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Dodgy websites and the risk of infection.

  • 16-06-2008 02:53AM
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 218 ✭✭


    Hi.

    While I'm at work, a housemate's brother often comes over and is always keen to use my computer (guess broadband hasn't penetrated Bray yet). I set him up with a Windows account for him so he can get online on his own and not stumble upon my private Van Halen text roleplaying work.

    He was around today when I got back from buying a new duvet (living the dream, boys) and naturally he was at the PC. I asked him what he was up to. He said he was just surfing around. I glanced at the screen to see him cruising nearly a dozen tabbed professional wrestling gossip sites. We're talking websites that actively puke popups at you and devote some 80% of page space to advertisements and promises of "WATCH FREE VIDEOS OF EDWARD NORTON EATING A BADGER."

    Anyway, this had me a little spooked. Until now I've lived in the delightful world of "I have firefox and McAfee, I am INDESTRUCTIBLE" so I've spent the evening running a few free system scans in addition to McCrapee and they all seem to be clean.

    In any event, I have a wee question. What is the risk of picking up a piece of substantial Evilware by simply surfing around the dankest recesses of the intertrucks?

    Also, if this account makes an appearance tomorrow screaming ***FIND A PARTNER IN THE <ireland> AREA TONIGHT!!!*** it's probably not me.


Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 163 ✭✭-annex-


    Firefox is quite a safe browser out of the box, but you want total piece of mind you can install the noscript add-on. You'll then be able to allow scripts on a case by case basis, severely lowering chances of any type of infection.
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722

    Also Firefox 3 is out tomorrow, it has a fair amount of new security features to warn you of potentially dangerous sites. Noscript is fully compatible with it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,970 ✭✭✭ActorSeeksJob


    I'd recommend following the steps in the Sticky Thread to be sure your PC is clean


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,669 ✭✭✭mukki


    remove mcaffe and edward norton from you pc, they're terribal


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