Every time you connect to the internet to browse the web or check email, you expose yourself to the possibility of attack. To protect your personal data, there are a number of tools you should consider installing on your computer. Words like "spyware" and "spam" get thrown around a lot these days, so here are explanations of what the most essential protection utilities do and why they are important to have.

What does it do?
Spyware is basically any software program that runs on your computer gathering information about you without your knowledge. Spyware programs generally run in the background and can monitor all of your computer or internet activities including the web sites you visit and even the keystrokes you type.

Spyware can enter your system through the installation of a program or as the result of a computer virus. The information recorded by spyware is then transmitted back to advertisers or to those wishing to obtain access to your personal information.

How does it work?
Spyware removal software is specifically designed to identify any spyware programs and eliminate these programs by scanning your computer, deleting the offending application, and removing their entries from the Microsoft¨ Windows¨ Registry.

Why do I want it?
Spyware can threaten your privacy as well as the security of your computer data by recording the addresses of web sites you visit, capturing the email address of messages you send and receive, accessing your personal files, or even by recording your keystrokes when entering passwords, credit card numbers, etc. The information gathered can be used to commit an identity theft.

What does it do?
Each time you give out your email address (whether you are placing an online order through a shopping cart on the internet or subscribing to an online newsletter) you are running the risk of being the recipient of hundreds of unwanted emails called spam. Spam generally arrives in the form of email advertisement. It has been reported that almost 40% of the world's emails are now spam.

Many internet sites that collect email addresses then turn around and sell those addresses to other internet companies. Albeit illegal, your email address can be sold and resold to hundreds of companies without your knowledge or consent.

How does it work?
Spam blockers generally use two methods to protect your Inbox from being overwhelmed by the flood of unwanted emails.

The first method involves blocking incoming emails whose source email addresses are from known spammers. The email address is compared to a database of known offenders and those addresses that match are deleted or moved to a quarantine folder by the program. Most programs allow users to manually edit this database and add or delete new addresses as necessary.

The second method uses filters to screen emails and search for specific key words in the subject line, body text, or message headers. Emails that are found containing these specific words are deleted or moved to a quarantine folder by the program. Generally these programs allow you to select the types of keywords to be searched for.

Spam blockers that use quarantine folders to store spam emails can either be emptied manually by the user (this enables you to recover messages that have been inadvertently marked as spam) or they can also be set to automatically delete the spam if the folder reaches a certain size or after a predetermined period of time.

Why do I want it?
Many spam emails that contain unsolicited commercial offers or requests for information that may seem to be both legitimate and compelling. This latest form of attack is called "Phishing" and may lead you to believe that you need to confirm your private information to maintain your account with a bank or online service, such as Paypal or Ebay. However, these requests often lead users to give up credit card information for the purposes of online fraud.

In addition to employing Spam blocking software, you can opt out of direct marketing lists and limit the amount of spam you receive.

What does it do?
A firewall is designed to isolate your computer from the internet by checking inbound data traffic to determine whether it should be allowed to pass through to your system or be blocked.

How does it work?
Internet communication is accomplished by exchanging "packets" of data whether you are downloading a file or sending an email. Each packet of data is transmitted from a source computer to a destination computer. In order to reach its destination every packet of data contains the IP address and port number of the destination plus the IP address and port number of the originating computer. An IP address is a specific series of numbers used to identify a computer on a network or the internet (208.127.13.45 is an example of an IP address). No two computers connected to the same network or the internet can have identical IP addresses without causing a conflict. A port number is associated with a particular type of network service. For example, internet browsing (http) is typically associated with port 80 while file transferring (ftp) is associated with port 21.

Firewalls work by examining these packets of data and either allowing them to pass or blocking them. Typically, firewalls are configured to block incoming traffic on specific ports with the exception of a number of commonly used ports. They can also be configured to allow only incoming traffic from computers with specific IP addresses.

Why do I want it?
For those with a DSL, cable modem or other "always-on" connection, having a firewall in place is essential. Without a firewall your computer is directly accessible to anyone on the internet. Any person on the internet could potentially gain access to your computer and data. A firewall will reduce your risk of having an identity thief access sensitive or personal information stored on your computer.

Note: This information is excerpted from ID-Theft Protector 2005. More defense tips as well as installable anti-spam, anti-spyware, and anti-phishing tools are included in this comprehensive software. Click here for more information on ID-Theft Protector 2005.