How Your Web Browsing Habits Impact Your Computer's Security

No matter if you're a home user, running a small business, or adminning for a 10,000-head corporation, web browsing will be the weak spot in your computer system's defense. Because the number one path of infection for malware continues to be the web browser. These tips will help make you a safer surfer:

Pay attention to slow-downs. - The number one sign that your machine is infected is that it runs slower than normal. That's because malware, no matter how clever, cannot hide the fact that it's sucking down 20M RAM to send spam through an open relay. Gradually lagging performance as your machine ages and you install more stuff is one thing; a sudden, overnight drain is another and should ring a bell.

When in doubt, do without. - The fewer installed programs you have, the fewer places infected programs have to hide and the more they will stick out when they do show up. It's tempting to install plug-ins and desktop toys, but keep it down to things you're actually going to use. It's tough to sort out which program is causing your browser to crash when you have ten toolbars, a bank of email smilies, an animated cursor, and a Bonzi Buddy dancing around.

Always look at the Status Bar. - That's the bar at the bottom of the web browser window, and when you hover your mouse over a link on a webpage, the destination of that link will show up there on the left. This helps you find out where you're going before you click. The hyperlink on the page might say it goes to Yahoo.com, while the address bar will show that it actually goes to http://ru.www2.yahoo.com. Where there might be a cybersquatter distributing malware.

Do not ignore critical updates of your software. - Being sure it comes from the software's vendor, of course. These updates happen because modern software teams run proactive testing on their product even after release, looking for new vulnerabilities before malware authors discover them. Why don't they do all that testing before release, you ask? They do, but new technologies and methods are going to pop up all the time, regardless of when you release your program.

Never install a media update from a site not related to your software. - So only install WMV format upgrades from Microsoft, only install Mac software from the Apple store, only install Firefox extensions from the Mozilla site, and so on. Flash player comes from Adobe.com, and Java comes from Java.com by Sun Microsystems. One of the oldest tricks is a site which gives you a pop-up asking you to update some player or plug-in to view a media file when it's actually installing malware. Here's a screenshot of one caught in the wild.

Never install a "security update" from a site you don't know. - Exactly like the last trick, malware authors have gotten very good at imitating a Windows system update. Same logo, same icons, same jargon... but coming from a MySpace page.