Here are some tips on safe surfing...for avoiding spyware and virus problems.I am listing my way of avoiding malware,I hope this thread will get more contributions from surfing gurus:
1.Use firefox and Noscript Addon:
Not just an absolute requirement but i prefer the firefox with add on "No Script"
get it here MOZILLA ADD ON LINK
This combo [firefox +noscript] really helps stopping XSS and other attacks, unsafe sites drop spyware etc using scripts,as the page load..this add on will block them and you can enable the required scripts.
note that video/flv content will be blocked you need to permit the sites where you want video/flv etc to be played automatically.
2.Careful with Flash Media:
Scan portable flash drives/HDD every time you bring data from unsafe places ..like cyber cafe,unprotected pcs.If you want to take some minimum sized files prefer CD/DVD RW or R [with multiwrite]than a pendrive,believe me pendrive is more easyly infected from other systems because the virus doesnot need burning software to copy.
3.Avoid IE:
Although microsoft OS shipps with IE.The privileges the Internet explorer (IE)gives for external sites to drop unwanted malware makes it unsafe .Even the latest IE is less secure as compared to firefox .Just firefox cold startup time is few secs more .
4.Avoid compressed Files:
While using torrents /downloads avoid RAR /ZIP if possible .RAR or ZIP while uncompressing may drop hidden spyware/virus.say you want an AVI file,there is no great reason to pack this with RAR and some other files.
5.Keep Firewall Running:
Windows firewall or any better firewall also prevents from a great deal of virus attack. Be careful if you have optimized the OS e.g vista.. you may be removing some critical process that may open a loophole.
6.Stop all unneeded Toolbars/utilities:Many Toolbars that download content using UDP may drop spyware too to your system.Eg cool temperature tool bar/utility,daily news utility/cricket score update utility/Automatic daily wallpaper changer etc. Better avoid installing such cool looking tools ...they will also slowdown your internet connection.
7.RAW backup and Restore:What you can do is install OS + needed software and take backup using NortonGhost to portable HDD.
Incase any unrecoverable damage any virus does..take other data such as video,music ,files etc save in DVD.Use N.G. HDD ...it will restore the whole computer in 5 minutes!
no need to install softwares one by one...it will be a fresh preinstalled system as during N.G backup.
System restore/recovey also does help but are very slow ..may take 20mins to 1 hour.
Hope this helps !
1.Use firefox and Noscript Addon:
Not just an absolute requirement but i prefer the firefox with add on "No Script"
get it here MOZILLA ADD ON LINK
This combo [firefox +noscript] really helps stopping XSS and other attacks, unsafe sites drop spyware etc using scripts,as the page load..this add on will block them and you can enable the required scripts.
note that video/flv content will be blocked you need to permit the sites where you want video/flv etc to be played automatically.
2.Careful with Flash Media:
Scan portable flash drives/HDD every time you bring data from unsafe places ..like cyber cafe,unprotected pcs.If you want to take some minimum sized files prefer CD/DVD RW or R [with multiwrite]than a pendrive,believe me pendrive is more easyly infected from other systems because the virus doesnot need burning software to copy.
3.Avoid IE:
Although microsoft OS shipps with IE.The privileges the Internet explorer (IE)gives for external sites to drop unwanted malware makes it unsafe .Even the latest IE is less secure as compared to firefox .Just firefox cold startup time is few secs more .
4.Avoid compressed Files:
While using torrents /downloads avoid RAR /ZIP if possible .RAR or ZIP while uncompressing may drop hidden spyware/virus.say you want an AVI file,there is no great reason to pack this with RAR and some other files.
5.Keep Firewall Running:
Windows firewall or any better firewall also prevents from a great deal of virus attack. Be careful if you have optimized the OS e.g vista.. you may be removing some critical process that may open a loophole.
6.Stop all unneeded Toolbars/utilities:Many Toolbars that download content using UDP may drop spyware too to your system.Eg cool temperature tool bar/utility,daily news utility/cricket score update utility/Automatic daily wallpaper changer etc. Better avoid installing such cool looking tools ...they will also slowdown your internet connection.
7.RAW backup and Restore:What you can do is install OS + needed software and take backup using NortonGhost to portable HDD.
Incase any unrecoverable damage any virus does..take other data such as video,music ,files etc save in DVD
no need to install softwares one by one...it will be a fresh preinstalled system as during N.G backup.
System restore/recovey also does help but are very slow ..may take 20mins to 1 hour.
Hope this helps !
