Be careful with commercial transactions on the web. If you are buying goods or services, use common sense. Make sure you know with whom
you are completing the transaction. Verify their identity independently (e.g. check directory assistance or the Better Business Bureau to verify
the business exists). 

Guard your password. Don’t share it with anyone. Once you have shared it, you no longer have control over how your account is used. Don’t write your password down or include it in a login script. 

Limit the amount of personal information you share. There could be thousands of people reading your postings, lists or newsgroup sites.
Some services archive newsgroup messages indefinitely, providing key-word search capabilities to find anything that anyone ever posted on a public newsgroup site. 

Consider how much personal information you include in your e-mail signature file. Is your home telephone number or address really necessary? 

Update your virus protection software regularly, or when new virus alerts are announced. 

Do not download files sent to you by strangers or click on hyperlinks from people you don’t know. 

Use a firewall program, especially if you use a high-speed Internet connection like cable, DSL, or T-1, which leave your computer connected to the Internet 24 hours a day. 

Try not to store financial information on your laptop unless absolutely necessary. 

Delete personal information before you dispose of a computer.