Post by Possum on Jan 18, 2010 21:20:49 GMT -5
Your INTERNET browser is just a program to make using the INTERNET more coherent and functional much like an operating system. The security will depend on what websites you visit and what safety practices you use that will deter evil doers.
Tips:
Have both a software and hardware firewall
software-windows firewall, outpost, norman etc.
hardware- most modems or routers today have a firewall built in this would act as a hardware firewall
always make sure you are on a secure web page before entering sensitive information like credit card numbers.
A secure web page will have https:// as opposed to the normal http://
Always log off accounts that contain sensitive info like your E-mail or bank site. Just closing the window can sometime leave you logged in which is much easier for someone to to gain access to those accounts
Never give out sensitive info to untrusted or unknown websites or individuals. Your bank will never ask you for your account information etc.
Never even open e-mails from unknown or untrusted individuals. If it looks like spam it is spam, if it isn't spam then they will e-mail you back with a more detailed title so you know it isn't spam.
Check your bank account weekly and make sure to look for suspicious activity and alert your bank at once. The sooner you report it the better chance you have to prevent from happening again.
Don't know about a website? Google it, if someone in the world who has been burned by that site has access to a forum or blog they will definitely let the WHOLE WORLD here about it.
safeguard your computer from viruses etc by having programs that specialize in each category that are know to work well with each other: malwarebytes(anti maleware), avg(antivirus), spybot(antispyware)
Never store personal or sensitive info on your main hard drive, Buy an external hard drive load the info on it then disconnect it from your computer and store the hard drive in a secure place like a safe.
Much like your house there is No impenetrable defense against bad people if someone wants in bad enough they will get in. The point is deterrence by making your computer as hard to crack as possible. This will make them move on to easier prey.
Well said. Firefox is a bit more secure but you still need anti-virus and fishing software if you are running it under Windows. The best thing to do to if you want to minimize your threat of such stuff is to follow whoosh's advice and also go to a different operating system such as Linux. It is less susceptible to viruses as most of them are written for the much more common Windows.
;D
