Your may of heard about the recent attacks on Hotmail email accounts using phishing tactics, how they have been broken in to and that passwords have been stolen. There has been a fair bit of coverage in the last few days as more details have come to light. The BBC has a Q & A on exactly what 'phishing' is...

Phishing is a broad term for any effort to gain personal data, directly from the user - login details, passwords, bank account details, etc. - by tricking them into entering it into a website or email.

It is a form of "social engineering", where the real power lies in the manipulation of behaviour, rather than technological prowess. As such, careful consumers can often avoid falling into the phishing trap.

If you are worried about your online email accounts then take a read of the following...

• BBC: Web mail scam propagates itself
• BBC: 'Phishing' raids in US and Egypt
• Infopackets: Hotmail Leak:Phishers Make off with Thousands of Passwords
• BBC: Google targeted in e-mail scam
• PC Pro: 12345 most popular stolen Hotmail password
• Network World: Gmail, Yahoo Mail join Hotmail; passwords exposed

Google has forced a password reset on all accounts but it is good practice to change your password often. One trick I read is to use a word that is not in a dictionary as hackers can use one to attempt to break in to online accounts.

Always make sure your anti spyware and anti virus programs are up to date, make sure you are using a quality firewall to protect your PC.