Your computer contains more personal information than you may realize. If you have ever purchased anything online, for example, your credit card number, billing address and other information are often stored automatically into your computer's memory. If you have ever done your taxes online, a copy of your returns may very well be downloaded into your computer. Plus, countless work and personal passwords that you use every day are also stored.

As a result, if you are not careful to protect your computer, you can put yourself at risk for hackers who can commit identity theft or steal money and information from you. By simply making your passwords more difficult, installing a secure network and investing in other types of spyware protection, you can save yourself from calling a local Washington, D.C. computer repair company in a panic because you need virus or spyware removal.

In fact, protecting our computers from hackers is more important than ever, Shawn Henry, one of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's top cyber officers, told The Wall Street Journal.

According to Henry, cyber criminals are much more talented than many individuals and businesses give them credit for. In particular, one of the biggest mistakes people can make is having a vulnerable network.

"We have found their [company] data in the middle of other investigations,'' Henry told the news source. "They are shocked and, in many cases, they've been breached for many months, in some cases years, which means that an adversary had full visibility into everything occurring on that network, potentially.''

If you are unsure about the security for your personal or company's wireless network, you may want to consider contacting a local computer repair company for secure network configuration assistance.