: Comodo Internet Security Pro.

Since there are a wide variety of web firewalls available, including those from major corporations such as Microsoft, you first need to determine what kind of web firewall your PC requires. A web firewall is likely to be set up and ready to use if the computer came installed with the Microsoft XP or Vista operating system. Check that it is turned on and working properly. Purchase your own software if you do not have one of these newer operating systems. The XP version doesn’t get great reviews so you may still want to buy separate web firewall software if you have Microsoft XP.

There are many products available, including as the most popular – Norton, AVG, and McAfee and you can either visit a store that sells computer software or download a web firewall product through the Internet. Even from the leading companies, there are plenty of low cost versions available, with prices varying according to the sophistication of the software. Once in hand and prior to installing your web firewall, you need to take a few things into consideration. The program must not stop you using the functions that you need, such as file and printing sharing. The documentation provided allows the settings to be configured during installation or at a later date.

Web firewalls tend to stop you from going to certain parts of the Internet as well. It is important that you are familiar with how you connect because this can happen if you use a local area network or a router. When you have installed a web firewall in place, secured networks in particular are difficult to access. Installing a web firewall to a pc linked to a company network may require a specific settings configuration to allow you to connect to them and this can be provided by a company’s IT department.

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