The fact that most home buyers begin the search for their new home on the Internet these days is just another example of how important and far-reaching the 'net has become.

Almost everyone has access to the Internet and unfortunately, many Internet users are not aware of the dangers associated with it's use. I don't intend for this to be a comprehensive guide on avoiding Internet dangers, but I feel strongly about making people aware of these dangers and providing links to other sites that are dedicated to educating users about them.

The dangers I am talking about are known by names like worm, virus, zombie and phishing. If these are not words you are familiar with, please take the time to explore the links on the left and take steps to protect yourself. There are free programs available that will help you keep harmful programs off your computer.

Some of the free programs I use regularly to keep my computer clean include: Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy, Spyware Blaster and Spyware Guard.

These threats are very real and there are thousands or perhaps even millions of computers that are infected with viruses, trojan horse programs and spyware. One estimate states that up to 80% of home computers are infected with these kinds of programs without the knowledge of their owners.