Step 6: Keep Viruses at Bay

Though the threat posed by computer viruses -- small software programs that can harm your programs and data -- is sometimes overblown in the popular press, it is still real. And as online usage grows, you'll become more vulnerable to viruses transmitted via the Internet.

Virus protection software works at many levels. It can scan every disk you put into your floppy drive and check every program for a hidden virus -- before you run the program. It can even scan all the files on your hard disk for viruses. With the viruses being sent via email nowadays, users should configure their virus utility to run when they start up their computer.

If you do not have an anti-virus utility on your computer, you should go to one of the online antivirus utilities to scan your system.