There's been a lot of talk in the press lately about the security of computers on the Internet, and with good reason.

Unfortunately, most reporting on the subject fails to make the distinction between the vulnerability of personal vs. corporate computers; and this leads to a great deal of misplaced concern.

The single most important security issue the individual Internet user needs to understand is that the vast majority of computer vandalism is perpetrated against corporate machines - those that are connected to the Internet 24 hours a day.

The reason for this is simple: constant Internet connections have a fixed "IP Address" (an identifying "location" on the web) which presents "hackers" with a fixed target. This means that those with ill-intent can spend hours, days or even months trying to commandeer these systems.

By contrast, the typical individual user accesses the Internet through a "dial-up" account. The key difference is that your personal computer is assigned a temporary IP Address each and every time you "connect" to the Internet through your ISP. Each time you connect, you get a different IP Address. For all intensive purposes, you're a constantly moving target; difficult to attack and really not of much interest to the average hacker.

As such, you're primary vulnerability is limited to your computer's network settings. If you simply go to the "Network Settings" section of your "Control Panel" (Windows users) and ensure that your "file and print sharing" are disabled, you won't have much to worry about.

Extra Protection

On the other hand, if you are accessing the Internet via a cable or DSL connection, (or potentially if you simply never disconnect your "dial-up" account) then you most likely do have a permanent IP Address, and should take additional steps to protect your system.

Not to worry, protection is neither difficult nor expensive!

The two most common tools for protecting systems with fixed IP Addresses are the ZoneAlarm from http://www.zonelabs.com and BackIce Defender from http://www.networkice.com

While they approach the problem of Internet security in slightly different ways, both have been highly reviewed in the popular computer magazines.

For a couple of reasons, my personal preference is the ZoneAlarm. It's free to personal users, and can be used by corporate users free of charge for 60 days. It's very easy to install and configure, and it allows me to choose which of my software applications are allowed to access the Internet - sure fire protection from an number of threats, including Trojan Horses that can be sent via email.

For a bit more sophisticated user, BlackIce Defender not only protects against Internet intrusions, but can create log files that can help trace hackers and thus is probably more likely to be of value to network administrators or small corporate users. At $39.95 it's an incredible value to the security conscious!

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