I'll admit it.  I'm a stickler for online security.  I also know that most people give very little thought to it.  I shudder to think of the number of computers I've seen that haven't had their antivirus software updated since they came out of the box 3 or 4 years ago.  When I ask the owners about it, the standard response is, "I thought it just did it automatically."

Protecting your computer has gotten a lot more complicated than just having an up to date antivirus, but it's amazing how many people don't even have that.

There seem to be three different attitude when it comes to security:

1. I'm doing everything possible to be secure.
2.  I don't have to worry about it, nothing bad will happen to me 
3.  I don't know anything about it so I'll just ignore it.

As you can imagine, attitude number 1 is the one you should have.

So is your computer, or your network safe?  Despite all the software you have installed, how you, or others on your network, act will answer that question.  Forbes.com posted an excellent and enlightening article yesterday, The Ten Most Dangerous Online Activities.

Here's their list, but I urge you to take time to read the article.  After you've read it, take their advice and "stick this list up on your office door. Better yet, post it to the company bulletin board. If it keeps just one person from making a big mistake, it will have been worth the effort."

1. Clicking on e-mail attachments from unknown senders
2. Installing unauthorized applications
3. Turning off or disabling automated security tools.
4. Opening HTML or plain-text messages from unknown senders
5. Surfing gambling, porn or other dicey Web sites
6. Giving out passwords, tokens or smart cards.
7. Random surfing of unknown, untrusted Web sites.
8. Attaching to any old Wi-Fi network
9. Filling out Web scripts, forms or registration pages
10. Participating in chat rooms or social networking sites.

Having been a computer user for 25 years, my first was a VIC 20 in 1981, I've used a lot of programs.  Here's the seven FREE programs that I recommend people have.

1. Firefox Web Browser:  An award-winning, web browser that allows you to browse the Web with confidence.  Firefox protects you from viruses, spyware and pop-ups.  It delivers Web pages faster than ever, and it’s easy to install and import your favorites. Packed with useful features like tabbed browsing, Live Bookmarks, and an integrated Search bar, Firefox will change the way you experience the Web, for the better.
2. Thunderbird E-mail:  Simple to use, powerful, and customizable, Thunderbird is a full-featured email application. Thunderbird supports IMAP and POP mail protocols, as well as HTML mail formatting. Easily import your existing email accounts and messages. Built-in RSS capabilities, powerful quick search, spell check as you type, global inbox, deleting attachments and advanced message filtering round out Thunderbird's modern feature set.
3. AVG Anti-Virus:   AVG Free is easy to use, has regular and automatic virus databases updates, real time protection of files and e-mails, and both scheduled and manual testing.  I've been using AVG for over 8 years and it has prevented over 500 viruses from infecting my computer,
4. OpenOffice.org:   OpenOffice.org is a powerful, fully-featured office suite that is compatible with Microsoft Office®.  That means that you can open, edit and save files created with Word, Excel or PowerPoint using OpenOffice.org.  But OpenOffice.org offers more features: a drawing tool, a Math editor and PDF and Flash export to name just a few.   
5. Spybot - Search & Destroy:   Detects and removes adware files and modules from your computer. Spybot also can clean program and Web-usage tracks from your system, which is especially useful if you share your computer. Modules chosen for removal can be sent directly to the included file shredder, ensuring complete elimination from your system. For advanced users, it allows you to fix Registry inconsistencies related to adware and to malicious program installations. The handy online-update feature ensures that Spybot always has the most current and complete listings of adware, dialers, and other uninvited system residents.
6. Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition:   With the ability to scan your RAM, Registry, hard drives, and external storage devices for known data-mining, advertising, and tracking components, Ad-Aware SE easily can clean your system, allowing you to maintain a higher degree of privacy while you surf the Web.  
7. Picasa:   Picasa automatically locates all the pictures on your computer and sorts them into visual albums organized by date with folder names you will recognize. You can drag and drop to arrange your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa also makes advanced editing simple by putting one-click fixes and powerful effects at your fingertips.