Stay away from suspicious websites,
I agree with most of what powerstream said, but staying away from suspicious sites can give a false sense of security. The bad guys are using several approaches to nullify the security of that behaviour...

Compromising well-known, trusted sites, like the Super Bowl team sites several months ago
Related to this is submitting malicious ads to 3rd-party ad-servers that are use by many well-known, trusted domains
"Typo-squatting", i.e. creating domain names that are one keystroke typo away from a well-known, trusted domain.
"Pharming", i.e. compromising DNS servers, so that EVEN IF YOU TYPE A DOMAIN NAME IN EXACTLY CORRECT, you still go to a different site.

You're less likely to get infected at well-known, trusted sites, but the risk is not zero.

I agree. Careful internet usage is necessary but the bad guys will exploit any security hole they find. Some of the most notorious worms require no action by the computer owner at all. Simply connecting directly to the internet will infect a vulnerable computer.

Dennism3, Zonealarm Free is not a very good firewall. It was once but falls short compared to others now available. I recommend the free Comodo firewall.

Agreed about Zone Alarm. It used to be the best but now it's complete garbage. I wouldn't say the takeover by Checkpoint ruined it but rather the greed of Zone Labs even before being bought. They started a good thing and really ****ed it up by literally pushing the commercial paid versions on people. Now even the free version is bloated garbage and the current free version is extremely limited in features.

ofeld, check out the rest of this thread I've merged yours into since it covers the info you need - namely the wisdom of having a firewall on your future high speed connection. :)

Here is a very good site that compares most of the personal firewalls out there.

http://www.matousec.com/projects/windows-personal-firewall-analysis/leak-tests-results.php

and the new link although it seems fewer products compared

http://www.matousec.com/projects/firewall-challenge/

I've used Outpost for some time but it's interesting to note that the top ranked choices are 2 free products; Comodo & Online Armor.

I also get a kick out of the fact the Windows XP's built-in firewall got a 0 score. Keep that in mind.

I have just recently started using Astaro ASG as it is free for home use and has full updates for free as well.

I have been on it for about a week and I love it. It is so much more than just a firewall. It is a spam filter, HTTP proxy, virus scanner, internet filter (Think parental controls) and so much more than the average home user needs.

It is a bit complicated even though all the configuration is via a web interface but it is not so difficult as to be impossible. There is just a LOT of options and features and it is a bit overwhelming at first.

The only cost for this setup is the provisioning of an old(er) PC for it to run on.

the top ranked choices are 2 free products; Comodo & Online Armor.

I've seen that opinion on another site. (Lost the link.) Online Armor was recommended for people who want ease of use with good protection. Comodo provides slightly better protection and more configuration options at the expense of more complexity and more popups. (Comodo can get annoying at times.)

I heard comodo firewall is a good product but anybody tell which anti virus that they know well with this firewall.

I've been useing Avast (http://www.download.com/Avast-Home-Edition/3000-2239_4-10019223.html) for years with Comodo and they are perfect together. Be warned Comodo has quite a few pop up warnings to start with, can get annoying but just stick with it and in a short time it will "learn" how to handle everything itself.

Got very irritated with AVGFree 8.0's constant pop-ups and requests for updates, so I switched to Avast. At the same time, I switched from Zone Alarm to Comodo.

So far, so good...

I am also using Avast, and just switched from ZoneAlarm (ZA) to Comodo since ZA was crippled by Microsoft patch KB951748 (see http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=88790).

If I download Comado do I need to shut windows firewall down? I feel uncomfortable doing this since my comp knowledge isnt that great.

Also ive been told if you have a wireless router for example my internet is telus so the computer is connected to a telus router that a firewall isnt needed cause its built into the router.

thanks

If I download Comado do I need to shut windows firewall down?
Yes. Comodo replaces Windows firewall. If your system has the latest security fixes and a hardware firewall (internet router), it's safe to disable Windows firewall temporarily.

...a firewall isnt needed cause its built into the router.
A software plus a hardware firewall is highly recommended. There are a number of security problems a software firewall handles that a hardware firewall does not. For complete protection, antivirus software and a software security monitor (i.e. Secunia PSI) are also recommended.