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COLUMBIA (WACH) -- Trojan horses, viruses, spammers and scammers: It's enough to scare anyone who uses a computer.

Richard Hutchinson is glad he signed up for a free internet safety course sponsored by the Columbia Police Department. 

"Security wise, I am probably rated at about a five right now on a scale from 1 to 10, so yes, this is eye opening."

Hutchinson and his classmates studying several e-topics including the dangers of posting personal information on social networking sites and the wild world of wireless internet access.

The class is being taught by instructors from Fast Forward, at their office on Devine Street.  Fast Forward provides technology education for those who are under served by traditional programs.

Cyber pirates can strike when you least expect it.  If you're taking advantage of Wi-Fi at a coffee shop or restaurant, be sure to ask for that stores "network name" so the hackers can't get into your account.

"If it's your laptop or some other information they've gotten from you, know where you were standing at the time because that's agency that would have primary jurisdiction," says Columbia Police investigator Steve Narewski.

Narewski says stores offering the Wi-Fi may also take legal action against the hacker, so it's important to remember which network you were using. 

Armed with this information, Hutchinson says he'll make some security improvements to his PC.

"As far as being a person that uses the computer on a daily basis, I think you should take a class like this so you can be a lot safer."