Getting a new PC or Broadband from Santa....?

If you are gettinga new PC and/or broadband at Christmas time, make sure you're protected.

Not from Santa, he's a jovial fun loving character who enjoys eating pies and drinking brandy. He shouldn't give you too much trouble, unless he has turned into a l33t hacker since 2004.

Here are three useful links for free software, which will keep everything but the most persistent and skilled techy-troublemakers at bay

1) Malware- a-squared (a-squared) is a complementary product to antivirus software and desktop firewalls on MS Windows computers. Antivirus software specializes in detecting classic viruses. Many available products have weaknesses in detecting other malicious software (Malware) like Trojans, Dialers, Worms and Spyware (Adware). a-squared fills the gap that malware writers exploit.

2) Anti-virus The excellent AVG scanner

3) Firewall - Zone Alarm - the first time you install this you will be plagued with pop-ups asking you to validate each programme that attempts to connect to the web.


All of the above will try to convince you to take out their paid subscriptions and/or "pro" license key. Ignore these requests and you will have free software to protect your computer.

You'll probably need around an hour to set up all of these programmes. Most are well documented, so you shouldn't have too many problems.

Enjoy your surfing this festive period.