A brand new anti-hacking product is about to be launched to protect the small business and home user against the threat of hackers.

Blackice Defender claims to inspect inbound and outbound traffic, detect intruders and keep them from accessing your computer system.

Hacker attacks on home users are pretty rare. So rare, I have doubts whether anyone needs to install a product like this on a home-based PC unless they are connected to the net 24 hours a day. Small business owners should be aware most instances of data loss can be attributed to employee/ insider activity, not external attack.

Price: £39.95 Contact: 01753 705140 Feel good factor 6/10 STUART IS SO COOL Stuart Little, the world's coolest mouse (pictured left) takes on the Big Apple in this fun-packed software title.

Aimed at youngsters from four up-wards, the four-inch film star, gets stuck in to some serious adventuring.

With five multiple-skill level games to choose, the young player does not have time to get bored.

Bright, attractive graphics and challenging activities combined with ease of use make this one of the most appealing children's software titles around. The game offers a lot of player satisfaction.

Price: £19.99 Available: Leading toy shops and games retailers Feel good factor: 7/10 LEARNING THE BASICS Dorling Kindersley titles are excellent value for money and their educational content is rarely in doubt.

This title, step five of the Learning Ladder, is no exception.

There is plenty to learn and do with top-quality graphics and layout to keep a child interested and busy.

Subjects covered include literacy, numeracy and science.

Punctuation, spelling, sentence construction, voc-abulary and grammar feature in the literacy section, fractions and decimals, volume, percentages and perimeter calcul-ations in the numeracy area. The 3D interactive science curriculum includes the earth in space, light sound and heat.

Price: £19.99 Contact: 0207 836 5411 Feel good factor 9/10