1. Microsoft’s Update Site: Keep your computer up-to-date with Microsoft Security Patches. Set computer to automatically update security patches in Control Panel - Security Center - Windows Update.

2. Antivirus/Anti-spyware Software: Make sure you are running an Antivirus program at all times. Setup Antivirus program to automatically download antivirus update file and schedule scan of hard drive at least once a week.

3. Firewall: Make sure Windows Firewall is on which is also set in Control Panel - Security Center. Optional 3rd party Firewall’s are available but takes some managing to set rules for traffic that flows in and out of your computer to and from the Internet.

4. Site Advisor: This software plugs into your Web browser, Internet Explorer or Firefox, and alerts you, when doing searches through Search Engines like Google, if link is okay to select or if site is bad news.

5. Router: To protect you from the big bad Internet place a router between your computer and the Internet Service Provider (ISP) High Speed Broadband Modem which connects you to the Internet.

6. DNS: DNS stands for Domain Name Service. DNS translates Web Sites like Google.com into an IP Address so the computer can find their Web Server. Instead of using the DNS setup by your ISP use OpenDNS to give you more protection.