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Three weeks into the new year, with all cards either recycled or trashed from your email inbox finally, and what do you know, it's set to happen all over again with the Chinese New Year!
Many of you probably have done away with printed cards with all that signing (which means you need to find the right pen), stamping (which means you better make it all local to avoid the different stamp fees) and sending (which means you must remember to make the trip to the post office).
There is no doubt the e-card has much stacked in its favour, yet most of us wouldn't want to give or recieve more than what we were hoping for when opening up these modern missives.
Just as the internet and email exploded, so did the creative geniuses of viruses, spyware and all that we love to about the Internet.
As e-cards made their rounds at the end of 2006, so did some malware.
The Dref-V mass-mailing worm, posed as a New Year e-card and was responsible for 93.7% of infected email in just 24 hours. Others encountered a Spybot worm that wriggled its way into computers that became open to remote commands, including capturing keystrokes and downloading files from the computer.
Some, keen to follow news on the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein became malware victims when opening up attachments that looked harmless.
So before you become a victim and since the year is still new, it's not too late to make a resolution - to take online security more seriously.
If your security software is near non-existant or has expired, you really shouldn't be taking chances.
The risks are, you could become infected and have all your files corrupted or your computer could be hijacked and used for criminal online activity.
"But what's available and best for me ?" you ask.
Having heard that question being asked at an IT store in front of a shelf stacked with varying security software, arrangements were made to put to the test the Internet Security 2007 packages by F-Secure, Trend Micro and Norton.
All three have similar offerings, so attention has been paid to the 'extras'.
F-Secure which is headquarted in Europe promises complete, maintenance-free and easy to use protection against all Internet threats.
With a reputation for the fastest response to new threats in 2004 and 2005 based on independent studies, it's only natural that F-secure should offer daily automatic Virus updates with Internet Security 2007 which can be downloaded for a free 30 day try-out from its website.
On purchasing the program, you'll be able run it on up to three PCs.
Aside from improvements to the level of protection offered against Spyware, Viruses and Spam, the 2007 security suite also offers DeepGuard which is protection against zero-day attacks or threats without solutions as yet.
This works by scanning the system regularly and quietly in the background, to pick out unusual patterns caused by malware which could have slipped through earlier.
On installing Internet Security 2007, you'll find that you can choose to start with a quick scan of your PC and conflicting security software will be identified and removed for you - which is useful if you are not inclined to fuss about with your PC and its settings.
Mindful that security is an issue not just for the office but also the home, F-Secure offers from the start a choice of full installation with or without parental control.
The Parental Control option opens ups a choice of settings - Children, Teens or both; and will block access to sites with objectionable material such as drugs or adult content.
What will get parents really keen on this security software is the Internet time limit that's initiated with the Child and Teen settings.
Once the young person's time is up on the Internet or if he/she logs on at a time that's not allowed, there is a message to stop further activity and the virtual plug is pulled.
Yes, no more nagging and arguments, especially since there is no way to extend the time online except with the parent's password.
The security settings installed are fixed automatically, but there are manual reset options to disable or create higher settings.
Full installation is fast but if you don't follow the steps faithfully, including validating your subscription, you will encounter problems.
Scanning of the computer is not a one-click option, you have to choose where you want to have scanned and what you want the system to look out for - viruses, rootkits, etc and when the system encounters a risk, you will receive an alert with a choice of corrective steps to take.
You may notice a slow down in your PC but at least you know the security software is doing its work.
Those who need help can turn to the online tutorial which is available in various languages.
Trend Micro which is known for its award-winning anti-malware PC-cillin has packaged its Internet Security suite for 2007 aimed at consumers who have more than one PC and use their computers extensively at home and on the road, using both broadband and wireless networks to share files and data.
Based on such a profile, Trend Micro offers protection for up to three units at the price of one.
If you're not sure, you can choose a free 30 day evaluation download from the Trend Micro website.
With the full version, installation is easy and comes with a quick scan of the PC for hidden threats.
