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Avoiding dangers on the Internet

Thursday, January 14, 2010

How secure are our computers? We are continually bombarded with warnings about new viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. Every few days another security patch for Windows seems to be necessary. To add to our problems, various new ways of invading our privacy or ripping us off are constantly springing up. Spyware and adware are being planted on us, crackers are breaking into our machines, email is full of spam and phishing scams. We seem to be under constant assault.

Short of never going online, what can the average PC user do for protection? Dire as it sometimes seems, the situation is by no means hopeless. This site is dedicated to helping the average PC user make full and safe use of the Internet. Here is a collection of pages outlining defenses against the various threats and annoyances and the steps that can be taken to ensure that we continue to enjoy the Internet. There is also a blog to keep up with the latest developments in online security and to provide timely discussion. (Note: This is a completely updated version of an older site.)

Go to:

Old material from a previous version of this site concerning the browsers Internet Explorer 6 and 7 on Windows XP is available at the links below (note that much of this material is now obsolete):

 

Filed in Anti-malware, Malware, Phishing, Spyware, Trojan horses, Viruses, Worms | Tagged | Comments (0)

New report paints a dreary picture of Web content

Monday, February 8, 2010

Ars Technica reports on data published by Websense Security Labs. It It paints a a dreary and discouraging situation. According to the report most of the stuff on the Web is spam and malware. Ars Technica makes the disheartening conclusion:

Savvy users who maintain constant vigilance may not have too much trouble spotting attempts to hijack legitimate content. Ultimately, however, the increases in malicious websites or content that appear to be legitimate simply make it harder and harder for the average person to know who, or what, to trust online. And when just five percent of user-generated content isn’t spam or malware, many may question the utility of bothering to discern a difference.

Filed in Malware, Phishing, Spam, Spyware | | Comments (0)

Fake Firefox update

Saturday, February 6, 2010

eSoft is reporting adware masquerading as Firefox updates. PC World also has some details on the phony download.

Filed in Malware, Spyware | | Comments (0)

Microsoft security bulletin for February updates

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Tuesday is the monthly update of Windows and Microsoft has issued a notification outlining what updates are involved:

Today we released February bulletin information through our Advance Notification Service (ANS). This month, we will be releasing 13 bulletins – five rated Critical, seven rated Important, and one rated Moderate – addressing 26 vulnerabilities. Eleven of the bulletins affect Windows and the remaining two affect Office.

Filed in Microsoft, Updates | | Comments (0)

Internet Explorer security problem

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Internet Explorer has a severe security bug that is still unfixed by Microsoft. Windows XP with IE6 is especially vulnerable. Until a patch is issued, all users of Windows XP should set ActiveX and scripting to always prompt before running. See the details of how to do this on another page on this site. For a tutorial on configuring IE6, go here.

Filed in Browsers, Internet Explorer, Malware | | Comments (0)

Fake Microsoft Outlook update is malware

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

At PC World, Erik Larkin reports:

A malicious spam campaign caught by Panda Labs is using a fake Microsoft Update notice to trick victims into installing a Trojan. While well crafted, the attack still provides dead giveaways.

The e-mail, which Panda posts with a screen shot, is spoofed to look as if it comes from Microsoft Support. With a realistic-looking subject and e-mail body that attempts to piggy-back on the constant (and correct) advice to keep your computer up-to-date with patches, it’s a great example of a social engineering attack.

Filed in Malware, Trojan horses | | Comments (0)

List of best free security software

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The site Gizmo’s Freeware is well-known for its service of finding and evaluating security freeware. Periodically, the editors compile a list of the best free programs. The list has just been updated. The site calls it, “Probably the Best Free Security List in the World”, and I see no reason to disagree with that assessment.

Filed in Anti-malware | | Comments (0)

Google privacy statement

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Since Google’s tentacles reach into so many aspects of Internet activity, many people are concerned that the enormous collection of data on us that Google is collecting is a privacy threat. Google has decided to put out a video clip explaining its privacy principles. Whether it will make you feel more secure, I don’t know but you can view the clip below:

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Online Armor anti-malware free offer

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Tomorrow Online Armor++ is being given away free. Go to giveawayoftheday on Friday to download your free copy of this anti-malware suite. You can read about the product at tallemu.com.

Via Gizmo’s Freeware.

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Security news

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Here are some current posts about security related news:

Filed in Anti-malware, Browsers, Internet Explorer, Malware, Phishing, Spyware, Trojan horses, Viruses, Worms | | Comments (0)

How to Read Email with Greater Safety

Sunday, January 24, 2010

For the most part, the greatest danger in email in the past has been from opening executable attachments containing viruses, worms, Trojans, etc. Using common sense about clicking on attachments, keeping anti-virus programs and the operating system patches up-to-date, and some system configuration should prevent infectious attachments from harming your system. With increasing frequency, however, the email body itself has become a source of infection. By means of HTML code or scripts hidden in the text, malware may get downloaded simply from the act of opening an email for viewing. It is also possible for spammers to track you this way (Web bugs). In this article, I will discuss some ways to avoid getting malware from the main email body or being tracked.

Block graphics

If you are using a web-based email service like Yahoo or Gmail, make sure that the settings are configured to block graphics unless specified otherwise. By default Gmail has a  setting to block the display of graphics. A setting “External content” has an option that allows graphics from trusted sources. Yahoo has a setting under  “Options-Spam” for blocking graphics but the default is to allow them.

Settings vary among the various locally based email clients so consult the instructions and block the automatic downloading of images by your particular email software.

Scripts and other problems

If you are using Web based mail, you will mostly have to rely on the internal security measures of the provider since there is usually no specific setting for scripts. However, all recent browsers like Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3.x, and Chrome have extensive security settings. Make sure that these are configured to warn you about unauthorized downloads or scripts.

Locally based email clients should have security settings that guard against scripts. The settings vary but I will show them for the Windows Mail software.

Windows Mail settings

The settings for Windows Mail are found by going to the menu Tools-Options. First, click the “Read” tab. Disable the Preview Pane from automatically downloading. You may also wish to read messages in plain text only. These settings are indicated in the figure below.

Security settings for reading in Windows Mail

Also click the “Security” tab. Your settings should be as shown in the figure below.

Security settings in Windows Mail

(An older description of using Outlook Express is here.)

Filed in Email, Malware | | Comments (0)