Use an Anti- Virus Software:
Always use an Anti-virus software (like McAfee Virus scan, Norton Anti-Virus, AVG, Avast etc) which could protect your computer from viruses, worms and trojans. It is important to update your virus definitions to meet the current threat. A computer without anti-virus software is a house without roof. Since Internet become part of regular use, it is possible for your computer to infect by viruses, worms and trojans. If you don’t want to waste your money on paid softwares then i recommend you to use Free Avast Home Edition which i use for more than 2 years.

Use a Firewall:
When a computer doesn’t have a firewall it means an house doesn’t have a door. Nowadays cyberworld is filled with hackers, phishers and key loggers who trace your every activity in computer. Firewall is not just for corporate computers but even for personal computers.

Hackers can trace your internal IP address, steal your confidential data, trace your credit card numbers etc. So Firewall is a must for every computer that uses Internet. Firewall like McAfee Personal Firewall, Zone Alarm, Norton Internet security, McAfee Internet suite are recommended by Experts. Although ZoneAlarm Pro is reviewed as top ten, i personally feel Avast Anti-virus’s built in small Firewall. So don’t forget to install a firewall.

Stay away from Spy and Ad wares:
Spy and Ad wares are programs that are installed without the knowledge of an user by means of bypassing or any cross-section of programs. They are created for the purpose of displaying ads, redirecting your search results etc. Sometimes it takes control of your computer. When any of you visiting an untrusted porn site or an underground site, unknowingly an ad ware or spy ware will be installed in your computer which takes control of your entire computer. In order to remove and stop further installation of spy ware, there are many anti-spywares available but i recommend Ewido Anti-Spyware to take control of those junks.

Downloading from Untrusted Site:
It is strongly recommended not to download any files from a non trusted site or from unknown person when it is received as attachment in email. The spread of sober worm had already infected more than 68,000 computers every day. Go to hackerwatch.org to learn more. If a file is downloaded from internet, run a virus scan on that file and then try to open it. Open file sharing (P2P) software should be used under certain care and precautions. Be careful about downloading files from crack or serials sites they may some time contain viruses or worms.

Online Social Networking and Shopping Hazards:
Social networking and chatting are nowadays become fun and a hobby, while chatting or instant messaging do not give away your confidential information like credit card numbers, bank account numbers, Passwords etc. Sites like Orkut, Myspace, Hi5, Friendster became familiar among youths and teens but they highly affect personal privacy when they use it against TOS. Never pay for anything via credit card in internet unless it is a secured site. A secured site can be identified by its encryption and certification. It starts with https whereas others start with http where the s denotes secured. Some Secured shopping sites include Google Checkout, Yahoo Shopping, Amazon etc and partially Ebay.

Protecting your Privacy:
Everyone wants to protect thier privacy in someway. Unforunately its exposed at large level among cyberusers. In order to protect your privacy always make it confidential and privileged. Especially protect your privacy from spammers and phishers.

Update your OS:
For windows XP users it is recommend to install service pack 2 and update security patches by setting the automatic updates to true. Since the release of windows XP in 2003, there have been some bugs and fixes that need to be patched so turning the automatic updates in windows XP system would protect your computer.