There's an old adage, if you play with fire then you're bound to get burned. The same goes with internet safety. If you are determined to surf the danger sites and make the downloads, then you're bound to get an infection at some point. Here's some things to keep in mind to stay free of infection.
Remember, the best things in life are not always free. Here goes:
First and foremost, educate yourself about the dangers:
If you're reading this site then you're taking the first big leap. If you know the dangers that you can face, then the rest will fall into place. For any given situation, knowledge is always power.
Don't use Internet Explorer as a web browser:
Mozilla Firefox is by far the better browser when it comes to security but there are many others to choose from. See the section on free software under internet browsers for other options. Mozilla offers better (but still not perfect) pop up control and is less affected by scripts and known vulnerabilities.
Be careful of what you download and where you get it:
The use of file sharing software (P2P) like limewire or kazaa is commonplace now and these networks are a hackers dream. People like to download music, software, hacks and cracks etc. When you download a song or program through any P2P software, you are actually downloading from someone else's computer. You have no idea who that person is or what their intention is. Once you start a transfer, there is a direct linkup created from your computer to the computer you are downloading from and a simple DOS command called netstat can reveal your IP address. For a shot of realism, if you download a viral infected file through a P2P program and become infected with it, then you are an easy target. The person you downloaded from knows your IP address now and can make the attempt to access your pc.
Many people don't want to pay for software if they know they can get it for free, so they download it off the internet. The attraction is there and will always be. When it comes time to install the software, there's a good chance that a virus is sitting in the package and will only appear when the install is run.
Be careful of what sites you surf:
Many people look for hacks and cracks for demo games and software they download from the internet and generally end up at the typical crack and serial sites, the basic warez. I've found that almost all of these sites carry some sort of infectious payload, so it's user beware. If you're looking to do something that's not legal, you'll probably get bitten by a bug.
More often, people are adamant about surfing pornography sites, these are another common set of sites for viruses. I don't know how often I clean out computers that have hundreds of trojan infections due to the owner surfing porn, and they will not stop. I personally will not repeatedly clean their pc because of their habits. I clean it once, give them a list of do's and don'ts and I don't want to hear from them again for the same repeat offence.
Hacked or defaced websites are another common aspect of the web and it's impossible to know that a legitimate website has been hacked until you suffer the consequences. Have you ever gone to a site as a repeat user, knowing it's safe only to be redirected somewhere else? Next thing you know you're faced with hundreds of pop-ups, spyware being installed and multiple virus warnings?
Use Care When dealing with e-mail and attachments:
Viruses, trojans and spyware can infect your computer through email as file attachments, and you must be aware of this. What I recommend to the home users is to utilize webmail and most ISP's do supply you with this service. When you log into webmail to check email, you are actually logging into the source, not downloading anything to your computer. You can delete infected emails and spam safely and then download the rest of the clean email through your email client. Or if you choose, you can ditch the email client and strictly use the webmail system.
The major ISP webmail system links for the Edmonton area are as follows. Pick your ISP.
Telus - Shaw - Interbaun - Uniserve - Nucleus
Your username is typically your email address, but many people don't even know they have a password. If you're running outlook or outlook express, recovering the password is simple. Download pspv.zip from nirsoft.com, unzip it and run it. It will expose your email password(s) and any other passwords stored on your computer through internet explorer.
When dealing with sites that require logon:
Everywhere you go on the internet is recorded on your computer and the sites you visit are cached or stored to your system. This in itself is not a good thing if you don't want a spouse or your kids to know where you have been. If you check your hotmail account and read an email, these are stored as well. If someone were to roam your internet cache, they could actually read your emails.
Especially when you are finished with your secure online banking, always close your browser window and clear your internet cache. For help on doing this, use the following link.
http://support.lexis-nexis.com/lexiscom/record.asp?ArticleID=wg_cache
Information you type can be stored in your browser if you don't close it down and can be retrieved by sites that are harvesting information.
Make Backups of Important Files and Folders
I read a slogan a while back, not sure where but it said "any data you don't have 2 copy's of is data that's not important". This is very true yet so many people don't back up their computer systems at all. What if your hard drive died? Everything at that point is gone, and the chances are not good of getting it back. Or you got a serious virus infection that required a wipe and reinstall of your hard drive? Your data at this point could be compromised and you'd take a chance of returning it to your new installation.
Backups to DVD is probably one of the best and cost effective options for the home user. If you don't have a DVD burner, you can buy one for about $50.00 or less. The burners always come with burning software that you can use for backing up your data. Backing up to external hard drives is another great option as the price of drives is coming down. You can generally buy the hard drive and case for about $100.00 and they assemble easily. You can also buy a complete usb external hard drive kit that you just plug into your computer.
Thank you.
Management - Internetempowered.com
When it comes to Internet Safety - knowledge really is power.
Learn to Protect Yourself