Installing Firewalls, Antivirus Programmes, and Anti-malware Programmes can help securing internet privacy?

Keeping your computer secure is important in order for you to protect your privacy and to reduce the possibility of identity theft.  Unfortunately, maintaining the security of a computer can be a challenging task. 

How much of your daily life relies on computers?  How much of your personal information is stored either on your own computer or on someone else's system?

Computer security involves protecting that information by preventing, detecting, and responding to a wide variety of attacks.

Installing Firewalls, Anti-virus programs, and Anti-malware programs.

• Firewalls, anti-virus programs, and anti-malware programs are important elements to protecting your information.  However, none of these are guaranteed to protect you from an attack. Combining these technologies with good security habits is the best way to reduce your risk.
• According to Consumer Reports (June 2010 issue), free programs should adequately protect all but the most at-risk Internet users from malware—viruses, spyware, and other online threats.  Consider paying for software mostly for convenience and some extra features. 

read : http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2010/june/electronics-computers/security-software/overview/index.htm

Firewalls.  A firewall helps to prevent data from entering or leaving your computer without your permission.  A firewall helps make you invisible on the Internet and blocks communications from unauthorized sources. Some operating systems have built-in firewalls.

Every computer that is connected to the Internet should run a firewall at all times.  There are two types of firewalls—software and hardware.  You can run both simultaneously.  But never run two software firewalls simultaneously.  An example of a software firewall is the one built into most new Windows operating systems.  Other software firewalls are supplied by outside vendors, or may be part of a commercial security suite. A software firewall must be properly configured in order to be effective. 

A hardware firewall typically refers to a router having firewall features.  A router sits between your modem and your computer or your network.  It is hard to hack your computer or a network when it is hidden behind a hardware firewall box.  However, it is important to properly configure your router, particularly by changing the default password to one that is difficult to crack.

more information of firewalls, read http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST04-004.html

Anti-virus programs.  Anti-virus software helps to protect your computer from viruses that can destroy your data, slow your computer's performance, or cause your computer to crash.  Anti-virus software scans your computer for patterns that may indicate an infection.  The patterns it looks for are based on the signatures, or definitions, of known viruses. Virus authors are continually releasing new and updated viruses, so it is important that you have the latest definitions installed on your computer. There are many companies that produce anti-virus software.  Your decision as to which program to use may be driven by user recommendations, features, or price (many programs are available at no cost).  In a June 2010 study by AV Comparatives, a non-profit independent testing organization, Microsoft Security Essentials (http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/) was ranked as the highest-rated free anti-virus product.  

See http://www.av- comparatives.org/images/stories/test/ondret/avc_report26.pdf and http://lifehacker.com/5559102/microsoft-security-essentials-finds-unknown-malware-but-avoids-false-positives

You should not have two anti-virus programs actively running resident on your computer at the same time.  Be sure to fully disable or remove any anti-virus programs that yoare no longer using or which are not currently being updated with new definitions.  On the other hand, it is permissable to run a periodic scan with a second anti-virus program (such as an online virus scanner) as long as the program is not actively running resident on your computer.

read, http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST04-005.html

Anti-malware (anti-spyware) programs.  Malware is a broad category of computer threats including spyware, adware, Trojan horses, and other unwanted programs that may be installed without your knowledge or consent. Spyware can secretly gather your information through your Internet connection without your knowledge.  Once spyware is installed. it may deploy numerous files onto your system. Some of these files are so well hidden that they are difficult to find and remove.

Spyware programs may be included with other software you want.  When you consent to download a program, such as a music sharing program, may also be consenting to download spyware.  You might not be aware that you agreed to the spyware installation because your consent is buried in an end-user-license agreement (EULA).

Be cautious about clicking on pop-up boxes. Spyware programs may create a pop-up box where you can click “yes” or “no” to a particular question.  If you click on either choice your browser may be tricked into thinking you initiated a download of spyware.

Anti-malware and anti-spyware programs can help to eliminate many of these threats. Security experts recommend that you use at least two, and preferably three anti-malware/anti-spyware programs on your computer, as no one program has been found to be fully effective at detecting and removing these threats.

read, http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST04-016.html for further information regarding spyware and malware.

So i hope after reading this, we will be aware of the importance of protecting our computer in order to protect our internet privacy as well..sometimes we just ignore those little steps which eventually can lead to more serious problems..who says installing spyware, antivirus and firewall is necessary o protect our computers for viruses only? in fact, we can help protect our internet privacy from being hacked and all..