Viruses are no good for your health or for you computer. Just as you wash your hands to ward away sickness, there are a few things you can do to keep viruses out of your computer. For one, be very careful when opening emails. We mean it. Viruses are savvy and intelligent and can arrive at your inbox in a seemingly harmless attachment. If you don't know the sender, don't open the attachment. It's simple and it's effective.

Next, IMs are the culprit. Instant messaging is great. It's fun, quick and a nice distraction from homework, errands and other life stresses. However, don't accept attachments through the IM waves either. Unless the sent information is a crucial document from your best friend, there's no reason to accept unsolicited materials through the IM waves. Again, like email attachments, IM attachments are teeming with viruses, spyware and harmful computer applications.

Those are two all two common modes of malware transmission. Take our advice on IMs and email attachments and you will prevent many unwanted Internet predators