Securing Your Computer

June 5th, 2008 by steve

Beyond keeping a good antivirus program current on your PC, there are other simple steps you can take to decrease the likelihood your computer will be damaged as you surf the internet.

Here are four:

A Different Browser

I stopped using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer with version 5. Over the past couple of years, I’ve been using Mozilla Firefox. It’s generally considered stable and more secure than IE.

A Good Site Advisor

I’ve been using McAfee SiteAdvisor for over a year now. It works very efficiently. When you do a search, SiteAdvisor places icons next to the sites produced by the search. Green icons mean the site has tested safe. Red ones let you know there may be danger on the site — from unsolicited email to malicious code. This has proven helpful to me.

A Good Search Engine

I’ve used Google for my searches for years, but recently I went back to Yahoo. Each of them has strengths, but Yahoo seems to do a better job of identifying sites that “could damage” my computer. In my experience, Google fails to identify these sites as readily as does Yahoo.

A Java Script Protector

About a year ago I started using the NoScript addon for Firefox. It prevents scripts from running unless I allow them. This prohibits sites from opening pop-ups and running things on my PC that I don’t want to run.

None of these steps guarantee a secure, computer experience, but when used with a good antivirus program, they increase your PCs chances of remaining healthy.


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