You need to be careful when it comes down to protecting your data in the computer. As long as your computer gets internet access, the data in your computer is at great risk from web browsers and spyware. You can get rid of the threats to your computer by making sure that it is safe and secure. Believe it or not but hackers can get access to your computer and get important information from you. Moreover, hackers can also place viruses in your computer.

Follow these tips to make sure that your computer is safe:

• Create strong passwords for the different users of the computer. The password should contain a minimum of seven characters that should include lower case, upper case and it should also be alpha-numeric. To create a strong password, you should not just use uppercase in the beginning. You should also use upper case in the middle of the password.
• Your computer system should have a firewall installed so that hackers will not be able to break in to your computer. Basically, a firewall is a hardware or software device that is designed to find out remote or unauthorized access to your computer. It also prevents the hackers from accessing your computer. The firewall will also note down the address from where the hacker is trying to access your computer.
• You have to install anti-virus software in your computer in order to prevent viruses from attacking your system. Make sure that you scan your computer with this software program to ensure that your computer is free from viruses.
• You should be very careful when it comes to adware and spyware. These are programs that gather information and advertise products; these programs are installed in the system without the knowledge of the user, for the purpose of marketing.
• If your computer has ‘hidden shares’ then make sure that you disable this. Generally, this is present in Windows XP and Windows 2000. If you do not disable this then important data from your computer can be copied, altered or deleted.
• You have to change or modify the security settings of your computer. Computers are occasionally infected with ActiveX code. You can prevent any problem from arising by changing the default security of your system to high.
• Instead of using the popular web browsers such as Internet Explorer or email clients like Outlook Express, you should make use of other options such as Mozilla Firefox and Eudora, to name just two.