The Defenders

Shareware Skepticism

A lot of security utilities, especially cheap shareware and freeware packages, are of questionable value. Most of the anti-cookie utilities we looked at, for instance, add little to what Navigator and Internet Explorer already offer. But the exceptions include our two favorites, Kookaburra Software's Cookie Pal and Luckman Interactive's Anonymous Cookie. They make dodging cookies (those sneaky files most Web sites save to your hard drive to monitor your surfing habits) a snap.

Beware of spam filters, too. We found that many of these products don't weed out unwanted e-mail any better than a browser's or an Internet service provider's built-in filters do. In fact, of the eight products we examined, only SpamScan97--our $23 Best Buy from Webstar Image--was easy to use and nailed every spam we sent its way.

Although most e-mail encryption programs work fine, PGP for Personal Privacy ($40 from Network Associates) performed best of the four we looked at. It's compatible with the largest number of e-mail programs and renders e-mail unreadable to anyone but the person you send it to.

Would you sleep better knowing that the data on your hard drive was snoop-proof? Then it may be time to add a file encryption program to your arsenal. These packages scramble individual files, folders, and even entire hard drives. Our top choice, the $50 SecureWin from SecureWin Technologies, handles encryption and much more.