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A recent survey conducted by a leading Internet Service Provider (ISP) found that approximately 20% of home computers were infected by a ‘virus’ or ‘worm’ and over 80% of them were infected with snooping programs such as ‘spyware’ and ‘trojans’.

Despite this, more than 2 out of every 3 home users thought they were safe from online Internet threats. The survey showed a gap between the home computer user’s knowledge and understanding of the risks, the actual online threats that are out there on the Internet and the level of protection they had for their computers.

Rarely a month seems to go by without yet another ‘virus’ threat to computer users hitting the headlines but with a few sensible steps and some ‘anti-virus’, ‘firewall’ and ‘anti-spyware’ software installed on your computer, you can help stop it becoming infected and prevent it from being hacked.

If you’ve never bothered with ‘anti-virus’ software and don’t know what a ‘firewall’ is don’t worry. We’ll explain what ‘worms’, ‘trojans’ and ‘spyware’ are, as well as tell you how you can prevent them from infecting your computer.

Computer viruses come in many different forms so it's easy to get confused about how they work. The first viruses were typically spread through floppy disks. But today, email or infected download programs are the most common entry routes into your computer.

The five main types of Internet threat are ‘viruses’, ‘worms’, ‘trojans’, ‘spyware’ and 'hackers'

Put simply, viruses are computer programs that change how your computer operates, without your permission. They arrive in an email attachment, an internet download or on a disk, and cause harm by deleting files or preventing your computer from starting up. They can also clog up your computer's memory or cause it to crash.

Worms are the creatures that have been gaining most of the headlines recently. They're computer programs that transmit and copy themselves. They differ from viruses in that they don't need a carrier (i.e. another computer file) to spread. If you've caught a worm, its typical behaviour might include sending an email to everyone in your address book.

These sneaky animals operate just as their name suggests. Trojan horses, or trojans for short, pretend to be something good, such as a new version of a popular internet download. But they're actually malicious programs that could steal your internet user name and password or let hackers control your computer remotely over the internet. Trojans usually rely on users to install them unwittingly.

Spyware is a relatively unknown Internet threat to many home computer users but is becoming a major problem. It has several different names: spyware, adware, foistware, malware, eulaware, or even crapware but for simplicity, we’ll just call them all spyware.

Spyware programs quietly and secretly monitor everything you do online, and can communicate your activities to a third party such as an online advertiser. It’s commonly installed on your computer as a hidden addition to a legitimate program, by visiting websites, or through spam email. Unlike the instant impact of a virus, well written spyware programs never reveal their presence on your computer.

Pop-up ad problems, a different homepage that you can’t change, and a slower computer or online experience are indications of a spyware problem. As we have already said, no one is immune from spyware and over 8 out of 10 computers are infected with it.

Hackers are people who run automated programs that search and scan computers over the internet to work out whether there's a way to access any of them. If your computer shows up in one of these scans, it will attract further attention from a hacker. If you're on broadband and don't have any protection from these scans (i.e. you don't have suitable firewall software installed) you're asking for trouble and it will only be a matter of time before you're hacked.

To stop your computer acquiring viruses, worms, trojans and spyware and to shield it against attack from hackers, it’s very important to have software installed that protects it against them.

Unfortunately, these is no single product we’re aware of that can provide you with enough protection from all of them so we recommend you have the following three software programs as a minimum.

Virus attacks aren't personal, even though it might feel that way if you receive one and there's plenty you can do to avoid them. The first line of defence is to install anti-virus software on your computer.

Anti-virus software works in two complementary ways: using 'on-access' and 'on-demand' scanning. The first protects your computer as you work and the second will catch infected files that you haven't yet accessed, or those that the on-access scan may have missed. However, neither scan will work properly if you aren't getting your anti-virus software updates regularly by keeping your subscription up-to-date as new viruses are continually being released onto the Internet.

On-access scanning means that the anti-virus software runs while your computer is switched on and checks files when you try to open or use them. When the software is running, it should intercept a virus before it gets on your system (e.g. as you open an infected email attachment) so it's best to leave it running in the background all the time.

As its name suggests, you run on-demand scans when you choose, but ideally this should be done at least once a week. An on-demand scan checks every file on your computer. Your anti-virus software should let you exclude specific files or folders from the scan (e.g. if you wanted to save time) but this isn't recommended as viruses can spread unnoticed. You can start a scan manually or set the software to run one automatically at a fixed time in the future, such as weekly. On-demand scanning can slow down your machine and take several minutes to complete, so time it carefully when you don’t need to use your computer.

