Protect,clean,and maintain.

Antivirus,spyware remover,file cleaner,defragger,and firewall.

You need an Antivirus.It must be up to date.It must be loaded when you start your computer.It must be kept up to date.Norton,McAfee,Trend-Micro are all good.There are also free ones available.The big name ones can be setup for auto updates and auto scans to take care of themselves.If your antivirus does not update itself, check at least weekly for new updates and run a complete and thorough scan on your whole computer at least once a week.

Firewall.If you are using dialup service a firewall is usually not needed.Everytime you dial up your service you get a new temporary IP address.If you use a cable or DSL line you probably have an assigned IP address and should use a firewall for protection.If you have a router installed for a small network at home and the router is between your cable modem and your network,it will act as a firewall and you will probaly not need a software firewall.

 If your computer is directly connected to a cable modem you had better set up a firewall as you are directly exposed to the internet as long as your computer and modem are on.Again , Norton,McAfee,Trend-Micro and other big names have firewalls available.There are also excellent free ones available.ZoneAlarm and Sysgate are two free ones which are good.Black Ice is probably one of the best..

Defragging your computer on a regular basis not only sppeds it up but cuts down on the wear and tear on the hard drive.Windows comes with a very limited built in defragger.It is s-l-o-w but better than nothing.I use and recommend Executive Software's Diskeeper it's fast effective and powerful.It can be set to automatically defrag.One less task to remember and take care of .Click on the photo to get more info.