The other day, a family friend proudly boasted of the multiple layers of security he had installed on his computer (partly on my advice) to keep hackers and Identity thieves at bay. He then made a comment, that with all these layers of defense in place, he can now sleep better knowing his identity is beyond the reach of thieves.

When I asked him how often he patched his computer in response to newly discovered vulnerabilities and Identity theft scams, his blank stare told me my work here was not yet done.

I guess he must have just taken the advice that suited him, because as I’ve been saying for years, your computer is not the only way hackers will try to steal your identity. In fact, countless studies have shown that many if not most identity thefts don’t involve a computer or even the Internet.

Don’t get me wrong, computers and the Internet are still a major Identity theft threat. Threats like phishing, pharming, keyloggers, spyware, and bots (short for “robot program,” designed to search the Internet, looking for information) are becoming much more sophisticated and much more likely to trap even the most cautious user.

Bots are a real risk, both to your personal computer and in the workplace. If the friend I mentioned is not regularly patching his computer, then he’s probably very vulnerable to having a bot sneak on to his computer, hijack it and without his knowledge use his computer to commit identity theft, hide pornography, share pirated software or send spam.

Email is also still a threat, whether it’s phishing emails designed to trick you into revealing your personal information, spam email that tries to sell you bogus goods (or worse), or the increasingly creative Nigerian 419 and lottery scams.

And one of the biggest threats I continue to see is other people using your computer, with or without your knowledge, but not using the same security care or attention that you might. This is especially true of kids who have little Identity theft awareness and no concerns about sharing electronic files even with complete strangers.

If you’re planning a vacation, don’t drop your guard. There are numerous stories of identity theft being committed by hotel workers (and even managers and owners), restaurant staff, and employees of rental car companies. And of course pickpockets and opportunists are always on the lookout for an unprotected wallet, purse, or suitcase.

So while protecting your computer and surfing activity is a very important component in avoiding identity theft, it’s not the only one. And you should sleep a lot better if you apply even just a little security in a lot of different places.