I have two Dell Dimension P4 desktops running trouble-free with SP2 (an 8100 w/XP Home and an 8300 w/XP Pro) on a LAN that is online close to 24/7 via BellSouth Fast Access ADSL broadband connection.
To allay grief from the Internet, I rely on the following for shielding:
<> NetGear RP614 firewall/router between the modem and the PCs;
<> Integral XP software firewall;
<> Norton AntiVirus 2003 (embedded in
Norton SystemWorks 2003 Professional
suite);
<> Lavasoft Ad-aware 6.0;
<> Spybot - Search & Destroy;
<> Security features of the Google Toolbar; and
<> Screening features for eMail provided by my ISP (BellSouth).
For dealing with a limited security breach (when detected, which is quite seldom), I rely on the first item below; for dealing with catastrophic corruption - or even physical crippling of the primary HDD - I rely on backup images from the second item below which respectively reside on two separate USB 2.0 external HDDs (each PC has a Logical Drive dedicated to it on both external HDDs):
<> Roxio Goback 3.1 Personal Edition (embedded in Norton SystemWorks 2003 Pro suite); and
<> Norton Ghost 2003 (embedded in Norton SystemWorks 2003 Pro suite).
I firmly believe that a physical firewall/router is an absolute necessity for anyone with a broadband connection.
[RECENT UPDATE ON PRICE AND AVAILABILITY]
P.S. The total cost for all the software features described above is
$7.00 USD,
i.e., the current delivered price of an OEM CD (unboxed) version of Norton SystemWorks 2003 Professional Edition from RowCal.com in West Covina, California, USA. When my one-year AntiVirus update licenses expire, I scourge the PC and break the seal on a virgin OEM CD to reinstall NSW 2003 Pro all over again. My last
"re-enlistment" procedure was on a buddy's Dell Dimension P3 in October. Online registration yielded his expiration date to be 10/13/2005; his Norton Ghost 2003 install was hinky at first, but eventually settled down and locked in (never had that happen before). I previously had on hand ten copies of NSW 2003 Pro from SoftWareOutlet.com and later on five more from Computersworth.com, but their NSW 2003 Pro stocks are now exhausted; so to get some five more copies, I had to turn to RowCal.com where I paid $7.00 each,
plus $3.00 each for five OEM Suites of Nero 6.0.