Basic Self Defense
If you want to protect yourself from the plethora of threats swarming the Internet, you need to follow some basic self-defense guidelines. To keep your computer and your privacy safe, follow these simple steps:

Turn It Off
When you're not using your computer, turn it off. Too many people leave their computers on and connected to the Internet all night long. That's just asking for trouble. If you want to protect yourself from Spyware, turn your computer off when it's not in use.

Use an Effective Anti-Spyware Program
Browsing the Internet without a comprehensive anti-Spyware program is a bit like playing Russian roulette. Your hard drive can crash and your sensitive data stolen if your computer becomes infected The only way to protect yourself is with an up-to-date anti-Spyware program.

Put Up Firewalls
Firewalls aren't just for corporate computers. It's essential that consumer computers also have firewalls enabled. Without a firewall, Spyware can do significant damage to your system. Even if you only use a free firewall, it's better than not using anything at all.

Do Not Ignore the Updates
Often it's too easy to ignore the Windows update notices. But if you want to keep yourself safe from Spyware threats, it's essential that you keep your Windows operating system up to date, and that means downloading any Windows updates immediately.

Do you have anti-Spyware software? If so, those need updates too so that the teams that built the software can arm your computer against the latest threats. Nearly all anti-Spyware scanners have the option to automatically update at a specified time. Make sure it's selected and you won't have to worry about remembering to update.

Free Is Not Functionality
Yes, it's tempting to participate in file sharing communities and to download free software; but is it worth the risk? Probably not. If someone is devious enough to distribute pirated software, who's to say they're not going to attach malicious Spyware programs to the products they're distributing?