Protecting your PC.

There are three basic pillars of security, firewalls, antivirus software and OS updates.
Firewalls are either hardware based or software based and is a "must-have" accessory when you have an always-on connection to the Internet.

Firewalls not only monitor and filter Internet traffic; they also make your computer's ports invisible to the outside world. There is a variety of software and hardware firewalls sold today at a really competitive price, even free, like ZoneAlarm (http://www.zonelabs.com).

Antivirus software is the second pillar of a strong security foundation. Purchase antivirus software, use it regularly, and keep it up to date.

New viruses are discovered every day. Set up your antivirus software to scan your system for virus regularly. Update your software's virus data files as frequent as possible. Having outdated virus definition files is the same than not having antivirus at all. Finally, use common sense. Scan all email attachments you receive for virus, even if you know the sender. Do not execute a program that you downloaded without scanning it first for virus, do the same with diskettes and CDs you receive.

The third important pillar is OS update. Keep your Windows up to date. Important vulnerabilities are discovered everyday and guest what? Those are the ones that virus and hackers exploit.