If I wanted to infect your computer with a virus, how would I do it? Let's see. How about downloads? Since the most popular download sites are those offering music/mp3's and movie downloads, I could simply imbed a virus in the download.

Only download from trusted sources. Some websites offer free downloads but not out of the goodness of their hearts. Always set your anti-virus software to scan the download while in progress or, in the case of a program that you will install later, before you open it.

If you have kids or other people that use your computer to download, either instruct them in proper use of the computer or supervise them while they are online. (Nobody wants to find out that their banking information was compromised because someone downloaded "I Ain't Your Hollaback Girl" from a site that included a virus in the download.)

Since so many people don't even have anti-virus software in this day and age and many that do have some sort of software don't even bother to update the virus definitions on a regular basis, my job would be so much easier.

Of course, scanning a program assumes you have anti-virus software. If you don't, you shouldn't be allowed to have Internet access, since you could have a virus and not know it and spread it to other people without knowing.

If your anti-virus program allows, set it to check for updates automatically every day when you log on. Otherwise, write a reminder to check everyday manually on a sticky note and post it on your monitor.

Even if you don't want to buy a subscription to Norton or McAfee or any number of available anti-virus programs, there are free versions available on the Internet, such as AVG. Do a Google search for "free antivirus software" and get protected today!

Of course, I also have the option of probing the ports on your computer for vulnerabilities that I can exploit later.

What? What's a port? A port is a virtual opening on your computer that allows a program to pass information back and forth from your computer to the Internet or a network. For instance, most Internet access uses Port 80. However, there are close to 65,000(!) ports on your computer available. Think about it.

The safest way to protect yourself is with a firewall. For those of you with broadband connections always "on", a firewall is an absolute necessity. For those of you on dial-up, it is optional, but certainly a good idea, especially since there are many good free ones available for download, like Zonealarm.

One thing to keep in mind when choosing a firewall is that you want the program to keep you "stealthy", that is, you want anyone looking for a computer to exploit to not know that you are there. Like the game Marco Polo that kids play in the pool, whenever the exploiter program yells "Marco", you don't want your computer to reply "Polo" and find out where you are.

Okay, so you've got some programs on your computer, but if you are using Windows, I have other friends helping me find ways to get to you.

Microsoft, being the largest software company, attracts the largest numbers of people probing for weaknesses in their software. Sometimes, unfortunately, Microsoft's ego prevents them from making timely upgrades for the consumer. Even so, if you are using Windows, you should set the program up for Automatic Updates, which checks every day for critical and security updates for your version of Windows.

Beyond getting the updates from Microsoft, you should also have a firewall, anti-virus software, and even anti-spyware software installed on your computer to prevent yourself from becoming another victim of Internet malevolence.