VK wrote:
NoScript - Firefox Extension
<https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?application=firefox&id=722>
The idea is so obviously idiotic that in the description they couldn't
hold the smily. Though someone may jump on it.
Next step is blocking CSS I guess, then media, images and form
submission. The last but not least is to browse the Web in Telnet-mode,
so <pre> tag and ASCII graphics is the only must to know in the future
:-)
P.S. Last week security exploit (and a nasty one) for Windows XP is
made by infected *images*.
P.P.S. The only real protection you can get is by using a good
antivirus with regular virus database update. Plus do not act stupid
(like clicking on each .exe you've been asked to click). For the latter
there is no protection whatsoever exept yourselve.
There is, of course, no way you can be 100% safe from infection online,
no more than you can be certain that you will not be run over by a
cement mixer truck when you drive. But you can greatly reduce risks.
The advice to stay out of bad neighborhoods and not open unknown mail
helps a lot, but just being online is now enough to catch some of the
newer bugs.For example the W32/IRCbot,worm! is a medium risk worm for
home users. You can be infected by just being online. When infected,
the computer may restart continuously. This worm has now been around
awhile, and any decent and updated anti-virus program now offers
protection from it. However, you can always be the first person on the
block to get a new worm of this type. However even here, the better
virus programs can often detect a new bug. For instance, some
programs(McAfee is one) can use heuristic methods that often will
detect an unknown new bug. When this type of detection is activated,
the downside is that the scan time is increased and false positives
sometimes are detected. Also some security programs can now be set to
alert you if more than a selected number of emails are received or sent
within a selected time, or you can get an alert if more that a selected
number of the same email is sent. These alerts often help find that you
are infected by a new worm. You also should use a 2-way(in-out)
firewall, not just the 1-way one on Windows XP.
Of course the Windows OSs, especially the XP, are a favorite of
hackers. Mac OS users have far fewer problems, and even lesser used OSs
may have even fewer problems. However I must use Windows or Mac for
some media programs. Many of the professional media programs are
available for both Windows and Mac(because many media people adore
Mac), but they are seldom available for other OSs.
Some people put two OSs on their computer using different HDs for them.
Thus you could have Windows XP or Mac for running media programs and
such offline, and you switch to the second OS, such as Linux when you
go online.
You also have to be even more careful if you are using a broadband
cable or DSL connection that is connected all of the time. Such
connections are ideal for someone who wants to take over the computer
for mass mailings, for example. I disconnect my DSL most of the time
when I will not be using the computer for some time. I usually surf
with the Firefox browser set for medium security. I use the Opera
browser, set at higher security and asking before accepting cookies,
for unknown sites. I only ran into a virus once, from a download from a
well-known site. McAfee detected the virus as soon as the zip file was
opened and completely blocked it and removed it. I am not going to
cripple my computer by turning everything off. Even with script, AX,
images, and other things turned off there still is no absolute
protection.