Just an FYI, you don't actually have to surf the net to get hijacked. They can hit your IP # and do it as well, if you don't have an port scanner and your worried about being hijacked get one, it will tell you who is connectiong to which ports, and when they are connection to a port that they shouldn't shut the door and close them down.
Visiting a website and clicking on the links, is safe as long as you don't download something. I've been in internet security for years, and every report of I clicked on a web site and got a virus, has either been because the person downloaded something and it was a time bomb and just happen to go off after they visited the site. Or someone hit their ports and slipped their computer something.
It's really sad as most people do not know how to protect their computer and a lot of computer people don't either, as it can get extreamly complicated in a hurry. Also if your runing IE, you are asking for a virus, you are basically running around nude, in a very dark alley with a lot of creapy crawlies. If you want better protection then that, go get a different browser, all of them are free, and most will import your IE favorites, and you will not have a 100 tons of security holes. Yes MS makes updates, but that's only after enough people have been attacked, threw the holes they left in their program.
Right now Firefox, is offering a browser, and email client together. If you actually run a hardcore test on IE even with the latest updates, it still has as many holes as the drops of sweat you expire, doing the whole entire hardcore series.
And to top it off IE has days of PMS so it acts funny anyway. When the net was new and IE 2.0 first came out it was great, but then again everything was an experiment, but for some reason IE gets prettier, by putting make-up on, but it sure doesn't lift a muscle to workout. Other then doing more, it still has a lot of the same holes that it did 8-9 years ago. And hackers know this, and they will use it to their advance, as they sit there all day just scanning the net for IP addresses and when they find an address that uses IE, and hardly any other protection, your free game.
Even on my system, every month I have over 500 hits on different ports that I don't allow to be open, and they aren't from any websites or activies I've been doing. They are from hackers trying to find an easy target and know that once they get into a certain port, they can set virus off, they can grab passwords and personal info.
If you are having problems with your computer, first thing to do is get a very good firewall and close all ports that you are not using. As well as set the ports so that you have to accept or decline they opening for something. Yes it's a pain in the butt, but if your on a large ISP, like AOL, earthlink, sprint, etc. It's well worth it, as that's will the hackers will hit. They know people who are on those networks don't know much about computers. So to them they are like sheep and they can just take whatever one they want, whenever they want. Your computer doesn't even need to be turned on for them, to play with it. So don't ever think I had my computer off all day, there is no way anything could have happen to it, it must have been that webpage back there that caused the problem. As it more or less usually isn't. As most webpages doen't have active execution. And if it does, you shouldn't be on that site as it's a hackers site and they are just grabbing all the data they need to easily find you again.
Also back up your data, at least once a month I know it's a pain but when you get a virus and have got to fix your computer it's well worth it. And speaking of viruses, your protector is only as good as the person who made it. Which means it's human and makes mistakes and doesn't always see things. Also keep it updated and check and make sure its updating if it's an auto update one, they don't always auto update, sometimes they just download the file for you and expect you to install it. Which if your not installing the file, your not protected.
I really wish computer secuirty would get simple so the average user had decent protection but it looks like that's years away still. As on a daily basis I see people who have been hacked, gotten viruses, etc. And have had all the right equipment, it was just the fact it wasn't set up properly, or the hacker found a hole that their protectors just didn't cover, which is very common.
Also be very very careful with your email virus protection or not, you can still get a virus, as no one can keep up with all the new viruses out there. It would be like trying to count how many hairs are on your head, by counting one hair at a time. It's just not possible due to time constraints. And the fact that the virus softwear companies want to make money. So they aren't going to hire, a million programs to write something for every virus, they'll let some slide and take care of other ones. Business is will business and your there to make money, not lose it.
Do keep your computer well backed up and start learning to really use your firewalls, and your virus protectors, port scanners and get rid of IE, at least until they start filling in the holes that they left 7 years ago, and actually making something that doesn't look holier then swiss cheese.
Kit
