Protecting your computer from viruses, spyware and hackers requires constant vigilance. If you don’t have anti-virus and anti-spyware software along with a firewall installed on your computer then your playing Russian Roulette with your system and sooner or later your going to lose.

Do you use your computer to access your bank accounts or pay bills? Did you file your taxes online? An AOL/NCSA Study revealed that 68% of computer users store sensitive personal and financial information on their home computer. Seventy-four percent regularly conducted bank and stock related transactions online. Yet 56% had no virus protection installed on their computers and 44% had no firewall.

Sitting in front of your computer in the safety of your own home, it’s easy to be lulled into a false sense of security. Don’t be fooled. Without the latest software against viruses, spy ware and hackers, your computer is open to the world.

It’s possible to protect your home computer from viruses, spy ware and hackers without spending a dime. Below are a list of free programs.

Free Anti-virus Softwarefree for Home Users

BitDefender Download button under Product Info in the upper right corner of the page.

AVG by Grisoft

Avast

AntiVir

Free Anti-spyware Software For Home Users

Lavasoft Ad-Aware

Spybot Search & Destroy

Windows Defender


Free Firewall

ZoneAlarm Basic Firewall is free for home users.

Free Trial Anti-virus Software

eTrust EZ Antivirus 12 month free trial

F-Secure Corporation - 6 month free trial off located at the bottom of the page

McAfee - 90 day free trial

Panda Internet Security Suite - offers a 90 day free trial. The suite includes antivirus, anti-spyware, firewall and anti-spam protection.

Norton - 90 day free trial

Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security - 90 day free trial

Windows Live Onecare -90 day free trial