Tips for the first-time online trader-1

There are some good insights and a few good free links for those interested - t

Also, download the excellent free firewall called Zonealarm from www.zonelabs.com and install it before you go online. A word of caution, Zonealarm tends to switch your Windows Firewall off by default.

Go into options and disable that function and you have a triple line of defence. Zonealarm has an automatic update function which downloads patches and keeps itself up-to-date.

The next free tool I suggest is the anti-spy tool Spybot Search and Destroy from www.spybot.info. This is absolutely free, offers manual updates up to twice a week.

The function of this software is to guard your open ports from intruders, plugs loopholes from malicious software, Trojans and password stealing software. Keep scanning your PC every week and download free updates to keep fresh anti-spyware vaccines at hand.

Lastly, download the free anti-virus AVG from www.grisoft.com and keep updating the anti-virus vaccines once a day. Scan your PC at least once a week with this software for any hidden viruses.

As for maintenance, you can keep your Windows registry free of garbage by downloading the free registry cleaner from www.ccleaner.com and running this application at least once a week. Your PC will continue to run as fast as a new one as long as you use this application.