To help determine whether or not you need a firewall all you need to do is answer one question - do you connect to the Internet? If your answer is yes, then you need to protect your personal files & privacy at all times.

A common misconception is that only broadband/high-speed users need firewall protection. However the truth is that all users, including dial-up users, should have a firewall installed to protect themselves from unwanted scans and unauthorized applications attempting to send data out to the internet.

Not having a personal firewall installed on a PC that is connected to the internet, even for a short period of time, is high and very real. You stand a chance to potentially lose all data on your PC from harmful viruses.

Having a network router with a built in firewall is a first step to preventing unauthorized access to your home network. However; to optimize your home PC security you need to take a multi-layered approach. Most of the popular brands of network routers offer firewall protection but this type of protection is limited to devices attached to the router when at home.

This fairly common type of setup presents challenges for the PC user on the go. By adding a personal firewall to an individual PC, you add an additional layer of security that will help address limitations presented by any one solution. In the scenario of the computer on the go, having a personal firewall in addition to a router enabled firewall helps address the concerns of mobile computing and working with networks other then your own.