Unfortunately, protecting your computer from viruses is not as simple as buying and running some anti-virus software. You have to keep it up-to-date. Included in your software purchase will usually be a 12-month licence, which lets you download updates throughout the year. Once it expires, you can buy the latest software version, or save some money by simply extending the old software licence for another period.

Most hackers are people who, whether out of curiosity or malicious intent, run automated programs that search and scan computers over the internet to work out whether there's a way to access any of them. If your computer shows up in one of these scans, it will attract further attention from a hacker. A good firewall will hide your computer from these scans. It's particularly important to have a firewall if you have broadband because, once you've logged into your broadband, you have a permanent, or 'always on', connection to the internet. A firewall should also detect unauthorised access to or from your computer. If a trojan has gained access to your machine, for example, the firewall is programmed to stop it working.

Anti-spyware software is different to anti-virus software but works in a similar way using on-access and on-demand scanning. Again, on-demand scanning can slow down your machine and take several minutes to complete, so time it carefully when you don’t need to use your computer.

You will need to keep your anti-spyware software up-to-date and your purchase will usually be a 12-month licence, which lets you download updates throughout the year. Once it expires, you can simply extend the software licence for another period.

Applying a little forethought can help protect your computer from infection or hacking, and keep the damage to a minimum if the worst does happen.

Don't automatically open an email attachment if you're not expecting it or it's from someone you don't know. And think about what you might lose if your computer was hacked or infected with a virus (e.g. bank and credit/debit card details, passwords, private files etc). Many viruses are designed to cause temporary mischief rather than permanent harm but a virus could corrupt or destroy your personal files, or stop your computer from starting up. If you've backed up important personal files by storing them on a separate CD or disks, it will be easier to restore them. You should also keep the installation software you get when you buy your computer so that you can reinstall any damaged programs.

It pays to regularly download free updates to Windows from Microsoft's website. In August last year, the Blaster worm caused havoc for users of the Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows NT operating systems by exploiting a vulnerability in these versions of the software. It planted a code called msblast.exe which caused internet connections to crash. Anti-virus companies immediately issued a download to detect and remove the worm. Microsoft also stepped in to repair the vulnerability and issued a 'software patch' for Windows that can be downloaded without charge from Microsoft's website at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. If you run Windows XP, 2000 or NT, make sure your computer has been patched to prevent this worm or similar attacks. The patch is around 1Mb in size and takes only a few minutes to download, even on a slow dial-up internet connection.

The Microsoft website also offers regular updates to patch other potential security flaws in Windows. The latest version of Windows lets you set up your computer to receive automatic software updates. You do this by accessing the 'automatic update' facility in your computer's control panel.

You can buy anti-virus and firewall software on its own, or bundled together in one package. The benefit of buying a combined package is that they are designed to work well together. But, if you already have one product, you can still buy the other one separately. However, you will still need to buy a separate anti-spyware software package.

Anti-virus, firewall and anti-spyware software is available in the shops, but it's just as easy to buy and download a copy of the software online from the manufacturer’s website and pay for it using their secure online payment process. We’ve provided you with some easy website links below to some of the best products we managed to find to save you time surfing around for them on the Internet.

Many manufacturers release a new version of their software annually, but it doesn't mean that previous versions are automatically out of date. Generally, the new versions are easier to use and the user interface (i.e. the way the product looks on screen and how you interact with it) will probably have been redesigned. However, you'll still be protected if you simply buy a new 12-month licence for your old software, and this will be cheaper. The only risk is that this might not protect you against some of the newer types of virus.

If you use Windows XP, you already have a built-in firewall, but it isn't as sophisticated as those we've reviewed. It blocks hacking attempts effectively but doesn't stop your computer sending information over the internet without you knowing about it. You will also need to make sure it's switched on. Do a search for 'firewall' in the help menu to find out how to do this. Microsoft will release a new version of the firewall this year, probably as a free download. This will run automatically and make it less likely that you'll allow personal information on your computer to be given away unintentionally.

To make your life easier and save you some time, we’ve recommended the best products we’ve been able to find from either trying them out ourselves or from reviews and reports in the leading computer magazines (e.g. PC World).

All of the products are highly rated by customers and came out with the best scores in the reviews when compared to other competitor products. They offer the best overall value in terms of price, ease of use, protection for your computer and customer support.

The great thing as well is that you can try the anti-spyware software for free before you decide to buy with the free trial of the software.

If you're consider downloading any of these products, make sure you check the minimum computer system requirements for the software first to ensure they're compatible with your computer. Please also note, that if your are not on broadband (e.g. you have a slower dial-up connection), the software downloads may take a long time to do.

