Whether you’re filing your tax return electronically, downloading forms or e-mailing your accountant, identity thieves are ready to pounce on any Social Security numbers, addresses and bank account numbers you may unknowingly divulge.

While tax preparation software such as Intuit Inc.’s TurboTax is safe to use, files stored on your computer are still vulnerable to hackers.

“People don’t realize that they accidentally expose such sensitive information,” said Todd Feinman, chief executive of New York-based computer security firm Identity Finder LLC. “Maybe it’s a file on your desktop called ‘tax form’ that someone could find through peer-to-peer music- or file-sharing, or a downloaded virus that does nothing but search for those specific types of documents.”

Feinman offers these tips for keeping your information secure during the tax season:

•Password-protect all tax returns that you print to PDF from your tax software so that Social Security numbers and financial information are protected.

•Configure all peer-to-peer file-sharing programs to disable the sharing of your personal folders.

•Never e-mail forms with your Social Security number, or even files used to prepare tax returns if they already contain personal information. If you need to send forms to your accountant, leave your Social Security number out to be written in just before sending the form to the IRS.

•Delete e-mails purporting to be from the IRS that require personal information to process a return, rebate or refund.

The IRS will not contact you by e-mail, so this would likely be a phishing attack.

•Install the latest updates to your operating system so known Windows or Mac vulnerabilities can’t be exploited by hackers.

•Any financial documents containing personal information that were used to prepare tax returns should be permanently deleted from your computer or encrypted with a password.

•Don’t save passwords in Web browsers when accessing banks and other institutions, as they can be stolen if you ever get a virus, Trojan, or are hacked.