Ask yourself "would I fly a flag with my bank account details on it in my front garden?" if the answer is no, then please read on, this page covers just the basics, the information here may be enough to prevent disaster.

We care about on-line security, but web sites like get safe on line are, to be honest a bit of a joke & insult peoples intelligence. Internet security is a fast moving target, a false sense of security is worse than no security at all.

In the time it takes to read this, if you dont have some form of security, your Windows operating system could be compromised. Recently, researchers connected an unprotected Windows PC to a network which was completely owned in 30 seconds new & advanced techniques with very sophisticated malware some running their own antivirus software to remove competing viruses exist.

Regrettably, its not just on-line security but governments & companies who are careless with sensitive data. The labour government has completely failed to protect the identity of 25 million people and failed to listen to a group of peers with suggestions for dealing with e-crime. Labours heads firmly in the sand, dont realise the consequences of their folly particularly where ID cards are concerned. It is appaling, that every week a governemnt laptop, some with very sensitive data will be lost and the government remains silent with its apology to everyone for their lack of security, Im deafened by their silence.

So where to start? Security is a complex subject, the majority of attacks focus on vulnerabilities easy to exploit we consider below:

1. Internet Explorer - is junk, its our opinion that the least secure operating system comes bundled with the worst web browser: Internet Explorer, its vulnerable to attack through browser 'helper objects' & active X scripting which make Internet Explorer an easy target for hackers and criminals to exploit. There are better web browsers such as Fire Fox so download & install it, configure it to your needs, we suggest Ad Block plus and or No Script. For the ultimate in browser security run Fire Fox in its own sand box with Sandboxie . Browser toolbars - most are ill concieved crap, often poorly programmed with security holes - get rid of them.

2. Antivirus & anti scumware - only a fool would not use antivirus software along with a good spy ware scanner. There is a real need for the best antivirus & security software you can afford. Its pityful, that people will spend hundreds on a good computer & programs like Microsoft Office to completely ignore the very real and dangerous threat posed by viruses, spy ware & malware. Windows 'defender' is less than satisfactory and could foster a false sense of security. Keep your AV & spy ware applications up to date and renew their subscriptions when needed.

It may be advisable to periodically review your applications & check that something else may do a better job at renewal time.

3. Social engineering - BEWARE Email or messages such as:

• Youve won an iPod/Laptop/anything else. Ask yourself, did I really enter a competitiion, how did I win it?
• A package is waiting from UPS/Fedex/Some other carrier. Ask yourself, so how do UPS know my e-mail address?
• Your account statement is enclosed. Ask yourself, does my bank normally do this?
• Your airline flight tickets are enclosed. Ask yourself, have I really booked a flight online (or other service)?
• Your computer has a virus - Ask yourself, really? there are lots of frauds, visit SpyWare Warrior and check them out
• Your account has expired - Ask yourself, really? A common fraud known as phishing - delete the mail
• Today, we charged your credit card $695 USD. Ask yourself, Did I spend this? - contact your card service if in doubt

  They all have one thing in common, they want you to respond to something within the message - so dont! ever respond. Delete the e-mail. Its easy for a spammer to create & send social engineering messages such as these, tempting the recipient to open the attachment or click through a link & give away password information. The attachment may run a script (not a virus), which then installs a virus. Please delete these emails without a thought. Do not trust anything unless it is from someone you know or you may be expecting. Further more, do not respond to any email that appears to come from a bank - it will be a fraud - phish.

4. Microsoft Windows Messenger - is completely horrid, kids love it, but its a big hole because children trust & accept anything, particularly in the form of a free offer, get rid of messenger & use a better open source Instant Messenger client

5. Peer file sharing - Limewire / Kazaa and so on can blow gaping holes in security, do not use these or similar insecure peer fille sharing software, what you download may also be illegal copywrite material, so get rid of them.

6. Windows automatic updates - The jury is out here, Im really undecided on this one. Ive seen automatic updates do more damage than a virus, for eaxample: servers that wont boot, computers with DNS problems that cannot connect to the Internet & so on. Of course Microsoft & other support sites may advise their use, so dont let this stop you, it depends how much you trust it to work.

7. Get a router! - much more secure than USB modems - Netgear DG834 series has a SPi firewall as well as NAT translation.

8. Firewall - your router will provide some protection we advise a personal firewall such as Zone Alarm or there may be one as part of your Internet security package. The Microsoft Windows firewall with XP will not block outgoing traffic & what was secure yesterday may not work today so test your security - Gibson research have some good tools

9. Use Open DNS - Ive not seen many people use Open DNS but this is an excellent service and one of the first steps towards better security. Open DNS is fast & secure & denies access to the majority of phishing web sites. To use Open DNS servers, you just need to set your DNS server setting in your router to 208.67.222.222 & 208.67.220.220 & away you go, you can get a free account and configure your connection so that for example you dont go to any gambling web sites & so on. Open DNS is brilliant & free.

10. Use a hosts file - this file in your hosts directory will help prevent visiting rogue web site.

11. Secure your mail - use an open source mail client such as Thunderbird, avoid Microsofts mail clients, they just dont cut it where security is concerned, sorry but they are not good enough & I wouldnt trust them if they were.

12. In addition to your Antivirus, use a good scumware/spyware scanning program - weve found Webroot, Pareto logic & Sunbelt counterspy to be fairly good & reasonably priced.

13. If you do get attacked by a virus - clear up the mess properly. Once the virus is removed download the Windows malicious software removat tool, run it then do a HiJack this scan, there are plenty of forums that will help you out.

14. Sophos users - contact Sophos for help download the anti root kit & SAV32CLI command line scanner - disinfection advice

15. Finally if you require a simple solution that works, Get an Apple Mac they are less vulnerable & do the job with fewer issues.