Hi PH,
It all looks about right - perhaps slightly overkill with the spyware blockers/killers, but it does help to be safe as its expensive to get someone to come out and recover and fix everything.
Also, yes: Firefox is somewhat safer in that respect because many of the viruses / exploits are designed to use security holes in the world's most popular browser, IE.
That doesn't mean that Firefox doesn't have any holes, just that there aren't very many hackers looking to exploit them since they know it's usually technically savvy people using Firefox anyway (they have security measures in place).
Still, most of those security recommendations are right on the money.
The HOSTS file that they're recommending does work with Firefox because it has nothing to do with the browser. The HOSTS file is the file that all networking services use before connecting to the Internet (put simply).
Note: using this file can and does upset some websites and can even make it impossible to see a website. I've been using it for sometime now and there are some ad's that you do want to let through (like Google Ad's in search results) so that you can get the full experience - or just plain see the website!
Hope that helps,
Yvan
Monday, August 15, 2005, 5:27:38 PM, you wrote:
Yvan, What are your thoughts to the below?
In my view - Maybe the most important (apart from the obvious of having an antivirus) is not to use IE but Mozilla Firefox.
However, note that the suggested Host file will not work with Firefox,
so I will look for something else. Any ideas?
PH
Avoid Web Browser Hijackers
There are many ways for someone to hijack your browser.......
The hijacker could be a .dll file or an .exe file or a .reg file or a combination of any of these. It could be in the root C:/ directory or C:/Windows or C:/Windows/system or just about any other directory. There is no constant, everything is variable, the only certain thing is that it is getting through a security loophole on your computer, be it security settings or a lack of patches/updates.
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First thing to do....click tools...Windows update..... and download all critical updates.
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Second is to download and install Spywareblaster.
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Third download and install Spywareguard.
These programs take up very little resources and run un-noticed in the background.
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Fourth download and install Spybot Search and Destroy.
Always check for updates before running. Click the immunize button..... and while you're there (at this page) you can lock your homepage if you want to. As with an anti-virus program - check for updates at least once a week, with all the above programs.
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Fifth download IE-SPYAD.
IE-SPYAD stops advertisers and marketers from automatically installing adware onto your PC without your permission. We highly recommend it.
Check out this link for more tips from one of the top anti-spyware experts.
http://boards.cexx.org/viewtopic.php?t=957
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Install this HOSTS file (http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm) onto your computer -- it will block your PC from accessing known malicious web sites, sites that contain viruses and malware.
None of this can guarantee 100% that you won't be hijacked - but it will certainly go a long way.
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Make sure you have a firewall. (More info)
These are popular firewalls:
Agnitum Outpost Firewall PRO
Agnitum Outpost Firewall FREE
Norton Internet Security
Norton Personal Firewall
Kerio Personal Firewall FREE
Tiny Personal Firewall
Sygate Personal Firewall PRO
Sygate Personal Firewall FREE
McAfee Personal Firewall
Black Ice Defender
Zone Alarm Pro
Zone Alarm Firewall FREE -> http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp
Compare them before you decide: http://www.agnitum.com/php_scripts/compare2.php
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Get anti-virus software.
Download free AVG anti virus software.
http://www.grisoft.com
Note: This is an excellent resource from our resident browser hijacking expert! If you find that your browser has been hijacked, make sure you visit the Forums to get help.
