How to Stay Safe on the Bleeping Internet

Super-Duper Green Lantern Edition—June 18, 2011, 9:10pm

Somewhere after your 13

th

virus and before 5,283

rd

phishing scam, you’ve probably askedyourself, “How the heck do I stay safe on this @#$% Internet!” It’s a good question because

they are out to get you.

If ever there

was

a time for paranoia, it’s when facing this big, emotionless,faceless void called the Internet.Ever since the first caveman learned that (1) if he walked up to someone and threw a rock at him,he got clubbed over the head, but (2) if he

hid behind some bushes

and threw a rock, nothinghappened to him, people have been looking for clever ways to “put one over” on others. Like thecaveman’s bushes,

the Internet can provide very good (though not perfect) anonymity

. This is agood thing and a bad thing: good, when good people want to speak their minds about a corruptgovernment or be corporate whistleblowers; and bad, when bad people want to harm orembarrass others, obtain their private information or just plain old steal their money.To stay safe on the Internet, you must be extremely vigilant. Trust no one and no

thing

. Considerevery new e-mail, website, instant message, chat room and forum or Craigslist posting as apossible attempt to harm you in some way. Put yourself in the shoes of those up to no good—if only for a moment—to consider any possible

dangers

to you by opening or clicking on that newe-mail, website, instant message, chat room link, or forum/BBS/Craigslist posting. Trust

nothing

.“But what’s a poor soul to do?” you asked plaintively, a tear in your eye.“OK, OK,” I reply. “I’ll tell you. Just don’t get all mushy on me.”

1.

Install Antivirus Software and Security Software

The very, very first thing you should do when you get a new computer is to install or activatesome sort of protection. At a minimum this should include

antivirus (and anti-malware) software

and a

firewall

. Antivirus software is software that is alert and scanning your computer all thetime, looking for viruses and other

malware

(software programs that do undesirable things toyour computer). You say you have no money? It’s OK—there are still some decent

freeware

antivirus programs out there:Microsoft Security Essentials:http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials Avira AntiVir Personal:http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus

If you use an e-mail reader—an e-mail program that is installed on your own computer, likeOutlook or Outlook Express or Windows Mail—then I strongly advise that you do purchase aprofessional-level antivirus software program, because most of the freeware antivirus programs

will

not

scan your e-mail program’s e-mail messages and attachments thoroughly for phishingand viruses (and other malware). Online e-mail sites (such as Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail)

do

scan your mail and attachments automatically. There are many professional programs out therethat include not only antivirus/anti-malware protection, but also a firewall, protection fromphishing attacks and much more. The following are just a few examples:Avira Premium Security Suite:

http://www.avira.com/en/for-home-avira-premium-security-suite

ESET Smart Security

http://www.eset.com/us/home/smart-security

Kapersky Internet Security:

http://usa.kaspersky.com/products-services/home-computer-security/internet-security

Norton Internet Security:

http://us.norton.com/internet-security/

Whatever antivirus software you choose, it’s always best to install your antivirus software rightafter you purchase your new computer,

before

you get a virus! Once you get a nasty-wasty virus,it will usually do everything in its power to

prevent

you from installing antivirus software. Darnviruses.But don’t worry if your computer is not “new out of the box”; if it’s still functional, try installingthe antivirus program now. IF it’s able to load, it will try its best to remove all bad stuff fromyour computer *before* it installs itself. However, if it fails—if your computer is already tooinfected—you’ll need to take your computer to a technician who will either remove all theviruses and other bad stuff, or “restore” your computer to its original factory state. If they have todo a restore,

you will LOSE all your personal data such as pictures and Microsoft Word documents

unless

you ask the technician to backup your data first (usually for an additional fee).Hiring a technician is expensive, so that’s why prevention is key! You will also lose anyprograms that you’ve installed after you bought the computer, and you’ll need to reinstall themagain, so make it a habit to always save your program disks that you buy. For programs that youpay for and download from the Internet, make it a habit to

print out and put in a safe place alllicense keys (sometimes called “unlock codes” or “download keys”) for the downloaded software

.A

firewall

is a program that is designed to keep intruders and hackers from “breaking into” yourcomputer and stealing information or using your computer to do harmful things to other peopleand/or companies on the Internet. Some firewalls are hardware devices (e.g., some network routers include a firewall), but most consumers don’t have hardware-based firewalls, and it’snever a bad idea to have a software-based one in addition. If you use Microsoft Windows, yourcomputer already comes with a software firewall. To make sure it’s on, click the Start button andin the text box at the bottom, type “Windows Firewall.” Click on the item that says “WindowsFirewall” (the one that says “Windows Firewall with Advanced Security” is more than you need)and just make sure to turn it

on

if it is not already turned on.

Another free firewall program is offered by Zone Alarm:

http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/zonealarm-pc-security-free-firewall.htm

. Of course, many store-bought programs such as NortonInternet Security will come with their own firewall, which will be enabled by default; such afirewall will replace the Windows Firewall’s functionality (and do even more good things) andso Windows Firewall will be shut off.Imagine a firewall as a barrier between your private computer and the very public Internet. Youdon’t want bad stuff on the Internet to get

into

your computer from the Internet, and you don’twant bad programs (if there are any) getting

out

from your computer to the Internet, where theycould, for example, send your private credit-card information to some thief. The firewall sits inbetween your computer and the Internet and makes sure that only those programs and servicesthat

should

be able to get through the firewall are allowed through.

2.

Don’t trust your e-mail!

It’s become a regular occurrence for me now: Every six months or so I get e-mail that’s beensent to me, purportedly

from

me. That’s right—according to these e-mails, I sent

myself

a spammessage about the latest botox treatment or get-rich scam! Well, of course

I didn’t

send myself such an e-mail; a hacker (a bad person on the Internet) has faked or

spoofed

my e-mail address,pretending to be me. Actually, it’s incredibly

easy

to fake a “from” e-mail address,

so never,ever trust an e-mail just because it says it came from “so and so”—even if the name given isthat of a trusted personal friend, a nice coworker, or the President of the United States.

More important than the “name” of the person that sent it is the actual e-mail address it was sentfrom;

but you cannot know that information by simply reading the normal part of youre-mail.

You must look at what’s called your e-mail header

. Most online e-mail websites(Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail) and offline e-mail programs (Outlook, Thunderbird) offer a way tolook at your e-mail’s header, so learn how to look at headers in your particular e-mail website orprogram. When there is

any

question as to whether an e-mail is trustworthy, you want to look atthe headers. The headers will tell you the truth about the sender, whereas the default “from”name and e-mail address may be out-and-out

lies.

Lies, I tell you!

It gets worse: Your friend or colleague may have been hacked, and his or her

address book maybe compromised

. Some nasty programs read a person’s address book (his list of e-mail addressesof people who are his friends and associates) and then

send dangerous e-mails

to everyone on thelist—using your friend/colleague’s own computer and Internet connection!

So even if the e-mailyou’re wondering about did indeed come from your friend’s e-mail account, that friend’semail account may have been compromised

. Examine the content of the e-mail and if it seemsstrange and contains any links for you to click on (or even pictures to click on),

DON’T CLICK