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Ten Ways to Surf the Net in Safety
- Never trust e-mail attachments. Even if they come from members of your own family, you should never open an e-mail attachment without first verifying that the person who sent it meant to send it. Many viruses send e-mail without the knowledge of the sender.
- Keep your computer's operating system up to date. If you use Windows, become familiar with the Windows Update function. Click on Start/Windows Update, go the Windows Update page and make sure you install all the "Critical Updates" you find there. Download the "Critical Update Notification Service" and install it. This will warn you any time a new security patch is available.
- Use the security features of your e-mail client. Did you know that it is possible to configure Outlook Express so that viruses like the Kak worm will not be able to infect your computer? Were you aware that Microsoft released a patch in 1999 for the security weakness that Kak exploits to infect computers? (If you use the Windows Update feature built in to the operating system, you will already have this patch installed.) Other e-mail clients, such as Eudora, also have the ability to restrict active content from running in e-mail.
- Use the security features of your web browser. Most browsers today can be configured to prevent some malicious content from running. In Internet Explorer, you have the option of controlling each type of content (Active X, JavaScript, Java, etc.) to either prompt you before running or to not run at all. Internet Explorer also allows you to use "Zones" to classify content that you consider "safe" or "unsafe". Netscape can be configured to "turn off" JavaScript and Java. (Other browsers, such as AOL or WebTV may have similar features. Check with your vendor for details.)
- Use a "real" newsreader. Some browsers and e-mail clients offer the ability to read newsgroups. However, browsers are designed to allow active content to run, and some e-mail clients also allow active content to run by default. "Real" newsreaders, on the other hand, are designed to read newsgroups, and they do not allow active content to run. Two popular programs for Windows are Agent (and its free cousin, Free Agent) and Gravity.
- Use safe networking. If you network your machines at home, use the NetBEUI protocol (or IPX/SPX if you're a game player.) Then go into Network Neighborhood and change the properties of every instance of TCP/IP so that it is not bound to either Client for Microsoft Networks or File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks. This will ensure that the files on your computer cannot be seen or altered by anyone on the Internet.
- Use passwords for shared drives and files. This will prevent viruses from using Microsoft Networking to spread from one computer to another. It will also give you an added safety factor from accidental sharing of your drives to the Internet. (You never know when someone else or a program you install will alter your settings.)
- Don't accept files in IRC or instant messenger programs. If someone in a chat room wants to give you a file, there iss no reason they can't put it on a website so you can download it. Accepting files that you cannot first virus scan is an invitation for trouble. Always think twice before accepting files from anyone. You can adopt any identity you want on the Internet. So can the person on the other end of your conversation. You wouldn't accept gifts from total strangers that approach on the street. Why do it on the Internet?
- Use website virus scanners as a backup. Website virus scanners have become quite popular, but they can only tell you what state your computer is in when it is scanned. They provide no protection against ongoing threats. However, scanning your computer with a different vendor's product can give you an added degree of certainty that your computer is virus free.
- Use a good anti-virus program and keep it up to date.
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