Spending time online poses the same challenges. One minute you are reading one of your favorite blogs, and before you know it, you have clicked on a few links and find yourself in a part of the Internet you never intended to visit. Are you sure you can leave without having personal information stolen?
The steps you can take to leverage security practices and technology are already at your fingertips. They are similar to procedures you already use in your day-to-day life in the “real” world, such as locking your home and vehicle; protecting your wallet or purse from pickpockets; and not giving out personal information to strangers without a valid reason.
Let’s take a look at how these skills you use in the offline world can be used to protect your privacy while browsing the Internet:
In your browser, go to Tools – Internet Options – Advanced – Browsing, and check “Automatically Check for Internet Explorer Updates.” This one action will ensure that you receive the most recent security patches when they are released.
Firefox is configured to automatically check for the latest version, but to see for yourself, go to Tools - Options - Advanced – Update, and you should see the option “Automatically download and install the update” checked.
If you take my advice and start using Firefox, you will have a much better developed browser that truly addresses security more effectively than does Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT). Additionally, since it is an open-source project, you have the benefit of an entire community of people just as concerned as you are about safe browsing.
In IE, go to Tools – Internet Options – Privacy – Advanced, and deselect “allow” for third-party cookies. In Firefox, go to Tools - Options – Privacy, and deselect “Accept third-party cookies.”
For the really paranoid who feel “Big Brother” is always watching, you can check out Tor, another open-source community that can protect your surfing activities from Internet criminals or even legitimate services like DoubleClick that try to track your every move.
By implementing a variety of simple and free security techniques and technologies, you will increase your security posture, making it very difficult for a criminal to access your home computer, thus removing you as a target of opportunity.
