Just about any piece of personal information can be used to steal someone's identity, and according to a new federal regulation, you may be held responsible if this information falls into the wrong hands.

	WEEKLY REPORTS Latest security updates Top 10 Threats

According to the Federal Trade Commission's Disposal Rule -- part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act -- personal information used for any business purposes must be properly discarded using "reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access" to the information.

Whether you've collected past employment or residency information through e-mail about prospective lawn mowers or dog walkers, or your small car dealership files credit reports and scores on the hard drive, the information is considered sensitive. Throwing these important files directly into the trash can is not an acceptable disposal procedure.

The FTC's Disposal Rule has suggestions for how to get rid of this information when the time comes, including shredding print-outs and copies, smashing disks with a hammer, and clearing the hard drive if you plan to sell your computer.

Information, Protection and Prevention -- Personal Info
• FTC.gov and the Disposal Rule

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* Reading: Solutions, Prevention & Remedies
Additional summary information related to a specific type of solution or prevention that you should be considering. Depending upon the week, this section may have:
• Recent Windows security releases from Microsoft
• Recent updates to widely used anti-spyware programs
• Recent updates to widely used anti-virus programs
• Recent updates to other security programs & devices (ex: Firewalls, routers)
• Recent updates to various applications in wide use

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Read: Top Threats
These are viruses that are currently on the watch lists of major anti-virus software companies.

Name
What the threat is called. We use the name given each virus by Panda Software. Sometimes other anti-virus companies give the same threat a different name. Usually they use similar names.

Type
There are different characteristics associated with different types of threats.
• Virus - has the ability to replicate or infect computers or other programs
• Trojan Horse (or Trojan) - appear to be harmless programs when you get them. They unleash their payload when you double-click, open, or execute them.
• Phishing - a Web site or e-maill message posing as another company - usually one you know to fool you into giving the sender personal information.
• Worm - self replicates onto additional disks, computers or networks
• Spyware - installs on your system to collect information about your activity, preferences or interests
• Hoax - false messages sent by e-maill to mislead the recipient
• Backdoors - opens a security hole that allows outsiders to take control of your computer
• Dialer - uses your telephone to dial an outside number - sometimes a number that costs you money when dialed

Affects
Not all viruses affect all types of systems. Some, for example may affect only Windows 98 and 95, but not Windows XP or NT. Others affect all Windows systems, but not Macintosh. In this column, we show you the consumer systems that the threat is known to affect. We don't always include the servers that operate in your company's backroom.

Alert level
The level of awareness that anti-virus vendors suggest you need to have for each threat listed.
For each threat listed, we'll post a corresponding link here, so you can get more information to help you recognize, diagnose, prevent, and repair the problem.