Hi Wendi
Alby has highlighted someing called 'phishing' (pronounced fishing) in which you receive an email from a respectable company like a bank and it asks you to enter your PIN number/password and other details. Usually they say they are contacting you from the banks Security Department. In general nothing can protect you from this except common sense. If it comes from a bank where you do not have an account then it is wise to be suspicious. If it comes from your own bank then you have to resist the temptation in replying to it because logically your bank already knows your PIN number or password.
ANTI-SPYWARE. If you have Internet Explorer then you probably have Windows Defender running on your system. You might want to download Spybot Search & Destroy and run it from time to time as a stand alone program just to see it picks-up anything Defender leaves behind. Since they are both free (in the true sense of the word) then you have nothing to lose by having both of them on your system. Windows Defender runs all the time though, so it is using up resources, memory and processor time.
INTERNET SECURITY. Although Internet Explorer has a built in firewall it doesn't actually prevent websites trying to access your PC. Zone Alarm has been mentioned, it is resource hungry, but it is free and reliable.
ANTIVIRUS. I too use Norton AntiVirus and I did renew my subscription last time around. It seems to be getting more expensive every year. If you do not renew your subscription Norton flashes up reminders (intimidating messages)on a daily basis until you do renew. I suppose we are all trying to get something for nothing but someone, somewhere has to be paid for writing and providing antivirus ware. As long as you stay out of dodgy websites and don't open suspicious emails you might be lucky and not get an infection. I can't recommend an alternative to Norton or Mcaffee as I haven't tried any of the free ones. I'll keep an eye on this space though when my subscription comes up for renewal later this year.
downside
