There's always a risk to using a public computer. It might have surreptitiously-installed software on it that will capture the passwords you enter - a catastrophe if you do any online banking, or even if you want to keep your email account private.

I gathered together a bunch of portable Internet programs and tools to check out the computer you're using in an Internet café. As well as Firefox, Thunderbird, Pidgin (formerly Gaim) and CCleaner, I added a number of other programs which will make the use of a public computer a safer and more secure experience.

There are two versions - one for the more technical types, which includes KeePass, Neo's SafeKeys, KeyScrambler, TCP View, Hostess and ClamWin AV, and another for the ungeeky (ordinary users who just want to send messages, check online banking, etc) which has only KeePass secure password store and Neo's SafeKeys (an onscreen keyboard which is safe from keyboard-event-logging trojan horses, unlike Windows' built-in mouse keyboard). Each should give you a layer of protection from password-stealing software installed on the computer you are using, and each will run from your USB flash drive without being logged in as an administrator.

Both versions have my own help document (16 pages in PDF) with guidance for the programs' use, and other tips on staying safe online.

It's all contained in a little launcher, which speeds up selecting the various programs. It is entirely free to use and contains free and - as far as possible - open-source software.

Read more about it here