Lee Munson
Lee Munson is Comparitech's Security Researcher. Lee is a regular contributor to the Sophos’ Naked Security blog and Social Media Manager for Brian Honan’s BH Consulting. He is also the proud winner of the Best UK Security Blog and Best European Security Blog at the 2015 European Security Blogger Awards.

You can liken a firewall to a barrier around your computer – it will stop intruders entering your private space and prevent your darkest secrets from being carried off in the night. Everyone should have one – recent versions of Windows ships with its own firewall – but it’s useful to know what it does and how to ensure it’s switched on!

‘You’ve got until midnight Friday to give me $300 or your data gets it. No warnings, no fingers or ears in the post. Just total annihilation of your hard drive’. Should you pay up or prepare for the funeral? The answer depends on how much you value your data and whether or not you have a secure and tested backup.