One software program that you need on your computer is an anti-virus program. Many users choose to venture online without an anti-virus and you should know that if you have spent time online without it, chances are about 99% that you will have a virus of some type on your computer.
There are a number of different infections that you could have on your computer, some that can cause you to lose all your work, while others may make use of your computer as a spam distributor without you even knowing it.
I know that one of the reasons for not having an anti-virus may be the fact that most of the main stream programs that are available may cost you a pretty penny. It is even worse if you have a number of machines at home onto which you need the software to be installed.
You do not need to spend a lot of money to secure your computers at home. There are a number of free anti-virus programs available for you to use. I would however recommend that if you have a new computer, you first download the software on another computer and install it on the new machine before you go online the first time.
Use Google to find the direct links to the downloads. The two programs that I would like to recommend are Avast and AVG. They are both available for free for home use and in the 12 years that I have been using Avast, I have not had any infections or problems. All you need to do is install and register for free.
Every day the virus database will be updated and you can relax!
There are many options available and if you do not trust a free anti-virus, you are welcome to buy another software package. Just make sure that you have an anti-virus on you computer before you browse the Internet.