Is your PC secure? Are you hacker proof? Can bad software sneak onto your PC? Is your PC security dragging down your on-line experience? It's a sad fact that we have to be concerned about PC safety. It's even sadder that many of the so-called security programs are ineffective or resource killers or just too complicated to deal with!

Let's cut through the smoke and confusing chatter surrounding PC security and take five easy steps.

Step 1 is to get behind a firewall. If you are running Windows XP or Vista you already have Windows Firewall. Stop there; it is enough!

Step 2 is to run an active antivirus program. Install a free program like AVG Free Antivirus. This program works quietly in the background, keeps itself updated and stays on duty without requiring intervention from you on the small stuff!

Step 3 is to run an active anti-spyware program. Windows Defender should be installed on any PC with XP and comes as part of Vista. It is enough.

Step 4 is to control your Email. If you have good spam or junk mail protection then use it. All spam mail is at best annoying, but at its worse it is a Trojan horse waiting for you to click an offered link, open a malicious attachment, just be dumb enough to give out personal information in answer to an innocent sounding plea. You need to be protected from this by keeping spam out of your inbox.

Step 5 is get control of your self. No program can keep us from clicking the wrong buttons! Stop clicking boxes that you don't understand just to make them go away. Often those clicks lead to unintended consequences. Stop installing software just because it sounds like a good offer. Be careful how you install any program. Don't automatically install everything they offer. Some free stuff is just space wasters, but some can be Trojans bearing bad gifts. Don't respond to any unsolicited Email request with personal data.

Step 6 is to backup. OK, I did promise five easy steps, but this one is too obvious and yet too important to leave out. In technology, as in life, crap happens. Not backing up your stuff is like walking in the neighbor's lawn barefooted. Did I mention that the neighbor lets his dogs run in the yard?

These steps are recommended for the average PC user who just wants to use the computer and not have to spend time being a technician. These steps all have these characteristics in common: simple to install, simple to maintain, and essentially free. The steps include specific recommendations that any PC user can follow. If you want to take on the technical challenge and dive into managing and constantly maintaining your security systems, then there are certainly more sophisticated alternatives, some that might be arguably better, and some you can even spend money on! For the rest of us, these are five+ easy steps to a safer PC.suite, and then install a simple AV program, like AVG. I'm amazed how many times a see a PC with old expired virus software! If you want to buy the AVG Pro program and get some scheduling and other control benefits, that are just fine, it's just not necessary.