Today, more people are using their computers for everything, from communication to online banking and investing to shopping. When we do things on a regular, we open ourselves up to potential hackers and crackers attack. Although some might steal your information and identity for resale, others simply want to use the computer as a tool to attack an unknown target. Here are some effective steps you can take to make your computer more secure.

1. Always make a backup and store important information in a safe place separate from your computer to an external hard disk.
2. Update and patch your operating system, web browser and software. If you have a Windows operating system, start by going to update www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com and run the wizard. This program will help you find the latest patches for your Windows computer. Also go to www.officeupdate.microsoft.com to find possible patch for your Office programs.
3. Install a firewall. Without a good firewall, viruses, worms, Trojans, malware and adware can all easily access your computer from the Internet. Consideration should be given to the benefits and differences between hardware and software based firewall programs.
4. Notice browser and email settings for optimum security. Why are you doing this? Active-X and JavaScript are often used by hackers to inject  malicious programs into your computer. While cookies are relatively harmless in terms of security, they still track your movements on the Internet to build your profile.
5. Installing antivirus software and enable the automatic updates so that you receive the latest version.
6. Do not open unknown email attachments. That's not enough that you may recognize the address from which it originates because many viruses can spread from a familiar address.
7. Do not run the program from its origin is unknown. Also, do not send these types of programs to  your friends  because they contain funny stories or jokes. They may contain a Trojan horse waiting to infect your computer.
8. Disable hidden filename extensions. By default, the Windows operating system is set to "hide extensions for known file types". Disabling this option to display the file extension in Windows. Some file extensions will, by default, continue to remain hidden, but you are more likely to view the file extension is not unusual owned.
9. Turn off your computer and disconnect from the network when not using the computer. A hacker can't attack your computer when you are disconnected from the network or the computer is turned off.

Consider to make a boot disk on CD if your computer is damaged or infected by malicious programs. Obviously, you need to take this step before you experience any problems on your system.