Keeping your computer safe and secure is an important step in protecting your personal and financial information. There are some steps you can take in order to make sure that your computer is safe. Some of these include using a firewall and keeping your software up to date. If you are using windows, windows 10 and windows 8 have a firewall already built in and automatically turned on. If you are using the Macintosh system, your computer will already have a firewall but will not be automatically turned on. This makes it easy for you to keep your data safe from the start. In addition, keeping your software up to date is imperative. This includes turning on automatic updates for the software that comes with your computer but also having it on for other apps that you regularly use. Another way to keep your device secure is to use antivirus software and keep that up to date as well. Many computers and software come with it already installed but you can install your own many times for a low cost. Kaspersky Total Security 2021, Norton Antivirus, and Malwarebytes are all good antivirus protection programs to use. You want to make sure to keep your passwords protected and ensure that they cannot be easily interpreted, while making sure that you do not use the same password for every account. Your passwords should contain at least 10 characters and include a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. The last two ways to protect your device are to not open suspicious links sent to you via email or even text. These can disguise themselves as trusted sources while really being malicious. Lastly, do not use USBs or other external devices unless you own them. They can have encrypted malware that can intercept and harm your computer.