If you're planning on using a wireless network, get a router with WPA2 encryption, and make sure to change the password.

As for others using your computer, give anyone physical access, they can easily do something extremely dumb, or really do anything to your computer, that you can. If you want to protect your files, encrypt and save them with a program such as Blowfish Advanced CS.

That's all I can really think about, as you don't want to be hogging your memory with extra crap, that you probably won't really need.

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Good by nature, but evil by my own free will.

Firefox 2.0 comes with anti-phishing, though there are concerns about false positives.

The router will act as your hardware firewall, as well as your safe-storage lock box. Of course, there are software firewalls, but having a software and hardware firewall, you're exponentially better-equipped to not getting cracked. Of course, a good router will come at a price, probably in the 150-250 range, but if you're really serious about staying secure, it's worth it (especially with the extra needs wireless has with it).

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Good by nature, but evil by my own free will.

I have all kinds of stickers and things on the outside of my laptop and I'm sure that those who see it will never ask to do anything but look at the screen. DO NOT let anyone "USE" your computer, there is no way to make anything IDIOTPROFF because idiots are so ingenius. You might think that you can hide or disable certain functions, and I'll bet you can't. I have serviced so many units that idiots took home and one of their kids got to it. Besides the accidental damages and such, things just get wacked out for some unknown reason. Unless you can trust the person you let use it, don't let them get near it. Either by intention or accident, I can just about predict a 100% event that will disable the unit. Is your laptop as personal as your toothbrush?? Do you loan that out??

As others have already mentioned, there's no foolproof way to protect your laptop from the carelessness of others, but a few things that work for me on limited "guest" accounts are:

Browser: Use Firefox 2.0 as the default browser, with as many of the security features enabled as possible. Disable the ability to download anything in the browser. Install the NoScript Add-On for Firefox, which stops malicious scripts from running. Hide IE in guest account.

Real Time Protection: NOD32 antivirus does an excellent job of catching stuff before it can do any real harm. I've found Webroot Spy Sweeper catches a lot of stuff that other anti adware/spyware programs miss. Enable all (12) shields. The Keylogger shield will slow your system down a little, but it's worth it for the extra protection. I've found that Sygate Personal Firewall does a great job, and it's free.

If your one of your friends complains about the occasional inconvenience of not being able to access a particular website, tell him/her to buy their own bloody laptop.

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SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.