Installing a firewall helps protect your files from external attacks, and encryption will lock out anyone with physical access to your PC, but your data security still isn't assured. If you send any information or attachments via email then there's no telling who might be able to intercept them along the way.

Secured eMail aims to block this security hole with an easy-to-use Outlook add-on. This encrypts your text (and any attachments) using a 256-bit AES algorithm, which sounds secure enough to us. But clearly not the Secured eMail authors. They also use a system of their own to generate a new 160-bit key for every message, then scrambles this with static seeds of the programs own, and a shared secret (essentially a password) that you provide. All of which should ensure your data is just as secure on its way to the recipient, as it is while stored on your PC.

There are a couple of complications to consider before you can get all this working, unfortunately. The first involves transmitting the shared secret to your recipient. Emailing the password obviously isn't wise, so we'd recommend calling them, but the program can also print a letter ready for you to send.

Step two involves installing software that can take the shared secret, then use it to decrypt your message and any attachments. The simplest option is to install the free Secured eMail Reader (www.securedemail.com/prod_sem_reader.asp), which provides everything they need to decrypt the message, and if using Outlook allows them to send secure replies for free.

The Pro version of Secured eMail offers extra layers of protection, including the ability to encrypt and lock your mail database, and to control the level of access other users of your PC have to the system. And you get free product upgrades, too. The list price for Secured eMail Pro is $41.95, but with our special 25% discount offer you'll only pay $31, around £19. Place your order when you register Secured eMail Home at www.securedemail.com/VNU