With a rise in the number of phishing attacks, more internet users should be aware of the steps to take to avoid becoming a victim themselves. Here’s a guide to the basics:

What is phishing? It’s illegal and it’s usually highly unpleasant for the victim. Basically it’s the criminal process of stealing someone’s personal data, such as credit card details, usernames and passwords, on-line.

A phishing example: Fake versions of websites are created, asking users to enter their log-in details, which are then stored to be used on the real sites later.

How will it happen to you?: The most common way is via a dodgy link in an email.

What to do if it happens to you?:  If you’ve entered your log-in details into a fake site, then you change your password immediately. If you’ve paid for a product on what appears to be a fake site, then contact your bank immediately.

How to avoid phishing: Keep your email address private; be wary of file-sharing services; keep passwords unique; check every link before you click; check for secure pages when  buying on-line; upgrade your software; use god quality anti-virus software.

If anyone is wondering about the future of internet use and e-commerce then they would do well to pay heed to a new survey of young people. According to the research, carried out by on-line charity YouthNet, 75% pf 16 to 24-year-olds claimed they couldn’t live without the internet.

The study also found that four out of five youngsters used the web to look for advice, while a third felt no that they had need to talk to a person face-to-face about their problems because of the resources available online.

This age group are also extremely net savvy having grown up with the technology and in many cases introduce their parents to a range of websites.

The survey’s author, Professor Michael Hulme of Lancaster University, names this age group “digital natives”. He is reported as saying: “For young people the internet is part of the fabric of their world.”

Media research company Nielsen recently set out to prove that social media use put a significant dent into email use. They believed that the more time people spent on social networks, the less time they were likely to spend using email.

However, the subsequent research revealed that the opposite occurs: the people consuming the largest amount of social media are also the people consuming the largest amount of email.

It makes sense, really. We often get our social media updates through our email anyway, via notifications. It’s also quite possibly the case that people who use social media more are on their computer more – and therefore more likely to use their email too.

It does appear that an increase in one communication channel correlates with the other.

For some time on-line commentators have been suggesting that emails will die out as social networking takes over. They argue that the likes of Facebook, MySpace and Bebo offer a more immediate form of communication and that emails are old-hat. But surely the email system is still an extremely useful tool, and one that is used by the widest range of on-line communicators?

Indeed, e-mail is universal – and let’s face it, social networks are not. Nearly everyone on the web has an email address. Many places of employment give staff an email address when they begin working there (in fact many companies ban the use of social networking in work time). The majority of websites also require an email address for registration purposes.

The fact is, too, that e-mail notifies you of updates from all social networks you are a part of. So it’s a useful tool and part of the social networking phenomenon. Even social networks themselves recognise the importance of email.  MySpace has even launched its own email service recently.

 Email is also still improving in terms of innovation and integration with social media. Take a look at Gmail and Yahoo Mail for ways in which e-mail has advanced.

Companies, too, still see email as a vital marketing tool. Many have not yet decided which social media strategy suits their needs, whereas email is easily useable and definable.

And since some people still like to write letters and send via snail mail (they have done for centuries!)  it doesn’t seem likely that the electronic version of this will die out any time soon.

Speak to WebCreation UK today about our great web design packages which all include free email accounts.

By 2012, 2.5 million homes will benefit from the super-fast broadband, called Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP). A further 9 million homes will receive the slower Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) technology.

The FTTP technology, being supplied by BT, has top speeds of up to 100Mbps (megabits per second) compared to 40Mbps for FTTC technology.

The BT spin-off arm, Openreach, is responsible for the fibre rollout and recently announced two brownfield trial sites in Milton Keynes and Highams Park, London, for FTTP. Some 20,000 homes and businesses will receive speeds of up to 100Mbps by March 2010.

Steve Robertson, chief executive of Openreach, is reported as saying that BT was responding to demand from service providers for the faster fibre.

It’s claimed that the UK already leads the world when it comes to broadband availability. A recent study of the global state of broadband, conducted by Oxford University’s Said Business School, put the UK 25th out of 66 countries in terms of the quality of its network.

But BT faces fierce competition from other operators, especially Virgin Media with cable network. Virgin cable network has speeds of up to 50Mbps and has been trialling speeds rising to 200Mbps.

A new survey has revealed that more than half of employees are prohibited from using social network sites for any reason while at work.

The Robert Half Technology research, based in America, asked 1,400 companies with 100 or more employees about their policy on visiting social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

The results found that 54% of staff was prohibited completely from social networking during work hours.

Meanwhile, almost a fifth (19%) of companies allow staff to social network for business purposes only. Some 16& permitted the visiting of social networks for limited personal use.

Only 10% of companies permitted social networking for any type of personal use.

The reasons given for the varying policies included concerns about time wasting in work hours and the potential damage caused by negative chat about a company.

While this survey is American it’s likely that the same sort of percentages apply to the British marketplace.

What is your company’s policy on social  networking?