A strong defensive shield of security applications is not an option when connecting to the Internet. It is essential !!! We believe that a minimum acceptable level of security can be achieved by following our Six Pillars of Internet Security,

1) The latest version of the operating system, as in Windows 7 or OSx, linux, etc.

2) An effective firewall:

It has gotten so bad that it is very risky to connect any computer to the Internet without a firewall, even for a few minutes!

If you have Windows, the built in firewall is acceptable. If you do nothing else, use this.  

Most Internet security suites include a firewall. If you use one of these suites, definitely activate the firewall. But again, we also recommend using a router type hardware firewall in conjunction with any or the software firewalls.

A router acts as a basic hardware firewall.  Some attacks can go right around them, which is why you must also have a software firewall.  It is much better if you router also includes basic packet inspection, or better yet, ‘stateful packet inspection’ (SPI).

Please note that many DSL modems and possibly also some cable modems include a router/firewall. Check your documentation. (Clue: if you can connect multiple computers directly to your modem, it probably has a built in NAT router.)

If you use wireless, it is extremely important to activate security functions, including WPA or WPA-2.  WEP is inadequate because cracking it is a trivial matter. Also please make sure that remote administration is turned off, and the default administrative password is changed to something secure.  And insure that every computer on your wireless network also has an effective firewall.

3) An anti-virus application: no need to spend any money here.  There are a number of free anti-virus/anti-malware programs available. 4) Anti-spyware tools such as Spyware Blaster 

5) Update all commonly vulnerable software: 

Software that needs close attention includes JAVA, Adobe Reader and Flash and Apple Quicktime and whatever browser you may use.

 Make it part of your regular routine to check for updates frequently; every day or two for anti-virus software. And every week or two for other security related and commonly vulnerable software. Better yet, just configure all your security related software to do automatic updates, when that option is available..

A great tool for keeping your system patched and up-to-date is Secunia PSI, it is available in both online and installed versions.  

Get it at http://secunia.com/vulnerability scanning/

If your system meets this minimum level of protection, you can be reasonably well assured that you can safely connect your computer to the Internet.  Just remember that security is an ongoing process.

6)  You:  be careful out there!  Don’t click on links inemails from strangers.  Don’t fall for scams.  Don’t open attachments unless you are sure thay have been scanned by your anti-virus software.

If you accomplish all this, you will have created the Minimum Safe PC. For specific security software recommendations please go to http://internet-insecurity.com/blog/recommended-software/ Updated 11/11/2011