Strong passwords are your friend.

A strong password is the equivalent of a deadbolt on a door. The more difficult it is to gain entrance to your accounts, the safer your accounts are. Make your passwords difficult to figure out, by using a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters, and most importantly, change them regularly.

Be wary of clicking links in email or instant messages.

Viruses spread easily through links in instant messages and email attachments. Even if you know and trust the person who sent it, it’s possible the link is infected and the sender is unaware of it.

In fact, be wary of clicking links, period.

Free toolbars, popup windows offering freebies, sidebar ads on websites, links in public forums – clicking any of these could open your computer to a host of issues. Just don’t do it. That free trial of a new game isn’t worth it.

Bookmark important sites.

If there are sites you visit regularly, it’s a good idea to bookmark them in your browser. A mistyped address could take you to a false site that mirrors the site you intended to go to, but with malicious code that can harm your computer and compromise your information. Bookmarked addresses take you to the same site every time.