by Stephen B.

Created on: May 22, 2010   Last Updated: May 23, 2010

It would be hard to imagine a scenario where checking email and surfing the web would turn out to be a dangerous thing, unless it was somehow located in a battlefield.  But without following a few tips and protecting your computer, the internet can cost you time, money, and your identity.  Most of the things that affect computers on the internet are usually referred to as viruses, spyware, adware, malware, or trojans.  Now, all of those can range from being something that just might slow down your computer to something that might send your personal information out or cripple your computer.

Luckily, there are many programs out now that are quite good at protecting your computer from getting any negative software and also removing it before it is able to do serious damage.  The first program that people should try is for Windows PCs and is called Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), which is free to everyone.  Now Microsoft has not had the best track record with security software, but MSE not only performs as well as any other free anti-virus program it also performs well while using very little system resources like RAM while it is running in the background.  Some of the best features include the scanner which can be set to scan at a certain time or manually, also it will scan files that have just been downloaded to check if it contains any malicious software, and it will also protect your computer in real-time as you use things like the web and email.

MSE is good for preventing viruses from every making their way on to your pc, but sometimes things just slip through which is way Spybot Search & Destroy has become so popular over the years for its ability to find and remove viruses.  Just one look at the list of things that Spybot can find and remove would take days to finish.  Spybot also has the option of running in the background on startup or to be used whenever you feel like scanning your pc.

Now it is time to think about what browser you are using for your surfing, because each one is good and bad in its own way.  Usually for people that are not experts on computer use Mozilla Firefox is the safest bet for safely surfing the web.  The browser offers many options for users to personalize the program for your tastes.  Also, Firefox can use extensions that can help make the web safer for you like Adblock Plus which will block ads on websites, one cause of viruses, and Script Blocker which blocks certain scripts on the internet that can affect your computer.

Between that trio of software you should keep safe on the internet as long you don't go clicking every piece of junk mail that pops up, and best of all they are free.

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