Ars Technica recently published a good article on (personal) computer security.

For the most part of us Windows users, this is a must-read which can save oneself from serious trouble.

The technique is not new, but the good ol' proven and tested:

• get yourself a good-enough antivirus (my choice: AVG)
• get yourself a good-enough firewall (Vista's)
• get yourself a good-enough anti-spyware app (Windows Defender)
• put a router between your computer and the internet
• don't download untrusted/unknown software (applications nor games). Instead, document yourself first (i.e. check if the app is considered as trustworthy, virus-free, etc => most of the times, a google search with the app's name is enough)

Still, it is important to keep everyone up to date with today's techniques and applications. The article itself is available here.