* If you bank by phone, don’t store account numbers and passwords on your phone.

* Don’t open emails or attachments from people you don’t know.

And if someone wants to give you something for free, Alan Edwards of Whitehorse Technology Solutions says to be wary. "The first thing to think about is basic economics. If I’m being given something for free… why?"

But common sense is a poor substitute for good security:

*Activate your computer’s firewall.

*Install reputable anti-virus and anti-malware software.

*Use strong passwords, which means avoid using your name, your birthday or personal information.

Whitehorse Technology recommends starting with a phrase you’re familiar with - then use the first letters of each word in the phrase to create your password.

*In this case AFaHMaSP. To make it stronger - add a special character, numbers or both.

Even then, good security measures can only do so much, said criminology student Ted Wilson.

“Anything can be exploited, it’s just a question of whether or not a hacker actually wants to take the time to overcome whatever type of security measures you have,” said Wilson.

Consider a recent example involving the secretive government of Iran. Security expert Edwards said hackers managed to infiltrate the country’s top secret nuclear program using the old USB flash drive trick.