Sign-in seals are a new safeguard from Yahoo!. They help you fight online phishing scams (people trying to trick you into giving up your password or personal information by spoofing legitimate web sites). They're also pretty darn fun — a breath of fresh air in today's stern world of online security.

Here's how your sign-in seal works: You provide us with an image (such as a personal photo) or a secret message. Whenever we ask you to sign into Yahoo!, we'll display your image or message. If it's not displayed, you may have landed on a "spoofed" site. It only takes a minute to create your sign-in seal.

Note: Your sign-in seal is unique to the computer that you create it on. So if you use more than one computer or browser, you'll want to create a sign-in seal for each one. Also, don't create a sign-in seal on a computer you share with strangers, such as those in libraries, Internet cafés, and other public places.