Internet Security ABC

 

Install a FirewallTop Five Reasons to Install a Firewall

Many professional PC owners agree that connecting to the internet without a firewall is like leaving your house unlocked when you leave for work. Eventually someone will find your open door and wander in to snoop through your house and leave with all your valuables. Why take these risks when there is a large quantity of free firewall software available for immediate installation? Even experienced PC users find it very difficult to configure and understand Firewall's. So, if you're one of those procrastinators who keep putting off downloading this valuable free software, STOP. It's time to protect your PC like you protect your home. Take a few minutes and find the firewall for you.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes the original meaning of firewall as "a wall constructed to prevent the spread of fire." PC firewalls are
made to prevent any unwanted intrusions from anywhere on the internet and into your PC. Unlike an actual fire, internet threats don't jump out at you through simple proximity. These internet threats develop when a user imposes a combination of your computers Internet Protocol (IP) address and one or more of the hundreds of thousands Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Universal Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports that is utilized as the door to your system.

1. Firewall's secure PC's and their networks and protect them from viruses, spy ware, hackers, worms, website and email threats, along with a wide variety of other threats out there lying in wait for their next victim. Without an installed firewall on your PC, your chances of becoming their next victim increases every day.

2. If the first reason wasn't enough to convince you to install a firewall, maybe this one will. Most of them are FREE. That's right, free to download and free to install. Some free firewall's are: Zone Labs Zone Alarm, Agnitum Limited, Outpost Firewall Free and Sygate Personal Firewall. Some of these programs may require a brief training period while the firewall is downloading.

3. When viruses and worms attack a PC, the whole computer can crash, costing you money to repair and time without your computer. This can be extremely harmful if you run an online business. Labor costs and replacements parts for computers can cost a pretty penny. And that's if the computer is able to be fixed. Are you still willing to take that risk?

4. Firewall's protect you from these threats to prevent your personal information from being stolen. Having a firewall can prevent hackers from getting in and stealing your account information. Whether it's an account you hold with an online merchant, or you do your banking, bill payments or investing on line, if the money is there, there will be someone trying to get to it. Not having a firewall would be like leaving your house unlocked and your wallet on the kitchen table.

5. Along with blocking these unwanted intruders, firewall's can prevent unwanted programs from running on your PC and will block these programs from sending data to outside servers and also from accepting data to an incoming connection.

Did you know that every time you use a web browser, email, or some other software to retrieve information, whether it's from an ISP, website or other outside server, data courses through these ports? Regardless of whether the transgressor is a twelve year old hacker trying to gain access to your PC, a pop up spam Messenger, or spy ware trying to communicate with an outside server, the strategy is still the same. Someone or something is trying to find an open port to your PC or trying to trick your PC into opening one.

Firewall's are installed to watch these hundreds of thousands of ports, whether it's connection is through broadband or dial up, the firewall is there to deny access to all unwanted and unauthorized traffic. Most unwanted traffic that can be very harmful to your PC can appear very innocent and safe sounding, but beware and avoid temptation. Always deny access to any program you are not sure about. You will always have more chances to change your mind about them later. Anyone can install a firewall with just a few clicks of their mouse, isn't it worth it?

Three Reasons to Wipe Your Computers Internet History Files Clean

Can the Spam How to Filter Out All the Unnecessary Junk

Picking Blackberries Why Mobile Technology Needs More Security

Six Tips for Staying Healthy in a Computer Virus World

Key Logging Capers Three Reasons Why You Need It

 

Internet Security
Are You an Enabler? What Enabling Cookies
Can the Spam-How to Filter Out All the Unnecessary Junk
Channel the Cookie Monster in You - Computer Cookies Can Be Bad For Your Computer's Health
Chat Room Challenge - Five Tips to Ensure Your Anonymity
Computer Band-aid - How to Know if You Need to Download that Security Patch
Computer Deep Freeze - Ten Tips to Keep your PC Up and Running
Computer Junkyard - Does Spam Filtering Really Help?
Dial-Up vs. Broadband - Which is the Safer Alternative?
Doesn't Ad up - Three Things that Adware does to your Computer
Don't Click No! How to Safely Close those Pop-up Windows
Don't Get Hacked Off-How to Stop Computer Interlopers in their Tracks
Exercise Parental Control - Five Tips to Keep Kids Safe on the Internet
Exterminate those Bugs on your PC
Getting Down With Downloads - How to Protect Your Computer
Hijacked at Home - Five Steps to Protect Your Home PC
Identity Theft via Internet Security Flaws
Inoculate Yourself against Computer Viruses
Internet Anonymizers - Why and When You Should Use Them
Key Logging Capers Part Two - Three Reasons why it is a Problem
Key Logging Capers - Three Reasons Why You Need It
Let's Go Phishing! - Five Ways to Avoid Being Hooked by This Scam
Maintaining Your Privacy on the Internet - Five Things you can do
Malicious Instant Messages-Three Ways Instant Messaging Compromises Internet Security
Malware is bad for your Computer
Picking Blackberries - Why Mobile Technology Needs More Security
Pound Those Pop-Ups
Six Tips for Staying Healthy in a Computer Virus World
Something Doesn't Register - Cleaning your Computer's Registry for Safety
Spies Everywhere - What is Spyware and Why is it so Bad?
Squash those Worms - Four Ways to Keep your PC Critter-Free
That Wasn't Scripted! Why Scripted Viruses are Bad News
The Basics of Internet Website Encryption
The Cookie Monster - How Do Cookies Influence Internet Security?
The Digital Certificate - What's It Mean and Why is It Important?
Three Benefits to Using an Internet Remailer
Three Reasons to Wipe Your Computer's Internet History Files Clean
Three Ways that an Internet Firewall Can Be Compromised
Three Ways to Identify a Virus Hoax
Three Ways to make sure your Online Credit Card Transaction is Safe
Toolbar Traps - What You Should Know BEFORE Downloading that "Helpful" Toolbar
Top Five Reasons to Install a Firewall
Top Five Spyware Threats to Internet Security
Top Five Vulnerable Areas in Internet Security
Top Five Worst Viruses and How to Protect Your Computer against Them
Top Four Ways to Ensure a Secure Password
Top Ten Tools to Boost your Internet Security
What IP Addresses Mean in the Scheme of Internet Security
When Formatting the Hard Drive is Your Only Recourse
Internet Privacy
Remote Access Trojans Hijacking your Computer
Precautions You Should Take When Installing WiFi in your Home
Sold! How to Maintain your Privacy and Still Indulge in Online Auctions
Social Networking Be Careful of What You Post!
Sneaky Ways to Get Around those Internet Privacy Issues
Identity Theft
Electronic Mail Identity Theft
Facts on Identity Theft
Fighting Identity Theft
ID Theft

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