Security on the Internet

Guide to all things as the way I see them for how to be secure on the Internet in the modern age. First and foremost I am not an expert. I have managed to not accumulate any ridiculous viruses since the days of ICQ / and dial-up.

Antivirus

The best antivirus in the world cannot protect everything you are doing if your in an unsecured area (public Wifi).

I use  Panda Cloud Antivirus. Its free, and it theoretically is always up-to-date being on the cloud. This will protect you when your about to download something dumb (illegal music / porn / anything that sounds too good to be true)

Email

The days of using outlook explorer should be dead and gone. Using mail providers like gmail or yahoo are excellent at filtering out malicious attempts. Using common sense is also important.

Any link that looks like its jibberish or even “you bank account has been stolen ...click here to correct it”. Don’t Click It. This is known as Phishing.

I use Gmail. Agrain Free, tons of storage, well organized and only a few scam type emails sneak in.

Surfing the Web

This is possibly the biggest one. Don’t think that the web is a safe place. Its a cesspool of disturbance. So first and foremost, stay away from that trash. If you feel the need to be a part of that, get yourself a seperate computer, one thats not connected to your home network in any way. Then I’ll teach you how to install linux and you can have at it.

For the rest of the world who wants to play farmville, talk on skype, and generally does not want to be bothered by the delinquents there are a few things you can do.

I use Google Chrome for 99% of my web browsing but I also still keep firefox because it has some good tools to use and may be a little better at keeping you safe on the web with its add-ins

Go download firefox. Then go pick up and install all of these add-ins (aka “The Paranoid Kit”. Not because I want your computer to chug but because it will help you notice when your computer is trying to tell you to GET OFF THIS WEBSITE...ITS BAD.

One more time. Just stay away from anything that you don’t know. If all else fails google what your about to do before you do it. Other people have already been there and done it.

Torrent/Downloading Anything

Just don’t....don’t

Back It Up

I use 5 forms of backup/sync programs. Paranoid, why yes..yes I am. But when my computer goes down I’m covered for everything I need. Needless to say. I might not need all of these things if I “lived” in the cloud. But were still working on that part.

#1

I use Mozy Home for my files that I really need (my documents 2gigs free)

#2

I use SugarSync for “desktop” and some random game saves or program saves that I want to ensure I have (5 gigs free)

#3

I use Picasa to back up my photos (all of them - 1gig**).

• Side note: if you sign up for google+ they give you additional storage for free plus let you save a higher resolution for free. I can keep my pics all private or share selected ones.
• Check it out even if you have more than 1gig of pictures. Fantastic service.

#4

I use dropbox for files that I want to take with me here and there.

• Good example would be tax forms, resumes, budgets, ect. I also keep this on google docs
• They provide 2gigs free and you can work yourself up to more by referral. So click that link and get me more space. Please!

#5

I use Amazon.com to back up my MP3 collection (5gig free) / Google Music to stream it then

Cleanliness

After your done getting yourself prepped for the internet. Remember. All of those cookies and random bits and pieces you install stay until you get rid of them. I start every restart with running ccleaner. There is a setting to run each start up. This cleans out the crud and keeps you flying along the information super highway.