In his report on the latest in personal firewalls, David Strom lays out some scary statistics, including this gem: the average Internet-connected computer gets attacked every 39 seconds, with most of the attacks employing automated scripts that seek out thousands of computers at a time, looking for vulnerabilities on an indiscriminate basis. No wonder traditional security approaches -- a lightweight desktop firewall coupled with one of several possible network security systems -- aren't good enough any more. Strom lays out the value of a new generation of stronger personal firewalls that not only protect the desktop but do a better job of keeping zero-day exploits from infecting other users on the network. Is there such a thing as enough security?

If you're wondering whether to send that ancient PC off to the recycling pile or to try to get more out of it, check out this step-by-step process for wiping the hard drive clean of its antiquated version of Windows and installing a lightweight Linux distribution that lets you do basic Web surfing, e-mail, and word processing. Let us know if you've tried any similar reclamation projects on an older PC, and how they've worked.

Tom Smith
tasmith@cmp.com
www.informationweek.com

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