As PC World Editor, I like to set a good example to the troops, toiling on articles and juggling spreadsheets. But I also like Scarlett Johansson, and need to research where she came in People's Most Beautiful People 2007 list (first, fact fans).

3M's Privacy Filter provides a near magical solution.

It's a thin plastic sheet - like a wobble board made out of sunglasses stuff - that fits over your desktop or notebook screen. Sitting directly on, the picture on your monitor - be it Scarlett or, I guess, some kind of confidential document - looks completely normal. But if you move even a few degrees to the left or right, the screen looks dark, as if switched off. Your seat-mate on a plane, or neighbour in the next office pod, is blind to your secrets. I have no idea how 3M manages this. All they say is that they employ 'unique technology' (read the official guff here).

The Privacy Filter also blocks 95% of glare (well, it says that on the label, and from my use seems about right) and has an easy clean Scotch Guard surface.

The only downer is the mouth-watering price: 3M Privacy Filters start around $150 for a 15-inch model and head rapidly north as screen size expands.