With the Olympic Games in Beijing only a few days away, the news is full of stories of people buying fake tickets to Olympic events.

There have been at least two websites so far that have been found to be selling non-existent tickets, and this is probably just the tip of the iceberg. Estimates are that some people have lost tens of thousands of dollars buying fake tickets and there is a very good chance that this money is gone.

So how can you protect yourself from online scams?

Spam. We’ve all heard about it. If we have an email address, we all get it. And sometimes we can’t help but accidentally open it.

Spam can range from annoying to downright dangerous. At its best it means additional email messages to wade through; at its worst it can hide malicious software or expose your kids to things you didn’t want them to see.

But how can you reduce the amount of spam you are likely to receive?

If your computer is connected to the Internet or you ever open files from other people on it, you need to protect it from nasties. Last week we looked at some ways to prevent the viruses getting to you, such as only opening files from people you trust and not clicking on those spam attachments.

But if you do need to accept files you don’t necessarily trust, or if you are browsing around on websites, how do you protect your computer and information?

Nothing seems to be able to strike fear into the hearts of computer users everywhere like the chance of getting a virus. And unfortunately, there is a very, very good chance that at some point you’ll find that your computer is infected.

The Apple iPhone launches in Australia this Friday 11th July 2008. While our US cousins have been enjoying the 2G iPhone for the past year, Australians have had to wait for the 3G to be released. While the wait is finally over, exactly what does it all mean?