The cheapest way to protect yourself if you have an old anti-virus software package (e.g. Symantec’s Norton AntiVirus 2003) installed on your computer, is to make sure the subscription is up to date. It’s really straightforward to renew if it isn't. For example if you have Symantec’s Norton Anti-Virus 2003, you just click on the anti-virus software icon on your desktop and then click on ‘Renewel Date’ in the section titled ‘Norton Anti-Virus Subscription’ and finally click the ‘Renew’ button. If you have a different manufacturer’s anti-virus software package installed (e.g. McAfee), it also has a subscription renewal option.

Once your subscription is up-to-date, you just need to get the latest updates for your anti-virus software and then run the virus scans on your computer to check for viruses and get any that it finds removed.

However, if you don’t have any old anti-virus software or a firewall installed on your computer or you want to upgrade your old anti-virus software with the latest version, we recommend you buy an integrated software package (see section 1&2. below - ‘Anti-Virus/Firewall Combined Software’).

If you have anti-virus software already installed on your computer (N.B. and you have renewed your subscription!) and just need a firewall, we recommend the award winning ZoneLabs ZoneAlarm Pro 5 software as a download from element 5's website via the picture links below. It's both easy to use and reliable and allows you to choose which warnings you would like to see, and links to an excellent support website. It does have some additional anti-virus capabilities built in, but these are limited and are no substitute for a dedicated anti-virus product.

Click the picture links below to learn more about the software (including the minimum system requirements) and buy it as a download from element 5's website.

(N.B. Soham On-Line is acting as an independent partner of ZoneLabs by participation in the Affiliate Program provided by element 5. ZoneLabs is the seller of the product but the payment process is administered by element 5).

ZoneAlarm Pro - Blocks Hackers, Thieves & Worms

Please note ZoneLabs ZoneAlarm Pro 5 is only available for Windows ME, 2000 and XP

(N.B. If you can’t remember what Windows operating system you are using, just right click on ‘My Computer’ then click ‘Properties’ and finally select the ‘General’ tab).

If you have Windows 98 (or ME, 2000 or XP) and just need a firewall because you already have anti-virus software installed on your computer with an up-to-date subscription, we recommend McAfee's Personal Firewall Plus. Click the picture links below to learn more about the software (including the minimum system requirements) and buy it as a download from McAfee's website.

Please note McAfee's Personal Firewall Plus is compatible with Windows ME, 2000 and XP as well as Windows 98

(N.B. If you can’t remember what Windows operating system you are using, just right click on ‘My Computer’ then click ‘Properties’ and finally select the ‘General’ tab).

McAfee's Internet Security 6.0 is our recommendation if you want a software package that combines anti-virus and firewall protection in one.

It provides excellent protection with helpful instructions and on-screen support and is suitable for the inexperienced and confident computer user. Not only does it deal with threats efficiently, it also gives you useful feedback on how it’s solved the problem.

Click the picture links below to learn more about the software (including the minimum system requirements) and buy it as a download from McAfee's’s website.

Please note McAfee's Internet Security 6.0 is compatible with Windows 98, ME, 2000 and XP

(N.B. If you can’t remember what Windows operating system you are using, just right click on ‘My Computer’ then click ‘Properties’ and finally select the ‘General’ tab).

You will also need anti-spyware software and we recommend Webroot’s Spy Sweeper as the best. It's available as an online download and you can buy it straight away but we advise you try the free trial first. Spy Sweeper was rated one of the best software in the reviews and will ensure you are protected from spyware while you’re actively surfing on the Internet. However, it does take up a bit of computer memory when it’s running on your computer so it’s best to ensure you don’t have too many other active software applications running at the same time. Alternatively, you can just run the software with an ‘on-demand’ scan when you choose and we recommend you do this at least once a week.

Click on the picture links below to learn more about the software (including the minimum system requirements) and to try out the free trial as a download from Webroot's website. Be sure to carry out the free Spy Audit to quickly scan your system for spyware!

Safely detect and remove spyware, adware, and Trojans from your computer. FREE TRIAL.

Please note Webroot’s Spy Sweeper is compatible with Windows 98, ME, 2000 and XP.

(N.B. If you can’t remember what Windows operating system you are using, just right click on ‘My Computer’ then click ‘Properties’ and finally select the ‘General’ tab).

Note – Webroot’s Spysweeper is currently priced in United States Dollars (USD or $). However, the price will be converted to your local currency (e.g. GBP or £) at the prevailing exchange rate on the day you purchase. If you decide to buy the product, your debit/credit card will be charged in your local currency (e.g The price is USD29.95 and exchange rate is USD1.80 is equal to GBP1.00, so your debit/credit card will be charged GBP16.64 - The calculation is USD29.95 divided by USD1.80 equals GBP16.64).

INTERNET SECURITY