One of the best defenses against security threats is a good offense, and we want to help you take the offensive by having the latest security software installed on your computer. Today, we are announcing a year-long partnership with McAfee to offer all 350 million people who use Facebook the ability to download a six-month subscription to McAfee security software at no cost, along with a special discount once the six months are over.

You can take advantage of this offer by visiting the Protect Your PC tab on the McAfee Page on Facebook.

We're committed to doing everything we can to help you protect your account and make your experience on Facebook as safe and enjoyable as possible. We invest in dedicated teams and advanced technical systems that detect and block suspicious behavior. When we find a message with a link to a fake login page or other malicious website, we prevent it from being sent and delete all instances of it from the site. We also work with third parties to get malicious sites added to browser blacklists or removed completely.

For the rare case in which an account is compromised, we've developed a unique process that requires the account owner to take steps to secure the account and learn security best practices. We've also incorporated custom McAfee software into this process for people identified as having infected computers. Now, if your computer is infected, you will be asked to run a scan like the one shown below and clean it before accessing Facebook. We're not aware of another free Internet service that takes this much responsibility for helping people keep their accounts secure.

We have a lot of control over security measures on Facebook. However, we don't control other websites and services you visit that might infect your computer. For this reason, we recommend that you install updated security software, which you can now do at no cost through this partnership, and that you always follow these safe practices:

• Don't open attachments in emails that look suspicious or come from an unknown or untrustworthy source.
  
  
• Don't open attachments unless you know what they are, even if they're from friends.
  
  
• Delete chain mail and spam from your email and Facebook inboxes.
  
  
• Be cautious when downloading files from the Internet.
  
  
• Be cautious of any message, post or link you see on Facebook that looks suspicious, requires an additional login, or asks you to download or upgrade software.
  
  
• Use an up-to-date browser that features an anti-phishing blacklist. Some examples include Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3.0.10.
  
  
• Choose unique logins and passwords for each of the websites you use.
  
  
• Check to see that you're logging in from a legitimate Facebook page with the facebook.com domain.
  

Become a fan of the Facebook Security Page to receive more tips, updates on the latest threats and other information to help you protect your computer and online accounts.