Not to take away from our resident PC expert, but a lot of what Rusty and his knowledgable cohorts disseminate on this subject is lost on those of us who fumble through the simplest of tasks when it comes to communicating words and images to others.
Having said that, here are a few questions that may apply to me and others who aren't "Geeks"
I use Kodak easy share for my main pix and Photobucket to share on Barthmobile, because it doesn't use up bandwidth.
If my main usage consists of Email and checking 1 or 2 sites that I have an interest in, let's say comics, Barthmobile, and local Craigslist, and I do no banking, billpaying, or anything other than some necessary ticket buying through Paypal, maybe twice a year, what is the best for me?
Should I be using Mac and save the headaches of trying to update and protect against viruses every day?
Am I so "old school" that I shouldn't even have a computer in the first place?
Is there an answer for people like me or are we just SOL?
Hopefully this will help some other folks or open a dialog that we might be able to understand.

Danny (or anyone else), never hesitate to post or PM me if I've made something unclear. I try to keep to what in Geekdom are specific definitions, but these are not always decipherable by everyone.

Unfortunately, a Windows PC on the 'net is a target for a variety of attacks from hackers worldwide, from organized crime rings to psycho pencil-necked geeks.

The popularity of the Mac has made it increasingly a target of hackers. While the Mac attacks (Had to say that...) are fewer and so far less severe, defensive measures are also scarce.

A PC user really has no choice but employ a firewall, antivirus, spyware detector/remover, and adware detector/remover. The reason for these measures is not only to protect one's own computer (and bank accounts and other financial matters), but also those of folks with whom they have contact.

A firewall is necessary because computers can be hacked when merely connected to the 'net (and not browsing, even). Antivirus software is necessary if email is received. Antispyware and anti adware are necessary because a number of otherwise legitimate sites install either or both on visitors' PCs as a means of tracking those visitors' browing history or getting money from the sponsor of the adware or spyware.

The only other choice - still not perfect, but providing some protection, is to use a "portal" like AOL or MSN. With a portal, one goes online through it, and from there to the rest of the web.

Your ISP may also have a portal.

Two must have programs will help pc users avoid the bad stuff: Malwarebytes and Glary utilities. They are freeware. Download them and run them once per month.