David: What's the central theme?

Adam: It's up to each person to make sure malicious software doesn't work its way on to your machine. if you see an instant message or email from someone claiming to be a friend of yours with a software you're supposed to run, get them on the phone first before installing it to find out what it actually is.

David: Do you see this ever getting better?

Adam: It will evolve over time. Consumers will get smarter and malware authors will figure out new ways to distribute their malicious wares. It's cat and mouse.

David: What are some of the examples that you've seen new stuff?

Adam: The IM and SMS phishing attacks are the newest I've seen. I also received a phishing email that actually had me call a telephone number (that was no longer working) to give my username and password. Clever!

David: Have you been seeing social networking sites like MySpace with spyware and and those that installed malware?

Adam: Malware authors post fake pages on social networking sites that will trick you into installing their software on your machine.

David: What do you think 2007's big problem will be?

Adam: Growing use of new types of phishing attacks such as text message and telephone.

David: How can people know to trust sites like scanyourpc.com when other companies embed spyware?

Adam: Trust is all you can really rely on when it comes to software you install. That's why we tell people to stick with reputable software publishes that you've seen in the press when it comes to keeping your computer safe and operating at top speed.

For more than 20 years, David Gewirtz, the author of Where Have All The Emails Gone? and The Flexible Enterprise has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and can be reached via email at david@zatz.com.