Software and hardware versions are available. Here, you can avail yourself of a free, detailed online analysis of your computer's Net exposure. This, too, is a free online security rundown by the makers of the well-known Norton Utilities and, more recently, the Norton Internet Security suite. Symantec reports that more than 2.2 million PCs had been screened by its Security Check site by the end of last year. Of those, almost 40 per cent had open ports which hackers could use to gain entry.
Personal firewalls come in both hardware and software incarnations.
Hardware firewalls for home and small business use are available from a number of well-known manufacturers. Here's a subject we regularly update all on its own, so we won't go into excruciating detail, here. Suffice it to say that the aforementioned Symantec online Security Check revealed that only 53 per cent of systems screened as of the end of last year had a 'leading' antivirus program installed and a quarter of those did not have the latest virus definitions. Keep current with all program and virus definition updates. Some antivirus programs now check for updates automatically each time you go online.