Your laptop is vulnerable to hackers and crooks. There are things you can do to protect yourself and your laptop.

Create a virtual sheild. Buy or find and use AntiVirus softare. I use the excellent AVG AntiVirus program and it is free. At work we use Norton Antivirus. Use an Anti-Spy software package. We include AdaWare on the laptops we sell. Microsoft purchased a spyware bought a company and repackaged their applications and are now providing it to customers. Add a Firewall program. Microsoft has one and there are a number of other commercial packages.

Beware of phonies. Companies and individuals pretend they are sending a message from Ebay, PayPal or others and ask for passwords and other personal information. Never, ever give it out. Sometimes they will install spyware on your program or that can steal information from your computer. Never open a link unless you feel comfortable it is safe to do so. Make sure thata the padlock icon is there and look for a seal from the BBB or Truste. Don't ever respond to unsoliced offers for free screen savers as you will wind up with pop-ups and some are very, very difficult to get off your laptop. If you get a message to update your account, instead call the company on the phone to verify it is a legitimate request and not a fraud about to steal your valuable account information.