Spam! spam! spam! spam! . . . if it had not been for Monty Python nobody would ever have thought there was anything funny about it. With almost 50 percent of the world’s email now junk mail, offering everything from unwanted penis extensions to stockmarket tips, spam has become as big a problem as viruses.

An interesting and secure way to share data, once you overlook some minor drawbacks.

Easy to use, and with space for a second SATA disk, but it struggles with small files and is overpriced for the features.

Not the best value, but this desktop NAS appliance offers good backup and webserver facilities.

It's expensive, but the YES Box successfully marries high-end and consumer features in a flexible and scalable device.

Devices that attach storage to the network aren't new, but until now they've been either very expensive or limited in ability. But this little marvel from Asus changes all that. The WL-HDD can put a hard disk on the network with no drivers or client software required, and it can do this wirelessly via 802.11g.

Packed with features, and with great performance, the only disadvantages are the price and the short warranty.

Plenty of features for such a small box. If you don’t already have a wireless router, this is a fantastic choice.

It's that time of year again when your Symantec security products start flashing at you for their annual update. This time Symantec has not only tweaked the performance of the various products that make up its security suite, but has also endeavoured to give them a new look.

A useful little NAS box with plenty of features and a compelling price.

Superb performance, quiet running and excellent value for home use, especially if you want to stream media.

Superpowered and workgroup friendly with great features, but with a steep learning curve for administrators. Find out what the "other" side of the server world looks like

Smart and easy to use, and can be positioned vertically or horizontally

USB 2.0 hard disks are a convenient way of backing up your data, but if you want to share the files with other computers over a small office or home network they're not ideal. But Linksys has an alternative. The Network Storage Link (NSL) takes a USB 2.0 hard disk or flash drive and puts it on the network.

Awesome! If you use a computer to store your music or movies (or both), you should check this one out

Ideal for a bedroom or kitchen, but it lacks the quality for streaming a music library.

Expensive but potentially very useful for those whose Wi-Fi has failed.

After conducting our DVD burner labs last month and seeing the emergence of cheap high-speed single format drives such as the Labs winning Ricoh and BenQ models at a mere $299, it's hard to go back to the $499 price tag of the Iomega drive.

Ideal for streaming music wirelessly or listening to Internet radio, but the iRadio suffers from a few design niggles.

You've got Gigabytes of music on your PC. You have an expensive stereo system in your lounge room. Enter the SqueezeBox Duet.