When the Department of Homeland Security speaks, everyone listens. At least that's what they hoped would happen last week after the department that's supposed to protect us all from disaster issued an alert telling us our PCs --- and, yes, even some Macs --- were in danger.

Apparently they had uncovered 23 vulnerabilities in Microsoft's bullet-riddled operating systems. Just when we thought it was safe to use our computers, Uncle Bill and the Boys from Redmond get hit again, causing us to cringe in fear --- afraid that some dastardly hacker was stealing information from our PCs.

Microsoft has since countered with 12 security updates, nine of which are classified as critical and three the company listed as important. All of these fixes are available on the company's update Web site, which can be accessed through the Tools dropdown menu in Internet Explorer. And don't feel too secure if you are receiving automatic updates from Microsoft. You may only get the nine critical updates.

It also goes without saying that adequate antivirus and antispyware protection needs to be installed on your PC. And only a few seemed adequate to the task during this last wave of attacks.

At the top of my list are the ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite ($49.95) and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6.0 ($49.95). Both discovered pesky invaders on my computer that others had missed, although ZoneAlarm managed to uncover a few that had even eluded Kaspersky's protection.

If all you need is protection from viruses, Zonelabs offers a free version of their antivirus software through their Web site at www.zonelabs.com. Kaspersky offers 30-day free trials of all its software at www.kaspersky.com.

A big difference is in the update process offered by both products. Kaspersky Anti-Virus is the only one of several I've used that is updated hourly, which means you get new virus definitions much faster than with any other antivirus products.

Other key features of these products include:

ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite

• A network and program firewall that is easily configurable and advises you when a program is trying to access your computer and can make your computer invisible to anyone on the Internet.
• An operating system firewall that fends off spyware any other malicious software from gaining access to your PC.
• Antivirus software that continuously scans for malicious code.
• Identity theft protection by monitoring phony credit card offers and stolen credit card lists.
• It can find spyware at the "core level."
• It filters out SPAM and phishing emails.
• It secures your instant messaging sessions from outside attacks.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6.0

• It relies on integrated (proactive and reactive) methods to detect viruses, which allows it to stop them by detecting their behavioral patterns.
• It scans all email and Internet traffic for viruses.
• It is the only major anti-virus program that supports the Windows XP 64-bit operating system.
• It monitors changes in the Windows registry and processes that are launched in your computer's memory.
• You can compile lists of applications and control how they access your PC.
• You can restore your system to full functionality after a malicious attack.
• It blocks dangerous macros from being executed.

More information is available by visiting the companies' Web sites at www.zonelabs.com or www.kaspersky.com.

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