If you don't have virus protection software AND a firewall installed, and if you don't keep your software's virus definitions up to date, then please don't call me when you lose everything on your computer due to a virus or trojan horse or worm. Notice I said WHEN, not IF, because it will happen eventually.

There are many Virus Protection software products available, including:

• F-Secure Anti-Virus 2004 for Windows $56.90
• Virus Scan 8.0 $49.99
• Trend Micro PC-cillin $49.95
• Symantec's Norton AntiVirus™ 2004 $49.95
• Panda Titanium Antivirus 2004 $39.95

Other virus protection products are listed here

Prices quoted above are for one year of service, and with product purchased online. With some products you can pay less for 6 months of service, or more for two years of service, and products purchased in the store may be a bit higher, however if you catch them on sale, you may even pay less.

Many of the products also are available in suites which include some, or all, of the following:

• Firewall
• Anti-spam software
• Anti-spyware software
• Web content filtering

Online Virus Scans take a long time to run, but if you want to try them, FREE online virus scans are available at the following websites:

• Command on Demand
• Select McAfee FreeScan from the Free Services section
• Panda ActiveScan
• PC Pitstop Virus Scan
• RAV AntiVirus Online Scan
• Trend Micro HouseCall

If you want to see how important it is to have a Virus Detection program installed on your computer and how important it is to keep it's virus definitions up to date, here are the viruses detected by Norton on my computer this month. Notice that one of them (W32.Netsky.P@mm) was discovered just 1 day before I began receiving it in my email (Monday, March 22, 2004 7:47:01 PM). Also note that BAT.Trojan was received at Sunday, March 28, 2004 11:51:45 PM, and Norton says it quaranteened the file sec.bat, but as the article IROFFER.EXE indicates, I was apparently infected by it. The referenced article shows how I solved the infection.

Besides a Virus Protection Program, every computer connected to the Internet should have a firewall. I use Zone Alarm Pro which costs $49.95 and offers: NEW! myVAULT. Keeps personal info on your PC safely locked away. NEW! ID Lock. Alerts you before sharing personal information in myVAULT. NEW! Host File Lock. Prevents host file tampering and website spoofing. Complete Mailsafe. Blocks suspect emails—inbound and outbound. Cache Cleaner. Eliminates traces of your Internet activity. Expert Firewall Controls. Enables precise control of firewall settings. Personal Firewall. Blocks hackers from your PC. Hacker ID. Tracks, maps, and even reports hackers to their ISP. Pop-Up and Ad Blocking. (See Demo!) Stops annoying ads. Advisor Services. Provides real-time security guidance. Password Protected Settings. Locks down your security. Mobile PC Protection. Keeps you safe, wherever you are. Cookie Control. Prevents profiling of online activities. but there is a free version of Zone Alarm which does not have all of the features of Zone Alarm Plus or Zone Alarm Pro, but is still much better than nothing. I won't go into detail on the attempts which were blocked, but if we take a look at just one week, the chart on the right shows the number of attempts to hack into my computer that Zone Alarm Pro blocked:

Date Blocked Attempts March 17 333 March 18 322 March 19 313 March 20 247 March 21 408 March 22 376 March 23 491

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