Best Free Personal Firewall: ZoneLabs ZoneAlarm

In today's worm-infested world, protecting your PC is job number one. A firewall not only keeps hackers off your hard drive, but it can also keep any spyware that's already infected the drive from sending information back to its makers. Easy to install and use, ZoneLabs' ZoneAlarm pops up an alert whenever unauthorized software tries to sneak in through your ports or access the Net. ZoneLabs also offers two paid versions of the product--Plus ($40) and Pro ($50)--that include features like ad blocking and protection against more types of e-mail attachments.