by Josh Peffer

Created on: December 17, 2009

Computer security knowledge is a must have for anyone who owns a computer, will own a computer, or has a friend who owns a computer. If you own a computer and do not already have some sort of computer security then you better stop what you are doing and get some right now. Basic computer security can be divided into 3 groups; Firewall, Anti-virus, and Anti-spyware. Now there are a lot of other kinds of security that you can buy and they say will help protect your computer, but with these 3 simple programs, that you can find for free, you can protect your computer from almost any type of threat out there.

First, a firewall. A firewall is simply a program that will block any other program from trying to invade your system. There are many different firewall programs you can buy. There are also after market free versions of programs that supposedly work great. I personally prefer to just use the windows firewall. Now I know that every "computer geek" out there is going to get mad at me for saying this. But I personally do not like dealing with the firewall programs.

One of the more popular free firewall programs is call ZoneAlarm. I have never used it, but have heard good and bad things about it. First, lets start with what's good about it. It will keep anything and everything out of your computer. Which is good and also bad. It sometimes will keep programs that you trust and want to use out of your computer. If you are looking for a program that is very intense and will super protect your computer, use ZoneAlarm. Its free, and does what it is supposed to do.

Second, an anti-virus. An anti-virus program is a program that will protect your computer from any "viruses." Virus, is another name for a malicious program that can slow your computer down, delete or move files that are important to the function of your computer, or even destroy the workings of your computer completely. Now, this is a topic where every person has there favorites. I will mention a few that I have used that have been great. First, I love and will stand by til the end, Avast. Avast anti-virus is made by a company named Alwil software. Avast won the Secure Computing Readers Trust Award in 2006. In my opinion, it is one of the best anti-virus programs. It has caught ever virus that I have ever had problems with. One of the big benefits of Avast, is its boot-time scanner. It will scan your computer before it has officially booted up. Thereby catching any viruses that hide themselves once your

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