Surfing the Internet is a necessary part of life these days.  You can find just about anything you want online, but it's not all a bed of roses.  Between malicious web sites, spam email, and probing hackers, your browsing habits and practices can get you into trouble.  Here are some simple tips to avoid problems:

• Get the tools you need to make surfing safer.
  • Anti-Virus and Firewall software will keep your computer safe from most viruses and trojan programs.  Advotech recommends Norton Internet Security 2006.  For those on tight budgets, Zone Alarm makes an excellent free firewall and AVG can handle most viruses for free.
  • SpyWare detection and removal utilities will find and remove most malicious software from your system.  Advotech recommends the new Microsoft Windows Defender.
• Raise your Internet Explorer Security settings and only grant sites you trust with more access.  Microsoft shows you how.
• Don't trust email you aren't expecting.  Look closely at the sender and subject, if they don't match what you know about them, then it might not be from them.
• Protect your personal information.  Never pass your sensitive information via email, or provide it to an untrusted web site.