Bits'n'Bytes

Tip 2

Computers are primarily used for surfing the internet. Just about anyone who owns a computer uses it first for surfing the net, second for just about anything else. Unfortunately, the Internet is a dangerous place for a poor unprotected computer. There are viruses, trojans, worms and all kinds of malware and adware out there, waiting for an unsuspecting user to happen by.

For this reason, be sure you have a decent antivirus program running at all times while you're on the internet. The better ones will have a feature called a phishing filter. What that does, is compares the text of the link you're about to click on with where the link actually takes you. If you click on a link that says www.mywebsite.com, and the site really takes you to www.myotherwebsite.com, a phishing filter should stop you from being able to click on that link. Phishing filters are also great to have for when you've been sent links in your email, as they will protect you from click on some of the really obvious phishing attempts.

Another way to tell if you are being fished is to turn on your status bar on your browser. The status bar is typically at the bottom of your browser. When you highlight (are about to click on) a link in a web page, where the page is about to send you is displayed in your status bar. If the link text and the status bar don't match, don't go there!

To turn on the status bar, click on the View menu in your browser. If you can't find a View menu, click Alt-V (press and hold the Alt key while pressing the V key). In the drop down menu that appears, look for Tool Bars. That will open a sub-dropdown menu, where you can find and check Status Bar. Voila, another line of defence against malicious web sites!

Thanks for reading!

Until next week, I'm Computer Dave