Net Results:'Twas the season to acquire a new computer, and many families will have found a new laptop or desktop under the tree - or maybe you treated yourself during the spate of special offers from the manufacturers and retailers in the lead-up to Christmas.

But how safe is that machine? Or, for that matter, the one you already have? Many, probably most, people do not run adequate security software on their home machines - and a lot of businesses don't do a great job either.

I can understand why this is the case. Security has become so complex that it has moved from being a necessary nuisance to a major headache. Once the biggest fear was infecting a computer with a virus off a floppy disk, but we have gone from the mild risk of floppies to the promiscuity of always-on broadband internet connections.

If you have a new PC, and it is connected to the internet, you need anti-virus software and a firewall and probably anti-spyware software too, because while they do have some overlap, each does a different job. Macs have few viruses and no spyware to date, but do need, at minimum, a firewall.

A firewall is a security gate on the internet that sits in front of your computer. Its job is to regulate traffic in (and, ideally, out) of your computer to stop the nasties before they gain entry.

Anti-virus software is primarily the guardian of your e-mail program, as that is the main point of entry for many malicious programs, or "malware", as attachments or links to dangerous websites. But once installed it will scan your entire computer for viruses and related unpleasantness.

Anti-spyware programs look for the little programs that sneak on to your computer, either passed along by websites you visit or software programs you download, especially "free" programs and, ironically, often on programs claiming to be anti-spyware programs (as I said, security is a complex headache these days).

Spyware can be fairly benign - "adware" that causes those hated pop-up ads to spring into action. But it is also responsible for hijacked browsers that keep going to a page you never set as your homepage, and for installing truly malicious and dangerous programs.

So how do you address all of this? A good place to start is by doing a scan of your computer to see if it is clean to start with. There are a number of free online scanning programs you can use - most of the major security software companies have them.

Try Panda ActiveScan, Kaspersky, Avast, F-Secure, Symantec, or Trend Micro (with all these recommendations, a quick internet search will give you the appropriate URL). They are all easy to use and it isn't a bad idea to try at least two - one may pick up something another misses. And you should do a regular scan to make sure your computer stays clean.

As for getting the proper security in place, there are quite a few programs you can buy or download out there that vary widely in functionality and performance. You can look for reviews of them at cnet.com, pcmag.com, macuser.com or macworld.com.

Starting with firewalls - if you have Microsoft Vista, or use a Mac, you have a pretty good built-in firewall, but you may want to use something else if you like tinkering with settings, which isn't very easy within these operating systems. Programs to try include: ZoneAlarm, Comodo, PC Tools Firewall Plus for PCs; Norton Personal Firewall or NetBarrier for Macs.

For anti-spyware, Windows Defender, built into Vista, is pretty good. For free programs, try AVG Anti-Spyware, Spybot Search and Destroy or Ad-Aware. Many people use several, as spyware can be particularly difficult to find and eradicate. The major paid-for anti-virus programs now bundle spyware in as well; MacAfee gets very good ratings.

Free anti-virus software for PCs include AVG Free, Avast!, and PC Tools Free. For Macs, conveniently, you can download ClamXav directly from the Apple.com website.

There are actually very few viruses for Macs - I've been running one test Mac without any anti-virus software for four years without a single problem. But really, it makes sense to run anti-virus software for a couple of reasons. In mixed environments where there are PCs and Macs, a Mac can pass a virus to PCs. Also, many computer users consider it good "netiquette" to disable viruses of any type so they won't be forwarded to others who could be affected by them.

Finally, run only the latest version of a browser - old browsers with vulnerabilities are one of the leading ways to acquire a virus or find yourself hacked. Using Firefox, Opera or Safari is generally safer than Internet Explorer, but if you love IE, than always use the latest version.

Blog: www.techno-culture.com