The problem with security software is that they rely on the latest definition updates to protect your computer. Install and use free anti-virus software and you may find that you have to manually update your definitions. If you forget, you may find you’re not protected. The worst case scenario is that you’re infected with a Trojan, reboot your computer and find that you can’t get back in to your machine. You could boot back in to Windows Vista, if you have the restore CD, but you still need to be able to remove the infection.

Some Internet security suites ship with a bootable restore CD, but not many. How many of us actually realise we have the option to create a restore CD? It’s not always made obvious within the software.

For this reason, it might be a good to look at an alternative and one provided by a reputable third party.

The developers behind Spybot are working on a restore CD for Windows 2000, XP or Vista with the aim of booting in to a basic operating system that would enable you to check your installed operating system and check for possible virus, Trojans or spyware.