Safeguard Your Home Computer Against Cyber Threats Using Firewalls

Ron Trepanier knew that the Internet could be a dangerous place, but it wasn't until he installed a personal firewall that he realized his home computer was coming under daily attack. The mechanical engineer, who lives outside Toronto, recently documented 30 . . . Ron Trepanier knew that the Internet could be a dangerous place, but it wasn't until he installed a personal firewall that he realized his home computer was coming under daily attack. The mechanical engineer, who lives outside Toronto, recently documented 30 attempts to gain access to his PC through his high-speed DSL connection during a single week.

As broadband Internet access becomes more common, cyber-trespassers are increasingly taking advantage of the speedy, ``always on' connections to probe for unprotected machines. ``People can come in, they can steal, modify or put things on your computer,' warns Sam Curry, security architect for McAfee.com, a provider of security software. ``They can cause your system to reboot or not talk properly on the Internet.'

The link for this article located at Silicon Valley News is no longer available.