Internet Web Browsers – The Key to Security?
They’re actually more like the car than the key, I suppose. They are the tools we use to travel around the web, finding interesting destinations. The trouble is, sometimes an unwanted passenger climbs aboard along the way. In some cases they may even carjack you, taking you places you had no intention of going.
The question is, what can you do to stop them?
There are quite a few things that you can do, the first being choosing an alternative browser. Microsoft Internet Explorer has the majority of the market, but there are others such as Firefox or Opera that can offer more security.
Even when not inherently better, other browsers and operating systems are less popular targets. Until both legislators and software vendors get really serious about security, it’s possible to reduce your ‘target area’ by staying out of the limelight.
Another important factor in improving browser security is to learn more about it.
There are a lot of options and setting in Internet Explorer (and most other browsers) that allow you to have more control over what is allowed and what isn’t. The trouble is, most people have little to no idea how to set them properly.
For example, is it desirable to ‘Allow ActiveX controls and plug-ins’ to Run, or should that be set to Prompt? Individual judgments here, as in all aspects of security in life, have to be made. One factor is your tolerance for responding to prompts versus your willingness to risk infection. After all, you have to decide whom to let in your car, don’t you?
This is the sort of trade-off that is a pain in the neck and hopefully won’t be necessary one day. For now, however, you should do some reading to learn more about these settings and how they affect you. If your computer ever crashes because of some internet security attack, you’ll wish you’d spent the time to learn it.
Another important factor here is how you use your browser. If a warning message pops up when you’re on a website, do you just click OK and move on or do you actually read it? Unless you know for a fact that you can trust the site, it’s always best to be thorough.
Most users are unaware of the extent to which using a browser opens up their system to the rest of the world. Being on the Internet means not just seeing, but being visible. And accessing sites usually means being accessible. It isn’t just harmless cookies that can be downloaded to your system. Once executable programs are downloaded they often have free rein to your entire system.
Take some time to learn how to lock your system down, even beyond just the browser, to make sure that you won’t be hit by some kind of attack.
Filed under: Computers & Technology