Re: Is Firewall essential in this case?

Ok, apparently my initial post has caused some debate here. I posted
here because you know much more than I do, so let me clarify my
question.

Like everyone else, I want to prevent any hackers from attacking my
machine. I want to block those attacks, but at the same time I would
like to prevent anything that should not be on my computer, such as
malware, from sending out my personal information or whatever.

Being on disability, I cannot afford a lot of expensive software. With
that, can someone offer me the basics of what I should have installed
to offer me as much protection, both incoming and outgoing, as
possible? My OS is XP if that helps.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Dickie

.

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