But security threats have kept pace, ranging from viruses and denial-of-service attacks, to malware, spyware and old-fashioned system instability. Now an Idaho company thinks it has a solution to a wide range of those threats, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense is willing to support it.

“It’s into the hundreds of thousands for viruses and Spyware anymore,” Christiansen said.

Spyware is used to collect information about the user without his or her notice or consent by, looking into the computer’s hard drive to find personal information like passwords and bank account numbers.

“Antivirus software on your personal computer could become a thing of the past thanks to a new “cloud computing” approach to malicious software detection developed at the University of Michigan. The researchers’ new approach, called CloudAV, moves antivirus functionality into the “network cloud” and off personal computers. CloudAV analyzes suspicious files using multiple antivirus and behavioral detection programs simultaneously. Traditional antivirus software that resides on a personal computer checks documents and programs as they are accessed. Because of performance constraints and program incompatibilities, only one antivirus detector is typically used at a time. The researchers see promising opportunities in applying CloudAV to cell phones and other mobile devices that aren’t robust enough to carry powerful antivirus software.”

I’ll admit to being tricked the first time I read a Facebook Wall spam message, and clicked the link. My surfing path was immediately blocked by Firefox 3 and McAfee Site Advisor (for Firefox and Internet Explorer). While we don’t recommend chasing down viruses to test the efficacy of your antivirus or privacy software, it was heartening to see the security features on these apps work as advertised. Grisoft’s LinkScanner Lite and LinkScanner Pro are also very good at alerting you to perilous Web pages, though Firefox users should know it is not yet compatible with Firefox 3.

According to NIST, securing a mobile PC includes the following actions:

Fix 3: Let the latest browsers fight for you

The most insidious hijacked Web pages are nearly impossible to spot. Tiny snippets of inserted code that don’t display on the page can nevertheless launch devastating behind-the-scenes attacks.

Fix 5: Get the jump on fast-moving malware

Traditional, signature-based antivirus software is getting snowed under by a blizzard of malware. Attackers try to evade detection by churning out more variants than security labs can analyze. So besides signatures, any antivirus program worth its salt today uses proactive detection that doesn’t require a full signature to spot sneaky malware.

Fix 7: Develop an antiphishing habit

The dastardly practice of phishing for personal information is still alive and well, and many fake sites can be hard to distinguish from the real ones. But a few simple practices can ensure you’ll never be snagged by a phishing hook.

Fix 9: Make your passwords secure — and easy to remember

The House of Representatives passed two antispyware bills in 2007, but the Senate has failed to act on spyware legislation during this session.

“Spyware and harmful adware are a critical threat to our online security and privacy,” said Vincent Weafer, vice president of security response at Symantec. “It is wrong, and it must be stopped.”

But Weafer and other witnesses also urged senators to stay away from getting too specific about what constitutes spyware. The bill doesn’t specifically target programs that collect computer users’ Web-surfing histories, but some people may consider that a form of spyware, said Benjamin Edelman, a professor at Harvard Business School who studies spyware.

“Practices change quickly, and at our peril do we make a list of practices that ought to be prohibited because, the next day, there will be more practices that we didn’t think of,” Edelman said.