Tutorial 1 : How to keep your computer safe with out spending any money

After experiencing the headache of having a virus on my computer a few weeks ago,  I have decided to put this tutorial up to help everyone keep their computer safe with out spending any money.  There are three types of system software that is necessary when it comes to keeping your computer safe:  an Anti Virus program, a Firewall, and an Anti Spyware application.

Getting Started... 

The first thing you need is an anti virus.  An Anti Virus is designed to prevent, detect, and remove computer viruses, worms, and trojan horses from your computer.  Viruses, worms, and trojan horses can be devestating to a individual in multiple ways.  They can completely hold your computer hostage and not let you acess it, stopping you from getting work done.  But most importantly these "viruses" can steal your persoanl information such as passwords, credit card number, social security number, and anything else that you consider private and important.  I discovered this website very informational on the top free anti virus programs available today Top 5 FREE Anti virus 2011. 

Secondly,

After you have the Anti Virus installed it is extremely important to also have an Anti Spyware program.   Spyware is a type of malware that can be installed on a computer, which collect small pieces of information of the user without his or her knowledge.  There are many forums of spyware but at the end of the day there simple use is to steal as much data as possible.  Spyware can also slow down your computer, redirect web browser, and even change your computer settings.  Anti Spyware programs are developed to prevent, detect and remove spyware from your computer. Some even remove viruses such a trojan horses.  After research I found that two of the best Anti Spyware programs are the following:

Spy Bot Search & Destroy

Malware Bytes

The Firewall,

A firewall protects your system from unwanted intruders. It also protects your system from programs that will send out or broadcast your personal information.  In other words, the firewall is what keeps you safe when you browse the internet. If you have a computer that runs Windows good news you all ready have a build in firewall.  But trust me when I say there plenty of room for an upgrade.  After extensive research I have found that one of the best free firewall today is called Comodo Firewall.  Below I have added a link for download purposes.

Comodo Firewall 

Finally,

Having all three,  Anti Virus, Firewall, and Anti Spyware programs, is not enough to keep your computer safe.  You have to USE them constantly.  First of all you must keep firewall on at all times while browsing the internet.  A firewall that has been turned off has no use and no way of protecting your computer.  Most importantly you have to UPDATE.  UPDATING is key when it comes to your computer safety.  Everyday virus makers and hackers are trying to find a way to steal your information, every day new malware, viruses, worms, and Trojan horses are being developed so you can imagine the amount of updates that these programs launch on a daily basis.  Update your programs at least once a week, and scan on a weekly basis to make sure its free from infected files. 


Resources

http://www.wikipedia.org

http://www.techsupportalert.com

http://www.ilovefreesoftware.com

Picture from = http://www.infoniac.com/