Jamey Mellis, “The Computer Guy”, spoke about internet threats at an AITP meeting. I want to share two of his great tips for making your internet use safer.
There are lots of good web sites out there and some not so good. SiteAdvisor is a free tool you can download from McAfee which will steer you away from the bad ones. Once you install this tool and browse the internet, it will give you a green check for sites that are safe and a red “x” for ones you should stay away from.
Secunia is another great resource and is free for personal use. This tool scans your computer and notifies you of any software vulnerabilities. Instead of having to check each piece of software on your computer for updates, this will show you in one shot where software patches are needed. (A “patch” is software that fixes problems or updates computer programs). You can then go out to the vendor’s web site and update any patches as needed.
There is definitely a lot more to be said on using the internet safely and these two sites will get you started on better browsing.