Recently, Russian hackers made off with 1.2 billion username/password combinations and over 500 million email addresses, in what the New York Times says is “the largest known collection of stolen Internet credentials.”

Here are a few simple but effective steps Forbes has shared that should be taken to protect yourself from hackers.

• Wi-Fi hotspots should be used with caution. The free Wi-Fi in your hotel lobby or the downtown coffee shop is never going to be secure, even if you have to ask for the password. Being free to the public makes them targets.
• Use a VPN, virtual private network, when going online. When you connect to a network, the internet and your computer communicate directly. This communication is not encrypted and anyone logging that traffic can see what you’re doing. A VPN interrupts this communication and encrypts the communication between it and your computer.
• Change all passwords when you think you may be at risk, and do not use the same password or username across multiple sites.