I’m often asked why cyber criminals want to hack or infect a personal computer. This is an old article, but it illustrates the many ways criminals can monetize your hacked computer:
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/10/the-scrap-value-of-a-hacked-pc-revisited/I wrote a checklist of sorts a while back that gives some basic advice for making your computer more secure, you can take a look here:
http://eve.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=163:how-to-minimize-your-chances-of-catching-viruses-or-malware-on-the-internet&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=64
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/10/the-scrap-value-of-a-hacked-pc-revisited/I wrote a checklist of sorts a while back that gives some basic advice for making your computer more secure, you can take a look here:
http://eve.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=163:how-to-minimize-your-chances-of-catching-viruses-or-malware-on-the-internet&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=64