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Computer Security Tip 1

Protect your personal information. It's valuable.

Why? To an identity thief, it can provide instant access to your financial accounts, your credit record and your other personal assets

If you think no one would be interested in your personal information, think again. The reality is that anyone can be a victim of identity theft. In fact, according to a Federal Trade Commission survey, there are almost 10 million victims every year. It's often difficult to know how thieves obtained their victims' personal information, and while it definitely can happen offline, some cases start when online data is stolen. Visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft to learn what to do if your identity is stolen.

Unfortunately, when it comes to crimes like identity theft, you can't entirely control whether you will become a victim. But following these tips can help minimize your risk while you're online:

• If you're asked for your personal information – your name, e-mail or home address, phone number, account numbers, or Social Security number – learn how it's going to be used, and how it will be protected, before you share it.

• Don't open unsolicited or unknown e-mail messages. If you do get an e-mail or pop-up message asking for personal information, don't reply or click on the link in the message.

To avoid opening such messages, you can turn off the "Preview Pane" functionality in e-mail programs, and you can set your default options to view opened e-mails as plain text to avoid active links or pop-ups in the messages.

Most important, do not to respond to solicitations for your personal or financial information. If you believe there may be a need for such information by a company with whom you have an account or placed an order, contact that company directly in a way you know to be genuine.

Never send your personal information via e-mail because e-mail is not a secure transmission method.

Most e-mail programs have e-mail filters built-in to the application.