Next time your walking around in town somewhere, I want you to wave your wallet in the air and yell out "Hey, Everyone! Free Money!!!". Sound crazy, right? Well, If your surfing the Internet without a relevant Anti-Virus software, then that is basically what you are doing. Even worse, you really have no excuse for this reckless behavior, because of the many good, free anti virus software there is out there. Avaria Free is a personal favorite, which you can download at www.free-av.com. This will protect you from incoming attacks and any suspicious behavior by a web site. You may think that you could have more than one Av program installed, and that would protect you more, but you would be wrong. Anti-Virus software is highly integrated into your Operating System, so the two programs would conflict so badly that it would seriously interfere with your day to day operations. Best thing to do is just go with a good, free AV software and update it regularly. 

Not only do you need a good AV program to monitor your activities, you will also need to do weekly sweeps with an Anti-Spyware software and an Anti-Malware program. The Anti-Spyware program will protect you from people you don't want watching your activities online, as to protect you from unscrupulous individuals trying to get personal info that could lead to identity theft. The Anti-Malware will protect your computer from dormant programs hidden in your computer by hackers to eventually harm your computer. These programs can take over your computer and make it do anything the hacker pleases, such as download illegal files or steal your personal information. Obviously, getting rid of these programs before they attack is the best option, so you should do regular sweeps with your Anti-Malware program. Believe me, the first time you encounter a malware program, you will want to do all you can to avoid them. So, where to get these protection programs you ask? You can download two of my favorites at www.malwarebytes.org and www.superantispyware.com/download.html. 

With the weekly scans and watchful eye of your AV program, your online exploits will be much safer. Hope this informs you to be a little more careful about how loud you yell "Take My Money!!!" on the web. These days, you really cannot be too careful about protecting yourself online. People with the know-how to steal your personal information are out there, and there really isn't any reason not to stop them at all cost.

Chris Cullins
geekspotnow.blogspot.com