.htaccess – best friend or green eyed monster?

Ok, so I apparently need to “beef up” my .htaccess file(s) from their current default install. According to Google results and the WordPress Codex there is evil at every turn just waiting to attack my site. There are also a million things a .htaccess file can do (apparently), so what should a very good standard .htaccess file look like to be on the safe side?
Any responses are appreciated.