internet security best practices

There is so much threat to our online security these days as many hackers are always looking for a loophole to invade our personal lives and steal information. I have experienced several attempts to steal very personal and private information from my computer. I do alot of online shopping and I also do online banking as this is easier and more convenient for me.

I do take precautions though when engaging in online activities like shopping and especially banking. I make all my online purchases with Paypal and Clickbank. This way, the merchant never gets to see my card details.

When I do online banking, I look for certain security signs on the website as hackers can easily make a duplicate site and when you enter in your details, they steal them and defraud you. This is known as phising. Most banks provide up to date internet security for their customers and this is quite sufficient but you should also go the extra mile to protect yourself online. There is a very powerful software for internet protection known as Rapport. I actually got this software free from my bank and downloaded it unto my PC.

Rapport protects you from hackers and makes it difficult for hackers to hack your computer by shielding your online details from prying eyes. It safeguards your identity and protects your details even if your computer is infected.

Media player update

Risk description:

Apple QuickTime is a media player which supports many media file types. It can be invoked from within certain browsers (such as Internet Explorer), thus making its vulnerabilities exploitable over the Web. Several such attacks were reported over the last few years.

Recommendation for improvement:

Open the Apple QuickTime application console (typically this is done by launching Start->Programs->QuickTime->QuickTime Player), and select Help->Update Existing Software. Make sure that the "Check for Updates Automatically" checkbox is selected, and then click the Update Now button.

Host file (change to read only)

Risk description: writable host file

Some Trojans and malware alter the hosts file (a file which contains static DNS mappings) in order to route traffic intended for genuine sites into malicious IP addresses.

Recommendation for improvement:

Prevent writing to the hosts file by making it read-only.

In order to set the hosts file as read-only please follow these instructions:

1. Press the Windows key + "r" key simultaneously

2. Copy the following path into the window that opens: %SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\

3. Click on "OK"

4. Right-click the file named "hosts" and select properties

5. Check the "Read-only" box at the bottom

6. Click on "Apply" and then "OK" to close the window

Yahoo toolbar update

Risk description:

Yahoo! Toolbar is a browser toolbar that provides easy access to Yahoo services, as well as various other add-on features for the browser. Since it interacts with rendered pages, a vulnerability inside it may be potentially compromised while browsing malicious sites.

Recommendation for improvement:

Download the latest Yahoo! Toolbar version, by navigating via a browser to http://toolbar.yahoo.com/

Yahoo messenger update

Risk description:

Yahoo! Messenger is an instant messaging client. As such, Yahoo! Messenger software is directly connected to the Internet, and may be remotely exploited.

Recommendation for improvement:

Download the latest Yahoo! Messenger version, by navigating via a browser to http://messenger.yahoo.com/download/.

Mozilla Firefox

Risk description:

Firefox is a web browser offered by Mozilla. Hackers keep looking for (and finding) security vulnerability inside browsers, which enable them to take over the browser while the user browsers a site, and execute malware on the user's computer. Such browser security issues in Firefox are addressed by Mozilla as version upgrades, and Mozilla states (http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/security/) that "The first step to staying safe on the web is keeping your version of Firefox up to date".

Recommendation for improvement:

Open the Mozilla FireFox browser (typically this is done by launching Start->Programs->Mozilla Firefox->Mozilla Firefox), select Help->Check for Updates, and then follow their instructions.