Are you ready for March Madness? Have you filled out your bracket selections? This is the time of year when people want to check the latest scores, follow their favorite teams and, perhaps, watch that impossible last second shot that somehow found the hoop. You even may have signed up to receive the scores from some Internet service.

Criminals and hackers know there is an increased interest in basketball at this time of year. They have geared their malware to meet this interest. These cybercriminals take March Madness just as another opportunity to spread their malware trash and infect computers.

When your interest is occupied with quickly finding out the basketball score or how your favorite team is doing, you may not be as focused on computer security. You may be rushing. You may be distracted. Criminals count on that. This is just an example of how Internet activity can be used to victimize the computer user. The examples really are many and these hackers are good at taking advantage of each and every opportunity.

If you want to be safe on the Internet, firewalls, and security products are absolutely necessary. This space makes it a regular habit of reminding our readers of the need to be active in protecting your computer and personal, confidential information. While we recommend the very best programs that are available, no anti-virus or anti-malware product can guarantee that they are a hundred percent effective. It would be just an impossible guarantee for any company to make. The speed of the Internet is too dynamic and the opportunities for crime arise too quickly. Besides, there is always the factor of 'user error.'

There is a final line of defense, though. There is one product that we believe is necessary and that we recommend. That product is WinPatrol Plus and there is really good reason for using it.

Some malware can install without you having to do anything. These are the so-called "drive-by" downloads. You probably would not know that a malware program has been installed. The hackers are that good at compromising your system, but there is a way to protect your machine constantly. WinPatrol Plus is like a watchdog for your computer, and, like a great watchdog, it alerts you if there are any attempted changes on your machine. That means that you have a chance to stop a malware installation because WinPatrol Plus has your machine under constant surveillance.

You decide whether to allow any changes on the machine. Even the changes that legitimate programs attempt to make will be noted, and you will have to allow permission. For example, some programs you use now may 'phone home' and want to update. WinPatrol Plus will alert you to see if you want this update. It is an extra layer of security -- and it prevents a load of problems.

Bill Pytlovany is giving our readers a terrific discount on WinPatrol Plus. Bill is a recognized security expert, with decades of experience. Bill is a recognized expert by Microsoft in its MVP program and, fortunately, a friend of this publication. Bill is reducing the cost of this program by ten dollars. WinPatrol Plus supports "Windows 98 - Windows 7 including x64 systems."

This offer is valid from March 16 - 24, 2010.

This is affordable protection. Malware still needs to install on your machine for it to work. WinPatrol Plus gives you that final, last chance to stop an infection, even though you have a firewall and other security programs. We use this product. There are many Gnomies who would not be without WinPatrol Plus on any of their computers. We recommend it without any hesitation -- and it is a huge bargain at this price. Consider this a "must have" program.