In addition to having up to date anti virus software...

//WINDOWS USERS: RUN WINDOWS UPDATE WHEN PROMPTED, and once a week even if not prompted!! You will sometimes see a flashing icon in the lower right corner of your taskbar, or a message asking if you want to run Update- say YES and GET THE LATEST SYSTEM PATCHES!!!!!

WINDOWS & OS X Users: NEVER use auto login- ALWAYS set a password- a STRONG ONE:
Minimum 8 characters
use punctuation
no common words, no words in the dictionary
use mixed case
use letters AND numbers

/Don't use Outlook or Outlook Express! It's a major contributor to virus outbreaks. See why.

/ DON'T OPEN ATTACHMENTS YOU'RE NOT EXPECTING.

/ The only GUARANTEED way to avoid email viruses is to use PINE.

/ Windows users: password limit or disable file sharing. Not all viruses spread through email.

/ Never open an attachment that ends in ".vbs" or in a double extension like ".pif.txt."WINDOWS USERS: your system might not be set to show you file extensions. To turn this on:
    95/98/NT:
1. right-click on My Computer; choose "explore."
2.from the View menu choose "folder options."
3.click the View tab. UNcheck the box next to "hide file extensions for known file types." Click OK.

    2000/XP:
1. Start | Settings | Control Panel/
2. double-click Folder Options.
3&4 same as instructions above for 95/98/NT.