Does "Always-On" Mean Always at Risk?

Internet access all the time at blazing speeds: Welcome to the world of broadband, where information is a click or keystroke away, and the faster the better. In this kind of world, who wants to wait for a computer to establish an Internet connection? Why not let your computer stay constantly connected to the Internet?

The problem is that if your computer is always on, you can bet that hackers, criminals, and other threats are always hunting for vulnerabilities they can exploit. So if you're going to join the "always-on" computing community, your computer needs to be always on the lookout for intrusion attempts, beginning right now. Intruders and spies, viruses, worms and Trojan horses, all the risks that inhabit the Internet, are multiplying wildly every day. Leaving a computer exposed to those risks 24/7/365 is as foolish as leaving your house unlocked all day and much more likely to end in disaster.

Here's what you need before you turn on your broadband connection. If you've already got always-on broadband and haven't taken the following precautions, you're at risk even as you read this.

• Anti-virus software: It's a must. Don't forget to update it regularly and set it to run frequent system scans. Once a day isn't too often. (You can schedule the updates for times when you're away from your machine).
• Anti-spyware software: It's an essential tool for ferreting out programs that try to capture your financial and confidential information.
• Firewall: Think of your computer as a house whose doors and windows (no pun intended) are constantly being probed by thieves and spies. Now think of a firewall as the security fence that keeps them out. See why you need one?

Even computers running operating systems other than Microsoft® Windows are at risk and need the protection described above. Just because security breaches of these systems are relatively infrequent doesn't mean they're non-existent or that hackers aren't feverishly working on programs to crack these systems more easily.

The Bottom Line: Don't forget to renew your anti-virus and other security software subscriptions as soon as they come due. New threats appear every day, and a day without protection in the always-on world could be a very long day indeed.