Every time you connect to the internet to browse the web or check email, you expose yourself to the possibility of attack. To protect your personal data, there are a number of tools you should consider installing on your computer. Words like "spyware" and "spam" get thrown around a lot these days, so here are explanations of what the most essential protection utilities do and why they are important to have.

What does it do?
Phishing is a term used to describe the act of sending an email that appears to be from a legitimate business, online retailer, financial institution or government agency to a mass audience in order to lure recipients into disclosing personal information. These criminals cast a large net hoping to catch a few unsuspecting victims, hence, the term “phishing”. The web pages to which phishing emails point are often identical to the legitimate sites they are mimicking.

How does it work?
Anti-Phishing protection can come in two forms. Anti-spam filters in your email attempt to catch phishing emails and quarantine them with other types of unwanted email (spam). However, anti-spam filters don't catch all phishing emails, and they don't prevent you from clicking on emails in your quarantine folder that you may think were incorrectly routed there. Anti-spam filters also don't protect you against links to phishing web sites that may come from other sources - the web, IM chat, or other links.

Anti-phishing filters for your internet browser won't filter your email, but will alert you to pages that match lists of known phishing sites or that have suspicious characteristics. Because they work at the internet level, they will work against links from any source - email or otherwise.

Why do I want it?
Phishers are experts at deception. Their sites are identical to legitimate sites. Their emails are great at calling you to action, and even the most savvy consumer can occasionally be fooled. Anti-Phishing tools give you the extra precaution of warning you when something is suspicious. So, if you are visiting a popular and trusted site, like your bank, and you get a warning, it's likely that something is not right.

Authentic-ID feels strongly that everyone should employ anti-phishing tools when browsing the internet. You can get a free copy of the Authentic-ID Toolbar for Internet Explorer that includes anti-phishing protection by clicking here.

What does it do?
Spyware is basically any software program that runs on your computer gathering information about you without your knowledge. Spyware programs generally run in the background and can monitor all of your computer or internet activities including the web sites you visit and even the keystrokes you type.

Spyware can enter your system through the installation of a program or as the result of a computer virus. The information recorded by spyware is then transmitted back to advertisers or to those wishing to obtain access to your personal information.

How does it work?
Spyware removal software is specifically designed to identify any spyware programs and eliminate these programs by scanning your computer, deleting the offending application, and removing their entries from the Microsoft¨ Windows¨ Registry.

Why do I want it?
Spyware can threaten your privacy as well as the security of your computer data by recording the addresses of web sites you visit, capturing the email address of messages you send and receive, accessing your personal files, or even by recording your keystrokes when entering passwords, credit card numbers, etc. The information gathered can be used to commit an identity theft.

What does it do?
A firewall is designed to isolate your computer from the internet by checking inbound data traffic to determine whether it should be allowed to pass through to your system or be blocked.

How does it work?
Internet communication is accomplished by exchanging "packets" of data whether you are downloading a file or sending an email. Each packet of data is transmitted from a source computer to a destination computer. In order to reach its destination every packet of data contains the IP address and port number of the destination plus the IP address and port number of the originating computer. An IP address is a specific series of numbers used to identify a computer on a network or the internet (208.127.13.45 is an example of an IP address). No two computers connected to the same network or the internet can have identical IP addresses without causing a conflict. A port number is associated with a particular type of network service. For example, internet browsing (http) is typically associated with port 80 while file transferring (ftp) is associated with port 21.

Firewalls work by examining these packets of data and either allowing them to pass or blocking them. Typically, firewalls are configured to block incoming traffic on specific ports with the exception of a number of commonly used ports. They can also be configured to allow only incoming traffic from computers with specific IP addresses.

Why do I want it?
For those with a DSL, cable modem or other "always-on" connection, having a firewall in place is essential. Without a firewall your computer is directly accessible to anyone on the internet. Any person on the internet could potentially gain access to your computer and data. A firewall will reduce your risk of having an identity thief access sensitive or personal information stored on your computer.