Are there any best practices for handling session variables in PHP to avoid unexpected changes?

When handling session variables in PHP, it is important to avoid unexpected changes by properly validating and sanitizing user input before storing it in session variables. Additionally, it is recommended to regenerate the session ID after a user logs in to prevent session fixation attacks.

// Start the session
session_start();

// Validate and sanitize user input before storing in session variables
$_SESSION['username'] = filter_var($_POST['username'], FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);

// Regenerate the session ID after a user logs in
session_regenerate_id();