Wireless networks are convenient but there are justified concerns about security; unauthorised people using the network and stealing personal information.

Wireless Security looks simple to use, sporting a graphical menu for setting everything up rather than fiddling with complicated router settings. The £18 asking price allows the software to be used on up to three computers.

The problem is, we had trouble setting up one. Starting with a computer that was already connected to the correct wireless network, Wireless Security turned off the Windows configuration utility but kept the wifi connection.

When the computer was rebooted, it made an arbitrary (and wrong) decision about which network to connect to, and refused to connect to the correct network without some serious manual tweaking.

Once a wireless network is secured it can only be accessed by computers running Wireless Security. However, a similar blocking facility can be achieved by setting up MAC filtering on the router. This also has the advantage of allowing non Windows devices such as media streaming hardware to connect wirelessly.

Given how difficult Wireless Security is set up and that it doesn't offer much more protection than what's included with most routers, it's extremely hard to recommend.

Vista compatible: Yes