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Everyone who owns a computer knows by now: If you use a computer, you need an anti-virus program. Just for kicks, one day we loaded up a brand-new computer, and connected it to the Internet without an anti-virus program or firewall. Voila – it was attacked within 20 seconds!

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But which program is best? Why should you pay for one if you can get a free one? Are the free ones OK? What about a firewall? If these questions are giving you the cold shivers, here’s a short primer on anti-virus and firewall programs.

First, you need to understand a bit about anti-virus and firewall programs. Think of the firewall as a customs border guard, and the anti-virus program as the local police force.

The firewall sits on the border between your computer and the internet, watching all the connections that attempt to go in and out. If it sees something suspicious, it turns away the connection.

Once the connection is allowed, the anti-virus takes over: It watches for unusual activity and scans all the files coming and going on your computer. Its software (or “engine”) is the brain that coordinates the surveillance efforts. But even the best police officer can’t keep all the criminals’ faces in memory at once. That’s why anti-virus programs also use “virus definitions”, which are basically the same as a “Wanted” list. The software scans the files, compares them against the Wanted list, and “arrests” any files that match the descriptions on the list.

This means that it’s critical for the anti-virus program to always have the most up-to-date list of virus definitions. Otherwise, a new virus could sneak through before the anti-virus knows it should be stopped. Almost all anti-virus programs are designed to keep their definitions updated automatically.

If you have a larger business network, then leave the job of selecting an anti-virus and firewall to IT professionals. But if you have to make the decision yourself, here are a few things to keep in mind.

There are many free anti-virus programs available. The best-known is AVG, which is actually quite a good program. AVG used to also offer a free firewall as well, but now you have to pay for it. Likely the anti-virus will also end up that way. The advantage to these lesser-known programs (other than price) is that their vulnerabilities may not be as well-known and exploited by hackers.

A word of warning though: if you’re surfing the web and you get a pop-up that offers to scan your computer, or to download free anti-virus software, don’t click on it! Most of these are actually scams or viruses themselves. Do your research first: search the web for reviews on the free program before you download or install it.

The advantage of paid programs like Norton (Symantec) and McAfee is that they have the budget and staff available to respond quickly to new threats, and they usually have adequate tech support. The bad news is that these “big boys” are big targets, and the hackers spend a great deal of time and energy figuring out ways around them. So far, the good guys are still winning (most of the time), but it’s a precarious balance.

The bottom line is that whether you choose a free or paid program, make sure you have an anti-virus and firewall, and make sure that it stays updated (that includes updating your Windows® operating system as well). It’s just not worth the pain of trying to recover from a virus!

Bright Ideas Personalized Learning Inc. is a Calgary-based mobile computer training company that provides on-demand, on-site, cost-effective computer training to corporations and individuals.

For more information about this article or our services, please visit http://www.bright-ideas.ca/