While finishing dinner a friend of mine heard her 12-year old son's express this while he was completing homework for tommorrow. She thought he said 'there is a fly on my desktop' and politely told him 'tell your father and he will fix it'. Of course he knew that dad doesn't touch computers and said ' but mom it's a spy, not a fly'. That's when I got the phone call - she lives right around the corner in the city of richardson texas - about what to do, did you check your virus/spyware software - 'it only fixes viruses, not anything else and what is spyware anyway? That is when the phone call got a little bit longer than expected. Most parents have the notion that if there are no viruses everything is smooth sailing, they have done their part for kids and family internet security . But there are more things than viruses, browser hijack objects, rootkits, malware and spyware to constantly attack every computer in our homes today. The list I just mentioned is not complete in the tools of attack that hackers use to disable or destroy desktops all over the world. And if you don't have the preventative software installed then your kids and family internet security for your home computers are at risk from attack or being used to attack other computers.

Desktop computer security in America's homes has become a high priority for the guys who fight the good fight and keep hackers off your home computer. Every time a home is the victim of desktop computer security attacks it can be used to attack other networks or take control of larger networks. Computer information security has hackers drooling at the possibilities of massive identity theft and unwitting home users are already the next big target. As a reminder hackers use malware, software that does not aid the computer's operating system, and may even harm it, and so is purely parasitic.

The defense against the hackers is increasing and that is why some software makers are including anti-spyware, anti-malware, anti-virus, and firewall packages to protect computers. It's like having a moat around your computer with a few knights of the CPU protecting the tower.

Now our list of components your antivirus software should have: 1. Anti-spyware 2. Anti-spam 3. Antivirus 4. Firewall 5. Anti-malware

Software with the above components should also have a scheduled computer security scan so that it won't just sit on your computer taking up space. There should be active scans for all kinds of bad bugs on a regular basis to insure computer information security. Hackers regularly scan computers all over for a weakness or opening and you need a computer security scan looking for those wholes in your system to fend them off when they come knocking on your computer's digital door. Don't let your child announce to you that there is a spy on their desktop, get the right software to protect them and your critical information.

For your kids and family internet security software that has these features 'included' will not only give you the best bang for your buck, it will place a digital moat between your computers and the ever increasing bag of tricks that hackers seem to enjoy creating.

Daviyd Peterson: 10-year consultant, instructor, trainer Helps african american and minority homeschools bridge the digital divide by becoming computer homeschools. Free article on "Computer Homeschooling" and other related articles http://www.homeschoolwireless.com/homeschoolwireless.htm