Now let's have some real rules, provided to you by a computer professional who spends every day of his working life dealing with systems and people who have real-world security issues. *
1: Anti-virus software is your last and least important line of defence. If your AV software is doing anything at all apart from slowing your machine down and creating potential compatibility issues, then you need to examine your routine: you are screwing up somewhere along the line.
1B: Norton, McAfee and Trend (the big three) are amongst the least effective, most intrusive, most performance-robbing packages on the market. There are at least two reasons for this: (a) they are designed this way in order to appeal to people who know little about computers but spend lots in computer supermarkets, and (b) because they have significant market share, they are always the first ones to be targeted by any new malware.
1C: Look at the smaller, more nimble, less targeted AV products if you want effective protection. There are several excellent ones.
2: The best firewalls are hardware firewalls, hands down.
2B: If you are using a software firewall instead, less is more. The built-in Windows XP firewall is, in most respects, superior to the third-party add-on ones. In particular, it has zero administrative overhead, and any firewall you have to do administration work on is an insecure firewall. (Unless you are an IT expert with some knowledge of security matters.)
2C: Don't use wireless anything. There are just too many ways for people to hack into wireless networks. A network cable costs $5. Use it.
3: Spam has nothing at all to do with security.
4: If you do not recognize the sender - delete it. Absolutely right! And even if you do recognise the sender, consider deleting it anyway. Email is still the #1 cause of virus infection. Most infections come from someone you know.
5: Never auto-open anything. Spot on.
6: Always use a safe, modern browser. The single biggest source of spyware infection, and a not insignificant source of virus infection, is Internet Explorer. Always use one of the safe, modern browsers (Firefox, Opera, or Seamonkey). Always.
6A: If you really, really, have to fileshare (Limewire and etc.) be very careful! Filesharing is dangerous.
7: Check periodically for malware. Sure. Good advice.
8: Too good to be true usually is. Yes.
9: It has got nothing to do with PC vs Mac. It's Windows vs everything else. Rough rule of thumb, regard a Linus or Free BSD system as most secure, Mac next, Windows system least secure.
* That bloke I mentioned earlier, the one who has worked for many years in the field and knows a thing or two about security: me.
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