It will detect, prompt and turn off conflicting software and Windows Firewall if you have it in place.
The last step in installation is to register the product. Do this if you want to avoid a huge, annoying and regular pop-up reminding you to register.
An even better reason to register is the ability to receive security for another two computers, regular security updates and a unique online security service Trend Secure, which includes Remote File Lock, Mobile security and Transaction Guard.
The Remote File Lock acts as a vault for confidential information that you can initiate via the Trend Micro website to lock down your laptop if you happen to lose it; while Transaction Guard offers you peace of mind to bank online or shop online with a virtual keyboard.
Registered users also get to enjoy security for their mobile phones, including smart phones (except those operating on the Palm platform), stopping spam and viruses which can be sent and received via text messages or Bluetooth.
Installation on PCs will set guards such as Spam filters and Data Theft prevention automatically and prompt a check for Microsoft vulnerabilities that need to be addressed.
Any unusual software changes or suspicious PC behaviour related to spyware will be noted along with the system changes that have taken place.
The Firewall settings can changed for the different places a user may visit, for instance wireless network, office, home, direct internet; and the system will automatically detect the new environment, prompting the user to accept a change in security settings.
Trend Micro also has a network monitor to check on other PCs that join your network, sending an alert for you to allow or block that PC and those that are trusted will get a 'health check' as well.
Users can choose to set an Email Spam filter and Website filter against spoof domains - but this means sending data from your PC to online databases - which the security system will pre-warn you about.
The 2007 Security Suite also offers Data Theft prevention by preventing the transmission of private information such as credit card numbers, user ID, passwords, even address and telephone numbers through email and instant messaging without the user's approval.
Turning it on will require you to enter some of the confidential information.
But what if it's on your laptop and you lose it ? That's when you'll be glad you signed up to enjoy Remote Lock offered online.
With Trend Micro working closely with Microsoft, those who are contemplating the switch to Vista will be glad to know that there will be few conflicts to contend with.
Norton by Symantec is a familiar name and many may have it as a free installation after buying a new PC or laptop.
When the program is in need of an update,some of you may choose the continue with what's already there. But be prepared for some tricky installation/uninstallation especially if the software is on its last legs.
If you have an expired Norton or another program, you'll enjoy a quick trip through Internet Security 2007.
I even installaed an additional program, Norton Confidential which basically offers added protection when doing online transactions, and found no conflicts at all.
The easy to read Protection Centre even showed up both Programs, their settings and logs as well as a general overview of the PC's health.
Like the other two Security suites, settings were automatically defined to detect and protect against viruses and spyware and includes checks on removable media, email and instant messaging, although this needs to be manually set by identifying which messenger service.
The Norton program will also act against Dialers, Joke programme, Remote access, Hack access, and Trackware.
When the software was installed on the test PC, a key logger program was detected and blocked even before a Quick Scan was started.
Also like the previous two security suites tested, users can choose to run a scan before or after installing the complete protection system but as always you will need to have a lot of time on your hands.
The impatient can choose the Quick Scan which took less than 5 minutes to run through almost 10,000 items on the test PC.
The program offers a security inspector which checks for common security weakness and will check brower settings, IP addresses, passwords and instant messenging to indicate even if you have a weak password.
What I like is the hard to miss taskbar installed just under your Internet browsing page. It shows clearly the status of the websites you visit, when the site is being checked, whether there are potential risks lurking or if the site and links are Norton authenticated ones, so you can transact or move about securely.
Since phishing, spam, spyware and viruses are common these days, all three offer protection against them with real-time scanning, along with active Firewalls.
They also go deeper into the system to weed out Rootkits.
All the programs were tested on ease of installation since most users are more inclined to having software that can do all the work on its own.
But sometimes you also find that there's a glitch that requires you to un-install the product. Here Trend Micro proved friendly and Norton, even friendlier - prompting the user to automatically turn on the Windows firewall, so you can still have some level of protection without its security software, talk about being responsible and security-focused.
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