Once a week

1. Back up your files and store them away from your computer. Frequent backups just make good sense. It's your protection against accidentally erasing information or a hardware failure, as well as from damage by hackers.
The more virulent types of attacks damage or infect your hard drive and you can lose valuable personal information. By backing up your data weekly you can help protect your important files, computer settings, and irreplaceable digital media such as photos of loved ones or special events.

2. Consider investing in separate storage media, such as portable external drive hardware and/or a CD burner. S Do remember to save ALL of your files in My Documents (it makes backing up a doddle).

3. Do make sure you have a recent backup before installing new software programs or updates.

4. Do rotate at least a couple of storage disks, to mitigate the risk of one disk becoming damaged or infected. Add the backup date to the label.

5. Do verify that you can read the backup disk, before considering this task complete.

6. Do store your backup disks away from your computer. If content is irreplaceable, consider a fireproof box or a safe deposit box.

7. Let your antivirus software scan your files. Schedule your antivirus software to conduct weekly scans. It can scan data files, executable files, and system files in any combination. If an infection is found, the antivirus software will repair or quarantine specific files. Contact your antivirus vendor's Web site for further clean-up instructions.
Check for software and antivirus signature updates. For those software programs for which you are not receiving automatic updates or notifications, check the software publishers' Web sites.

Once a month

1. Use Disk cleanup in XP to clean up and get rid of unwanted files taking up valuable space.

2. Defrag your System to maximise your Hard Drive, and speed up your system.

3. Create a system restore point even when you have system restore enabled.


Twice a year

1. Change your passwords. Keeping the same passwords increases the likelihood that someone else will discover your password.

2. Verify that your antivirus subscription is current. Treat it like car insurance. Don't let it lapse.

3. Reassess your situation. Your security and privacy needs might have changed due to who is using your computer, how it's being used, or new threats in the Internet ecosystem.