Prevention measures work to stop intruders from accessing your computer system or network, while detection measures help you to determine whether your security system is preventing such security breaches.
Even though you may not be using your computer for confidential financial or accounting information, not securing your computer from intrusion could allow intruders to gain access to your emails, your address book, passwords or other information on your computer. If you do use your computer system for financial, accounting or other confidential information, it is imperative that you establish and maintain reliable security on your system or network.
Most times, intruders are not likely even after your own data, but are attempting to access your computer to use it for other purposes, such as gaining control of your system to launch attacks on other computer systems.
There is no such thing as a 100% secure computer system (except for a computer that is a stand-alone computer in which files are never shared by floppy disk or CD, is not connected to any network or the internet.
Software is becomingly increasingly complex and over time, security "holes" are discovered by intruders that can be used or exploited for their own purposes.
Computer software vendors regularly release patches or updates to their programs to fix the "holes" to address the problems these holes have created. These patches are often downloadable over the internet from the vendor's website. It is up to the user of each computer system to regularly visit the vendor's website and download applicable patches.
Test the security of your PC:
http://www.pcflank.com/about.htm
Symantec Security Check
Gibson Research Corporation
For more information about Online Security Checks:
http://www.informationweek.com/841/langa.htm
