Go leisure activity to chunk gig and observation under the computer keyboards and youll eventually find a little piece of paper with that users logon ID and passwords. Probably every password that person has.

This illustrates a serious problem with the use of networked computers in business.

You've heard all kinds of unhealthy things about it, but true what IS it - and how does it work out on your computer in the first place?

Spyware is a real pain in the arse, to put it bluntly. It bogs down your computer's memory, causes you to be spammed to death with pop-up ads, and tracks everywhere you go while you surf the web! Worst of all, 99% of all spyware downloads itself to your computer without your knowledge - or your consent.

Can they do that? Yes, unfortunately, they can - but you don't have to sit back while your computer is destroyed with malicious software.

Falling probe to a phishing scam is a grim thought; no one wants their solidarity stolen. How can you design to tell the difference between legitimate emails and scams?

You're probably wondering, first off, where it gets that strange name from. As the Webopedia Computer Dictionary says at the tail end of its "phishing" definition:

Phishing, also referred to as brand spoofing or carding, is a variation on fishing, the idea being that bait is thrown out with the hopes that while most will ignore the bait, some will be tempted into biting.

Wikipedia.org, however, goes into a bit more detail about how and why phishing scams work:

In computing, phishing (also known as carding and spoofing) is a form of social engineering, characterised by attempts to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business in an apparently official electronic communication, such as an email or an instant message. The term phishing arises from the use of increasingly sophisticated lures to "fish" for users' financial information and passwords.

Some of the most common phishing scams around are the PayPal and Ebay ones - everyone should know by now that any email purporting to come from these two companies which requires you to sign-on via a link in the email is anything but legit. But what about those that come from your specific credit card company, bank, or another company you do business with?

There is one word of advice I can give you - one thing you can always remember when trying to decide if an email is fake or legit - you can be sure that companies, finanical institutions, nor credit companies will EVER ask you for your account information via email!!

That bears repeating and further clarification: