With the huge number of things we can do today from our computers and laptops, a computer users worst fear is that someone has illegally accessed their computer and has access to their files and their information. With online banking, E-Bay, and other online shopping, our computers now store an immense amount of sensitive financial and personal information. The last thing any user would want is that information floating around the Internet to be used by others online. The number of identity theft crimes reported is growing exponentially and it can be stopped by users practicing safe computer and Internet usage.

One of the most key items any computer user should have installed on their computer is a software firewall. Most users will have at least some form of anti-virus, and maybe some anti-spyware software, but most users lack a software firewall. A firewall is one of the most important things you can have installed on your computer because it is your last line of defense against intruders on your computer.

Let’s face it, users are going to download music, and other things online so just advising users to not download items that they know they can trust is not feasible. People are going to download music, free programs and more. Files are going to come into the average computer users computer regardless of what security experts advice. It’s like saying that if you just cover up your mouth and never breath, then you won’t catch a cold. That’ s just not going to happen. You are going to go outside sometime and be around other people, and it is inevitable that you will catch a cold. Likewise, users will download files and a malicious file will at some point enter a users computer/

Once a malicious file is in, it’s up to that computer’s safety programs to protect the user. Many of the malicious programs out there are going to try and hang around the computer until important information is entered into a form on the Internet and once the user types in the information, the bad program takes a copy of it and tries to send it back to the owner of the bad program. All of this, obviously, without the user knowing. These programs will attempt to send the information back through non-standard ports on the computer, ports that can be blocked by a good firewall program.

Now, don’t just rush out there and buy some $60-$100 firewall security program at your local computer store. There are alternatives that will secure your computer for free. I recommend using Zone Alarm. It is 100% free and can be downloaded for free from download.com here: ZoneAlarm.