Question:     What is an "Internet Firewall" and do I need one in my computer?

Answer:        Let me try to answer this question with an analogy. Imagine a 100 room

                        apartment house located in a high traffic area, and someone has unlocked 

                        and opened every door and window. Not very secure and not much

                        protection for the inhabitants of that apartment building.

                        Well, that is how your computer appears to the Internet. All the open doors

                        and windows are called "ports", and all have uses concerning your access

                        to various functions of the Internet. The problem is we really don't need to

                        keep all the ports open all the time. In fact, why can't we just open the

                        ports we want, when we  want to open them and only to functions we want

                        to allow to use our computer.  

                        Ahhhhhh!!    Now we have the definition of a "Firewall". A Firewall program

                        closes and locks all the ports in your computer. Then as you go to access

                        your e-mail program the firewall will ask your permission to open the door

                        (port) to allow your computer to access the mail server and allow the e-mail

                        to enter your computer. You can say "yes" and even say (if you want) "this

                        program is okay, and you don't have to ask me again". Also, you can say

                        "no" and your e-mail program will not be allowed to go and fetch your e-

                        mail. Not a smart idea, but you can do it.

                       The same is true for your web browser and any other program you have that

                       needs to access the Internet. You give your permission to open the door, or

                       the program cannot get out to the Internet. You are in control of what goes

                       out of and comes into your computer. Security.

                       So a Firewall program provides security by allowing you to control access to

                       and from the Internet for your computer.

                       Another item which is part of this protection is that you may experience a

                       pop-up screen while working at your computer and the screen will say "The

                       Firewall has just blocked access to your computer from: (and here you will

                       often see an IP address) "192.168.1.201".   (The number in quotes is an

                       example of an IP address.)  IP means "Internet Protocol" and is the

                       addressing convention used by the Internet. Sometimes you can type the

                       IP address into your web browser and discover who tried to access your

                       computer. Please be aware that not all people trying to access your

                       computer have bad intentions. However, because you don't know their

                       intentions, it is a smart idea to keep the doors locked.  

Question:    Where can I get a Firewall program and how much do they cost?

Answer:       There are many Firewall programs; some have a cost associated with them,

                       and some are free. I like free, and so i use and recommend to you a Firewall

                       program called "ZoneAlarm". This can be downloaded from the following

                       site:   www.zonealarm.com      Once on the web site go to the bottom of the

                       page for the free version. Do not download "ZoneAlarm Pro" unless you

                       want to pay for it. We have found the free version, ZoneAlarm works very

                       well and 'free is good'.

                       The program downloads and installs easily. I would read the information

                       associated with the settings and select the one best suited for you. My

                       recommendation for overall Internet protection would be "high" (move the

                       slider to the top)