The campaign, "Make IT secure" is being run by a public-private consortium that includes the Department of Communications, Marine and National Resources, Microsoft, Eircom, HP, Dell, Symantec, Esat Bt and the Information Society Commission.

Make IT Secure Day will be held on November 17th and will highlight three steps to securing your computer against viruses, worms, Trojan horses, "phishing" and all the other nasty infections that will harm your computer and really ruin your day.

Confused? All these terms and more are explained on www.makeitsecure.ie., the campaign website, and in a special booklet that will be distributed to 800,000 PC users around the State.

The campaign's three steps to safety are:

Use up-to-date virus software. Viruses are spread through infected disks, rogue e-mails and certain websites.

There is a constant battle between those who create viruses and companies who make anti-virus software, so it is necessary to regularly update your software to combat new strains.

This can be done easily and quickly online. Norton (http://www.symantec.com/nav/nav_9xnt/) and Mcafee (www.mcafee.com) are two brand leaders.

Install a firewall. A firewall stands between the network and the Internet and stops unauthorised traffic or hackers breaking in. Most companies will have a firewall on the network, but it's important to check and also to install one on your home PC, especially with a broadband connection. Firewalls can also be downloaded form the Internet.

There is a good impartial website (www.firewallguide.com) that looks at different brands and costs and offers help with installation. Firewalls can cause problems with the existing software on your PC, but these can be easily remedied and are a necessary evil.

Update your operating system. Old operating systems like Windows 95 or Mac OS8 are easy prey for hackers as they don't have the latest updates or patches.

It's not necessary to buy a whole new operating system every couple of years as patches can be downloaded free from www.microsoft.com/security/ or www.apple.com/macosx/ features /security/ for Macs.

The campaign also offers a list of dos and don'ts including:

Don't open e-mail attachments from strangers.

Don't divulge passwords to anyone.

Do ensure that if you are sending sensitive personal information that your connection is secure.

Do ensure that you have set your Web browser's security settings to a sufficiently high level to warn you when you are unintentionally downloading files and "cookies" from the Internet.

If you are using Internet Explorer, the minimum security setting should be medium.

If you are using an alternative browser refer to the company's instructions.

Do use passwords to protect your system and do change them regularly