There's nothing like getting a computer for Christmas - especially if it's somebody else's. If your machine's on the Internet, it's under near-constant attack from people who'd like to ''own'' it. And if some digital crook can read all of . . .
There's nothing like getting a computer for Christmas - especially if it's somebody else's. If your machine's on the Internet, it's under near-constant attack from people who'd like to ''own'' it. And if some digital crook can read all of your files or install a piece of rogue software on your machine, you might as well give him the sales receipt as well.

Everybody frets about viruses, rightly enough. But computer users are only just starting to get serious about protecting their machines from network intruders. Firewalls - software programs that analyze and regulate exchanges of data between your computer and the Internet - aren't a foolproof solution, but they are a minimal requirement for safe surfing. Yet millions of us don't use them, even as they become cheaper, simpler, and more desperately needed.

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