These three solutions-- which are as important for businesses as they are for individuals-- address the most common problems that people face.

It's the simple things that get you, and the simple things that can save you. Sure there are more advanced precautions you can and should take, but you can't go wrong starting with these simple steps. (My book, Corporate Espionage, discusses most of the other security procedures that will protect you from most determined attacks.)

One of the biggest threats to a computer is a poor power supply. The supply doesn't yield a steady stream of electricity. Power spikes run rampant over the power lines and literally fry the components of the computer. A surge protector prevents those power spikes from reaching your computer and can save you thousands of dollars of damage.

A good surge protector will also have a plug for your modem line. Power spikes over telephone lines are more common than electrical power surges. To use this feature, plug the telephone cable connected to your modem into the output port of the surge protector. Then, plug the surge protector into the wall outlet. With that simple step, you'll save yourself hundreds of dollars in repairs and replacements.

Think that you have a good steady power supply and don't have to worry about power surges? Consider lightning. Lightning can strike anywhere-- and power and telephone lines are made to conduct this electricity.

One lightning strike can cost you thousands of dollars if you don't have surge protectors in place. To save yourself potential grief, you should also consider buying surge protectors for your other expensive electrical equipment, including your stereo and TV.

Surge protectors protect against power spikes, but are of little help when the power goes out. Disk crashes usually occur because of a sudden loss of power. You can also lose hours or days of work, because you didn't save your work before the power loss. A UPS keeps power going for a short period of time so you can save your work and shut down the system gently.

Some uninterruptible power systems also have a serial cable, which plugs into your computer and tells the computer to shut itself down at the loss of power. This feature is handy for situations where you leave the computer on for long periods, unattended

Before the Internet, viruses were transferred primarily through floppy disks. If you didn't exchange software with people, you didn't have to worry. Today, you can become infected via email. You can inadvertently download a virus while browsing the Web. If you work with your computer attached to a local area network, the risk grows even larger.

To give you an idea of the scope of the problem, the National Computer Security Association surveyed companies and found that 98 percent of all companies reported being victims of some kind of virus, with the average loss being more than $8,000 per incident.

 That's 98 percent. Every company must use and update antivirus software-- and so must individuals.

What would happen if your Quicken file was lost? What would happen if your term paper was lost? What is the aggravation factor just for having to figure out what you have lost?

Just having the software is one thing. You should make sure that you configure your software to scan at system boot up, and to stay running in memory so that every program is checked before execution.

Also make sure that you update your "definition file" on a monthly basis. New viruses come out every month, and old antivirus definition files can do nothing about the new viruses. Antivirus vendors usually update these files on a monthly basis.

When implemented, these files can protect you from just about every known virus. You can download the updates through online services, like CompuServe or America Online.

You can also get the updates over the Internet, or through the vendor's BBS. Sure, it takes some time to download the file, but those are some of the most valuable minutes of your computer's life.

        Backup, Backup, Backup
You can lose data because of power spikes and viruses. You can also lose data to hackers. You can also make stupid mistakes, which are really the biggest threat to computer-based information.

One security precaution-- regular backups-- minimizes the damage from all sources. As long as you have a backup, you can recover.

If you are using Windows 95, all you really have to back up is your My Documents directory. If you have other systems, you can make it a habit to create a specific directory where you put all of your personal files. That way, you only have to back up a single, relatively small directory.

Too many people think that they have to back up their whole system. You can reload computer applications from the installation disks if the files become corrupt, so you don't have to back them up. Concentrate on saving the data files. In many cases, you can back up all of your data files on a single floppy disk.

I have been guilty of not performing backups myself, but I almost inevitably end up paying the price. In one case, I lost a term paper when my disk drive failed hours before the paper was due. I lost months of work. Unfortunately, that was only one example of when I lost data. I'm sure that you have similar tales of loss, when you wish you had a recent backup.

In general, I would say that you should perform backups at least once a week. If you have something that is valuable, that changes on a daily basis, I would back it up at least once a day.