Anti-virus(AV) Protection : Agree w/Jeff-Symantec Norton anti-virus software is one of the most robust available. As for other anti-virus programs, Trendmicro seems to be excellent as noted by "Talon_66" in the post below. I've been running Trendmicro for a couple months and am very impressed. If you're not running AV software on your PC, ANYTHING reputable is better than nothing.
Whatever you decide to use, highly recommend activating any Web enabled "live" autoupdate feature available thru the anti-virus software. This will keep your PC's virus definitions up-to-date and new virus definitions come out frequently, often weekly & sometimes daily. It's no guarantee your PC will never be infected but does hugely increase the odds you'll be protected against most newly developed viruses & worms. You can find Norton AntiVirus for download here and it is fifty bucks well spent http://www.symantecstore.com/dr/sat1/ec_MAIN.Entry17c?CID=39910&SID=27674&SP=10007&PN=5&PID=582926&DSP=&CUR=840&PGRP=0&CACHE_ID=39910
Microsoft "Holes" & MS Update : It's also important to keep your Microsoft software up-to-date by using "Microsoft Windows Update." The vast majority of ppl use a Microsoft Windows Operating System (OS) such as MS XP, 2000, NT, 98, 95. That is why most viruses and worms are specifically designed to exploit "holes"/vulnerabilities in these since nearly everyone uses one these OS's. It's important to understand that within the IT industry, it is well known that Microsoft is notorious for allowing their software to be released for public use even though security vulnerabilities may (usually) exist. Just because their software becomes publicly available is no assurance at all that it is completely secure . MS has been somewhat more diligent about this flawed approach recently than in the past but they still have a LOOOONG way to go in improving their development and testing processes BEFORE releasing products for public consumption.
Microsoft is constantly developing "critical patches" for their already-released products as new vulnerabilities become known. Highly recommend using the FREE Microsoft Windows Update available here http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp. The site and install process is extremely easy to use, even for the novice. Go to the site, click on "scan for updates" and Microsoft will tell you what updates you are missing on your PC. You don't necessarily need to install every update MS offers. Some that are not in a "critical" category you may never use & can take up a lot of storage and memory capacity (your call). However, you should definitely install the ones categorized as "critical."
I tried to write this info up in fairly plain english for a general level of understanding. I'm in the Info Technology biz and sometimes we forget that not everyone is a "propeller head" nor do they want to be one. Hope it helps someone from ever experiencing the heartbreak of a hosed PC, lost data & programs and just as importantly, helps keep nasty viruses, worms, and trojan horses from replicating to other user PC's.
<small>[ June 26, 2004, 04:29 AM: Message edited by: perhapsadingo8yerbaby ]</small>
