It seems as if almost daily I speak to a user who has some sort of spyware, malware, or virus problem on their computer.  Almost every instance of these malicious programs got installed on the user’s computer while they were simply browsing sites on the net.  What’s even more amazing is that all of these instances were avoidable by the user.  

Contrary to the belief of most computer users you don’t have to be a computer genius, or be involved in voodoo, to be safe on the internet.  By following some of these basic tips you can be infinitively more secure on the internet.

Keep Windows Up to Date:
This is probably the most important tip you can get and it applies to all operating systems, not just Windows.  Almost all major desktop operating systems have built in methods for keeping the O.S. and other major software systems up to date.  In Windows this is called “Windows Update” and it is located on your start menu under all programs.  Windows Update will keep Windows, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Office all up to date with the latest security and bug fixes.  In the Windows Update settings area there is also an option for turning on automatic installations of updates for those of us too lazy to do it manually on a regular basis.

Quick Note: Most major Windows viruses featured on the news in the last five years all had security updates posted to Windows Update.  These updates were made available months before the virus was released.  The only reason the viruses were successful was due to users not keeping Windows up to date.

Use a Firewall:
Most households these days have a internet connection that is constantly connected.  While we all might have hated the screeching sounds of a modem and equally despised the downloads speeds we got when connecting through them, they were actually much safer than todays internet connections.  The fact is that most computers connected to the net these days have excess ports open on them that are not known to the users of the system.  Whether they were opened for File and Printer Sharing or opened by a spyware program, these open ports can be very dangerous.  9 times out of 10 they can be used to copy files from your computer or to install new new programs on your PC.  Either way it’s really not a good idea to leave these ports open to the world, especially not when we have a internet connection that is always connected.

Physical firewalls, mostly built into routers for home users, are by far the best way to go.  They will not only protect these open ports on your computer from potential internet problems, but they will also allow you to do all of the following:

• Connect multiple computers to a single internet connection
• Allow you to continue to use file and print sharing between the computers in your home with no additional configuration
• Broadcast a wireless signal in your home for wireless based devices to be able to access the net. (Wireless Model Required)

The downside to a physical firewall built into a router is that they typically cost from $60 to $100 at BestBuy.  If thats something your unable to do you can always use a software firewall that will also protect your computer.  Performing the additional tasks listed above will be more difficult with a software firewall, however simple PC protection is not.  Windows, since Windows XP, has had a firewall built into the core of the system and it simply needs to be turned on.  To do so go to the control panel from the Start menu and choose Windows Firewall.  Once the Windows firewall loads click the ON button and hit OK at the bottom.

Quick Note: The Windows firewall can be manipulated by malicious software programs if they were designed to do so.  Windows firewall has a exceptions area in the control panel that allows ports to be opened through the firewall when necessary.  If you’re going to use Windows firewall for protection, make sure you check the exceptions list in the control panel regularly to ensure no malicious programs have opened ports that you are unaware of.

Use Anti-Virus Software
While this isn’t as big of a concern for Mac or Linux users, viruses are still a major problem on the net for everyone who is connected to it.   Installing some basic anti-virus software can make sure that these problems are kept to a minimum with your computer.  While there are commercial packages such as McAfee and Norton available, I do not prefer to use them.  Over the years I have found these programs to be bloated and severe memory hogs when installed on personal computers.  Instead there are many lightweight and free anti-virus software programs available for you to take advantage of:

• Clam Anti-Virus – Very light weight anti-virus package.  Free but does not include real time scanner.
• AVG – Slightly larger than clam anti-virus, but does include real time scanner and link scanner.
• Avast! – Another free anti-virus software package with real time scanner.

Use A Different Browser:
Let me first start off by saying that Internet Explorer has gotten significantly better over the years in terms of security, however there are other browser software packages that have not had nearly the amount of security problems that IE has had over the years.  If your going to continue using Internet Explorer, upgrade it!  Use Windows Update and make sure you have at least version 8 of IE installed on your computer.  Anything less than version 8 is simply being irresponsible.

With that being said there are other major web browsing software packages available that work just as well if not better then IE.  Personally I have not had any problems, other then visiting Microsoft Websites, where I can not use an alternative browser.  Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome are excellent alternatives to Internet Explorer.   Chrome specifically uses much less memory then IE does and seems to out perform IE in terms of speed without much effort.

Keep Your Computer Spyware Free!
Spyware and Malware is one of the worst things to ever be made on the internet, possibly even worse then email spam.  The largest problem with spyware is that it tends to multiply on your computer at an alarming rate, most of the time without your knowledge or consent.  Once you have spyware installed on your machine there typically isn’t much that can be done about it.   You can try scanning your machine and using a removal tool to get rid of it, however that doesn’t always work.  The best practice is to try and stop it before it gets installed.  Safer Networking makes an excellent free utility called SpyBot Search & Destroy that scans your PC and removes installed spyware programs.

SpyBot also comes with a great little utility program called TeaTimer to help eliminate spyware from being installed on your computer.  TeaTimer will prompt the user when a program, or website, is trying to modify system files or windows registry settings.  This is a great form of protection if you actually pay attention to it.  The general idea is that you will deny the program access to modifying the registry if you’re not purposely installing a software program.  This will stop a program in the background of your computer from installing itself without your knowledge.

Use Windows 7:
As much as I might personally dislike it, Microsoft Windows is the dominate operating system for personal computers.  In Windows Vista, Microsoft decided to catch up with other operating systems and start requiring “Elevated” administrator permissions to install and remove software from the machine.  They called this new feature UAC, User Account Control, and it was horribly annoying and poorly implemented in Windows Vista.  The reason this feature was added was so users would be prompted when major changes were being made to the system and its settings, much like the TeaTimer program mentioned above.  In Windows 7 the UAC feature was vastly improved and is now an extremely useful tool for the less educated user.  If you can afford it and your PC is powerful enough to handle Windows 7, I would very much encourage you to upgrade to it.  If you are unable to do so then Tea Timer is a excellent alternative.

Quick Note: Recently I had a number of friends all get infected with a spyware program from a website that stole all of thier website passwords and emailed them back to the program creator.  This gave the spyware creator access to all of their personal information.  I was the only one not infected because Windows 7′s UAC blocked the installation on my computer.  The other users were all using Windows XP and Vista and were all up to date on their Windows Updates.

Conclusion:
As you can see it doesn’t take a lot of extra effort of knowledge to be safe while browsing the internet, however it can be extremely costly if you refuse to take precautions against potential internet dangers.  By taking the time to implement the tips mentioned above,  you can almost eliminate the bulk of the threats on the internet.

Spread the knowledge and Browse Safely!
After a previous article I wrote got so much attention, I created a new Facebook page on Web Safety to notify users when I write about internet safety issues.  If you would like to be notified about new internet safety articles as they are made available, then become a fan of the Web Safety Facebook page.  Twitter users can also follow me on twitter to receive notifications about new articles and blog postings.

Post Tagged With: Web Safety