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Firewall

If you are not confident that you have a good firewall you could do a lot worse than install ZoneAlarm free version. Avoid ZoneAlarm Pro though.

http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-gb/anti-virus-spyware-free-download.htm

You should uninstall any existing firewall beforehand (if it's Windows Firewall then just switch it off). Make sure that you select the free option each time your are offered an upgrade.

If you keep your old firewall, go through its program settings and make sure that all programs you don't recognise have to ask you before they can make connections. Usually each program listed will have an allow/deny/ask setting you can adjust.

If your firewall asks if a program wants to connect to the internet always make sure you know what the program is before you allow it. If you say no you can always change your mind next time the program tries to connect. If you want a program to be able to connect without asking you will be able to select an "always allow" option when allowing it to connect.

Usually, if the attempted connection is legitimate, you will have just done something to make it happen. The exceptions are automatic program updates which you may have opted for quite a number of.

If your Firewall says, for example, program "qwerty.exe" is trying to connect you can always google on "qwerty.exe" to find out who made it and what it is.
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