The internet is often portrayed as a sort of new Wild West where cyber-outlaws roam at will, robbing from anyone who dares to surf the net or send an email.

While this isn’t exactly accurate, there’s no doubt that crooks, cons and thieves are increasingly exploiting the poor security found on some home PCs in order to make mischief – and occasionally, money.

It doesn’t need to be that way. A typical broadband internet connection will include a firewall which acts as a barrier between the PC and the internet; add an inexpensive off-the-shelf security program, keep it up to date and all should be fine.

In the Workshops section of Computeractive issue 239 we show how to make use of Shields Up, a free service that probes – harmlessly – internet-connected PCs, looking for security holes. If it finds problems, you’ll know to fix them. So, refer to the magazine and then click here to transfer to the Shields Up developer's website.