Many people are shocked at how many incoming and/or outgoing security alerts they get after installing their first firewall (depending on its features) because they had no idea of what was going on around them. The good news is that if your personal firewall gives an alert, your computer is usually protected.

When selecting a personal firewall, you should consider whether you want one that controls outbound communication with the Internet. The advantage is that you are alerted the first time any program tries to call out and you are given the option of deciding whether to allow it one time, always or never. The disadvantage is that you may have no idea what the program trying to call out is or what it does.

To be effective, outbound control requires a user who has need or interest and skill or knowledge. For the last year or two, this was fine because "early adopters" by definition love new stuff. Many alerts do not say that [program name] is trying to call home; instead, they often give a file name like [xyzabc.doit]. Everyone (the rest of us) who uses the Internet knows, of course, what "xyzabc.doit" means (right?). So, outbound control is a great feature but it requires ongoing effort on your part to use it effectively. New releases of Norton, ZoneAlarm and other firewall products make it easier to set up outbound communication rules and understand what is going on.

What should you do when your firewall detects a virus, worm, Trojan horse, or data collector trying to call out without your permission? Use Anti-Virus, Anti-Trojan, and Privacy software to detect, remove, repair and protect your system. Make sure that your security software is up-to-date. If you install new security software, check for updates immediately after installation before using it.