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[impirius]

I've been working at my dad's comptuer shop over the summer, and the amount of spyware/malware and viruses that come in has skyrocketed over the past couple of months. I'm all for making money, but it's gotten to the point where I'm just frustrated. We see several repeat visits because people just can't keep their computers clean of this junk, despite us installing anti-virus and anti-spyware programs and giving advice on previous visits.

There don't seem to be any sites that provide a simple overview of good Internet habits. The ones I've found have good information, but there's so much of it that our customers would be scared away. My goal is to make a site that gives the user a basic understanding of Internet safety in a straightforward manner and in broad, simple terms. There will be links to resources with more detailed information, but for this site, the overview should take about 15 or 20 minutes and include all the basics: spyware, viruses, firewalls, passwords, and so on.

The domain and bandwidth are ready... all that's left is to make the site and write up the content. I have some ideas in mind, but I'd love to hear what some of you think before I start on anything. Are there any features you'd like to see other than just the overview?

Thanks in advance for helping reduce the amount of headaches in Upstate SC!

 

[ckohler]

Tip 1: Don't use IE! I forced my parents into only using Firefox and that solved about 60% of their computer problems. You can't unknowingly collect spyware/adware/toolbars/popups if you just use a browser that doesn't support ActiveX.

 

[Fallopian Tube]

Tip 2: Use an install monitor when installing programs to see whats going into your system.

 

[SFA_AOK]

Funnily enough, I thought about doing something like this the other day (I think when I read that story about the US saying you shouldn't use IE).

The mistakes people make about protecting their computer are (in no particular order):
1. Choice of browser
2. Firewall
3. Malware
4. Viruses/virus software
5. OS updates
6. Choice of E-mail client

 

[Wolfy]

1: Be wary of all things p2p.

 

[tt_deeb]

I jsut got this virus with AIM. It keeps changing my profile and then leaves a link to some Profile Bytes site. nek0de, it says as well, if that helps. I can't get friggin rid of it...

 

[Hitman]

My comptuer was so messed up about a week ago. I had ran every virus sca, trojan scan, and ad scanner out there and it still did not fix this certain problem i was having(being blocked from certain websites). I finally had to reformat and reinstall windows. Within 1 minute of getting my computer back online after the reinstall I went on gaming-age forums and immediately had spyware on ym browser. The browser's homepage and search page were changed. Couple hours later of surfing I had received the sasser worm virus. Its fuckin retarded how much viruses and stuff there are out there nowadays

 

[God's Hand]

People who get viruses/trojans only have themselves to blame. Of course it's easy to blame Microsoft or whoever, but there are precautions you must take if you're using a computer. I've been using IE since 3.0 and have never had a virus or anything. However, I've always had a virus scanner and firewall, and I've been careful on what I click on the web and what I accept as file transfers.

 

[impirius]

Thanks for all the input, guys... keep it coming! I've been thinking about how to lay out the information. Should the different threats have their own sections ("here's what spyware is and how to prevent and cure it, here's what hijacking is and how to prevent and cure it, etc."), or should there be three sections: describing the threats, explaining prevention, and explaining cures? The latter may be less confusing but would rely on the reader to remember why the things in the first section are bad.

God's Hand: I agree that everything can be avoided if the user takes precautions. The problem is that most people don't understand the rules. They don't get why it's bad to click "OK" on an ActiveX install window... after all, it says the publisher's identity is verified. They think that email attachments that come from their friends are always OK to open because, well, why would their friends send them a virus? The windows that pop up pretending to be system alerts can be very convincing. It's easy for you and me to avoid such pitfalls, but what's common sense for us is foreign to many computer users. My goal is to help change that.

tt: Good luck with that... haven't heard of that one.

Hitman: Where the heck were you surfing?

 

[Deg]

Look into prevention rather than just clean ups. Firewall, spyware blocker, better browser.

Back up crucial files now and again. Have a bootdisk or system ready if something happens.