With the increase in the number of computer scammers and hackers as well as viruses on the Internet, you need to consider the installation of a firewall. Between your computer and data that is entering it, this is your first line of defense. Malicious attacks targeting your computer can negatively impact upon you but these can be avoided.

Since there are a wide variety of firewalls available, including those from major corporations such as Microsoft, you first need to determine what kind of firewall your PC requires. It is likely that your firewall will already be set up and ready to use if your computer came with the Microsoft XP or Vista operating system installed. However, it may not be turned on or working properly. If you have one of the earlier operating systems, you will need to purchase your own software. Even with Microsoft XP, you may still want to purchase separate firewall software since the XP version doesn't get great reviews.

You can either visit a store that sells computer software or download a firewall product through the Internet - the most popular products available are Norton, AVG and McAfee. The price of software varies depending on how sophisticated it is but there are also plenty of low cost versions available, even from the big name companies. Once in hand and prior to installing your firewall, you need to take a few things into consideration. The program must be configured to permit the functions that you need, such as file and printing sharing. The information supplied gives you all the settings you need to be able to configure the software during installation or at a later date.

Certain parts of the Internet can be blocked by a firewall. You should be aware how you connect as this may happen if you use a local area network or a router. When you have installed a firewall in place, secured networks in particular are difficult to access. You should liaise with a company's IT department before installing a firewall to a pc linked to a their network as they may give you a specific settings configuration to allow you to connect to them.

Installing a computer firewall is not as hard as you think. All the documentation you need is bundled with your software package and there is usually a 24/7 support desk to assist you. To have a stand alone firewall is far better than having a internet intruder steal your valuable information or install some malicious file without your knowledge to track your every move while online.