Security

You need to protect yourself when you go online. Download the following programs, and you'll go a long way toward making sure that the bad guys, and bad software, won't get you.

Comodo Firewall Pro

If you're using the firewall that ships with Windows XP or Vista, you're not safe enough. They don't offer customizable outbound protection – important in a world in which spyware is everywhere. This free firewall not only stops inbound and outbound threats, but also does such things as protecting selected files and folders so that malware can't get at them or alter them.

Be prepared, when you first start this program, to spend a little time training it. Whenever a program wants Internet access, Comodo pops up and asks whether you wish to let the program use the Internet. To cut down on those pop-ups, run the program in Clean PC mode, which will scan your PC, find your existing applications, and register them as safe. You then won't see any pop-ups associated with those programs. And to make sure that Comodo doesn't interfere with installing software, you can use its Installation mode, which will disable certain pop-ups for 15 minutes, so you can install new software without being annoyed.

Download Comodo Firewall Pro| Price: Free

Ad-Aware

To use the Internet is to put your PC at risk from spyware, adware, Trojan horses, and other malware. Your antivirus program by itself isn't enough to protect you, because it misses many of these malicious programs. This long-time favorite offers a great, no-cost layer of protection.

It does a great job of scanning your PC for threats – including Trojan horses, rootkits, and other spyware – warning you about them, then deleting them. It can also put them into quarantine, disabling them but not deleting them, so you can decide what to do about them later.

Even if you already have antispyware on your PC, it's a good idea to use Ad-Aware as well, because not all spyware scanners find all threats, so using more than one is a good idea.

Download Ad-Aware| Price: Free

Free Internet Window Washer

Your Internet activity leaves a trail – and one far more traceable than you might imagine. This trail includes cache files, browser history, auto-complete information, cookies, typed URLs, and more. This means that anyone with access to your PC can easily see what you've been doing online. In some instances, even Web sites can gather information about where you've been and what you've done.

Free Internet Window Washer ensures your privacy by cleaning all those traces, and more, off of your PC. Not only will it remove traces of Internet activity, but it will also clean traces of application activity as well, such as which files you've recently opened in Microsoft Office applications. And it works with multiple browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape, and Opera.

Download Free Internet Window Washer| Price: Free