Earning the Key to Cyberspace City

Six simple steps toward becoming a responsible resident of Cyberspace:

1) Don't use Internet Explorer

I'm beating the proverbial dead horse here, but using IE opens your computer up to all manner of spyware, viruses and Trojan horses. To be a responsible Net Citizen you should use a safer browser like Mozilla Firefox or Opera.

If you run across the occasional site that requires IE such as MSNBC (you KNOW what the MS stands for ... right?) or the Windows Update site, by all means use IE, but for every day browsing stick with something safe like Firefox.

2) Don't Open E-mail Attachments

Most viruses and Trojan horses are spread through e-mail attachments. If you're not expecting the attachment or it just seems ... off, don't open it.

You know what? Don't open them anyway.

3) Keep Your Computer Up To Date

If you're running Windows, please keep your computer up to date by running Windows Update at least once every month. Microsoft tends to release their updates on the second Tuesday of every month, so adopting a schedule of updating on the second Friday of the month (for example) might be a good choice.

Optionally you can set Windows to automatically download and install any new updates when they become available. I don't do this because I prefer to know when and how updates are being applied just in case a problem should arise.

4) Run a Good Anti-Virus Program

Keeping your system protected by running a good anti-virus program is critical. One that comes highly recommended is NOD32 by Eset. I personally use Frisk F-Prot. Both are good programs and do away with the unnecessary features that other, more popular, programs have.

Whatever program you use, be sure to schedule your anti-virus program to download updates automatically.

5) Run One or More Anti-Spyware Programs

Download and install both Lavasoft AdAware and Spybot S&D and run them regularly.

Some have also mentioned Microsoft's Anti-Spyware program, but I just can't bring myself to trust the company that's causing all these problems for people in the first place. Installing the Microsoft program shouldn't hurt anything, but I'm not so sure how much it will help either.

6) Run a Hardware Firewall*

Software firewalls are good but they can be easily defeated. By installing a good hardware firewall, you make your computer "invisible" to the outside world and do so with a piece of hardware that is not so easily cracked.

I've had a lot of luck with Linksys routers, but you should be good with D-Link or Netgear as well.

(*UPDATED 4.18.05: Hardware firewalls are for broadband users. If you're on dial-up, simply use the built in Windows firewall. It should afford you most of the protection you need. If anyone can refer me to a good, inexpensive, hardware firewall for dial-up users, please leave a comment below.)

That's it! Six easy steps to being a responsible resident of Cyberspace.

Oh ... wait. There's one more...

7) Use a Mac running OS X.

Yep. Folks currently running a Mac don't have to worry about spyware, viruses, Internet Explorer issues and most e-mail attachments.

Will this change? Perhaps as the Mac becomes more popular it will become a larger target for hackers, but by design a Mac running OS X is infinitely more secure than a standard Windows XP computer. The fact is, with the exception of the hardware firewall (which is just good common sense) and running an occasional software update, none of the other items on this list apply to Macs in 2005.

So there ya go. SEVEN steps to becoming a more responsible resident of Cyberspace.


NOTE: Even if you follow all the steps above and then some, you may still get a virus or other "infection." Please don't take this list as being legal advice or a be-all/end-all list of things you should do to be completely safe on the Internet. As with all advice, remember that YMMV (Your Milage May Vary).