What does it take to be safe on the internet?  Ask a hundred people and you will get that many different answers.  If you examine these answers, however, they will fall into one of the basic categories we'll talk about here.

There are basic programs needed to protect your computer when attached to the internet:
Firewall
Anti-Virus
Anti-Spyware

 

Firewall:
Windows comes with one, so I'm covered, right?  Nope.  True, Windows XP Firewall is better than nothing, but it only protects certain areas and has several vulnerabilities that a virus can take advantage of.  

The quickest way to provide a good level of firewall protection is to install a hardware router.  An inexpensive linksys or netgear router creates a firewall that seperates your computers from those on the internet.

Antivirus:
We all know that viruses are bad, but what are they? A virus usually attacks a specific vulnerability in an operating system to deliver some payload, such as flashing up a message on the screen, causing a crash, or even deleting your entire hard drive.  Your anti-virus software should be small and fast, and update at least once a day.  It should perform real-time monitoring, because it is always easier to keep a virus off than to remove it once it gets in.

Antispyware:
Spyware or Malware are programs that are installed on your computer.  Malware can be installed by something you click on, or an attachment to an email that you open. Once installed, it collects information, like keystrokes or cookies that your browser has saved, and sends them to a preprogrammed location so others can benefit from your personal information.  Trojan viruses are malware programs that look like something else but are actually harmful to your computer.  Once these get on, they go out and download other viruses, or give you fake alerts telling you to enter your credit card information so you can remove a "virus" that has been found.  The virus is actually the alert that you are seeing!  These types of programs are the most dangerous out there these days.

How do you know what software to use?  They all say they are the best!

The temptation is to purchase a program that promises to cover all these areas of vulnerability.  The fact is that no product that does them all does them as well as the best from each category bought seperately, and many users have ended up uninstalling the expensive software they bought just to buy another and install it in its place. 
 
How about "Personal Firewalls"?
Get a hardware router.  With a hardware router, most users do not need a software firewall.

This topic is hotly debated. Those of you who know a little about trojans and how they work will be saying "but trojans get information from the inside of your network, where a hardware firewall won't do any good. They only block attacks from the outside. I need something to block communication to the internet that originates from inside my network."  The problem with this position is that plenty of good programs like Internet Explorer, Media Player and Itunes need to get out to the internet too.  Software like Norton Internet Security or Zonealarm tend to block too much, keeping these good programs from going about their business, which adds greatly to your stress level.  Oh, and did I mention that most of these programs slow your computer down by at least 15% ? The truth is that you should have antivirus/ antispy software that will keep the trojans off, and besides, if you do get infected with a trojan YOU ARE ALREADY INFECTED.  A personal firewall is too late at this point.

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