The Internet can be defined as an abbreviation of “international network of networks”, since that is what it is. When computers are networked they can see each other. This is what you want to have happen when you want to go to a website or get your email. When you type your www.cnn.com you are actually going to a computer in Atlanta that hosts that site, meaning it holds all the computer code, pictures and files that make up what you see when you visit it.
One way to stop them from making the choice to use your machine is to stay on dialup when you connect. It is so slow that they can't really count on using your computer fast enough for what they want to do.
Unfortunately laptops using a high-speed wireless Internet connection are VERY attractive.
The best way to stop other computers from doing things to you is for them to NOT SEE YOU. This is where a firewall comes in. In computer terms, a firewall is a device that looks at all traffic going in both directions and only allows what you want. You WANT to get your email, so your computer sends a signal and it comes to you. You want to go to a website, so when you type the address in you can see that site.
There are 2 types of firewalls: hardware firewalls and software firewalls.
Here at the office, we have a hardware firewall and it works great. With a laptop, you will need a software firewall, since you have no way of knowing if the wireless internet connection you are using has a hardware one or not.
As you can see on the right, there are many versions that do many different things. If you want to spend the money for one of the others, they also work well. In my opinion, the free one is just right for personal laptop owners already using an antivirus program and spyware program.
Any questions, feel free to contact me by phone or email.
Michael Shalkey
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