Probably the most important thing you can do as soon as you get your computer is to download and install an anti-virus program–it’s generally the first thing I do when I get a new personal computer (well, after downloading Firefox).

There are a ton of anti-virus programs out there, and as long as you keep your virus definitions up to date, it really doesn’t matter what program you use. That said, different programs have different strengths and weaknesses.

The program we use–and we put on our parents’ computers, is Avast. I’ve been using it for a decade probably, and have never had a virus program on one of my computers. I keep saying I’ll upgrade to the paid version, but since the free version works so well, I never remember to do so.

How it works: every year you have to re-register by giving them your email and other information. For those of you who are loathe to do that: You’re getting something for FREE–why are you bitching? Once you install Avast, it runs in the background, automatically checking for updates. By default it will tell you when it updates, probably so you’ll know it’s doing it’s job. I trust it, so I turned off all those pronouncements (ie turned on silent/gaming mode), because I find them annoying.

It’s available free to the home user.

Another popular free program is Microsoft Security Essentials. This is, of course, a Microsoft product, which means it has it’s good and bad points. You know it’s always going to work with windows, and will update with windows. On the other hand, it’s a Microsoft product.

How it works: you go to the website and download the program. It runs in the background and automatically updates itself. It’s available free to the home user.

Are there other anti virus programs? Yes, tons of them. AVG, Norton/Symantec, McAfee. They’re all going to work AS LONG AS YOU KEEP THEM UPDATED.

Let me say that one more time: any anti-virus program should work for you, AS LONG AS YOU KEEP IT RUNNING AND UPDATED.

The second thing to remember is that if your anti-virus program is warning you about a program: DO NOT INSTALL THAT PROGRAM. Unless you’ve written the program yourself or are ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN the program is safe, assume the anti-virus program is correct and don’t install.

The third thing to remember is: BE SMART. An anti-virus program can only protect you from threats it knows about, so viruses can get past it. Help yourself by not being an idiot. More on that in another topic.