To followup on my last post on cyber security awareness - the results of two recently released surveys show us that not only are security concerns a cause of worry for the majority of Internet users, many are not as secure as they might think.

A recent survey, commissioned for Cyber Security Awareness Month, found that while over half of those polled expressed security concerns while banking online, shopping online, and downloading music and videos, the majority of those respondents would not avoid those online activities, regardless.

Combine that information with the results of another new industry survey - this one showing that there is a wide gap between the security software people think they have and what is actually installed on their PCs - and it becomes clear that many may need to double-check that they have basic (and updated) security software; it's a simple way to make sure that the threats you're concerned with aren't given the opportunity to compromise your personal information.

How can you get started? Over at The Washington Posts Security Fix blog, reporter Brian Krebs has a nice piece, October is Cyber Security (Un)Awareness Month, with a roundup of tips and tools for those who believe they may be "security awareness-challenged." And one of those tips, we're happy to report, is to use an anti-spyware application like Lavasofts Ad-Aware 2008 Free.

For more information on Cyber Security Awareness Month, be sure to take a look at www.staysafeonline.org.