Just cause your paranoid...

As the saying goes:

Just cause your paranoid, doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you.

Here is an article from C-Net back in March 22nd, 2010:

Malware delivered by Yahoo, Fox, Google ads

Malware delivered by Yahoo, Fox and of all people Google ads.

Now this is not a rant towards Google, (Given the fact blogger is with Google)... This is to point out something people have always wondered how the hell they are getting Malware on their computer.

The sad thing of it all, it is mostly because people aren't paranoid enough about where they browse. It used to be the joke that it is just going to the porn sites... All those damn pop ups and what not. But now a days, it isn't JUST the porn sites that are creating the problems.

6 years ago... It spread to the Lyric Sites, the cheap sites where they have ads or even some popular sites that focus on ads to support themselves. A lot of those sites have affiliates that are not well secured.

Now Yahoo, Fox and Google Ads are considered the 3 of the few sources of Malware delivery based on their advertising methods.

The problem is, the current methodologies to stop this are not 'easily' available to people. The current Security Suites rely on a 'signature', just like anti-virus programs, but of course, Anti-Virus programs are only as good as their most recent definition updates, which means a new malware or virus hitting the net is like you taking a sneeze in the face from someone with the flu before you got the flu vaccination.

And this is where the paranoia has to kick in... With the need to support websites with ads, there is the need to make ads be 'attractable'. Which means using scripting or other flashier means... And to make it easier to do it, the tools to make them are put out, but at the same time, it enables hackers and the like to create their malware and find weakly defended servers to host their malware and infect others, by passing all possible security measures...

So what can you do to protect yourself? Besides being paranoid and never going out to the internet again?

Well, self-education would be a good start. Learn what the hackers are trying to do to mess with your computer. Take the time to do research on things, both online and off.

Next, look at what you use to browse the internet, also WHERE you browse to the internet. Internet Explorer, not one of the best Browsers out there at the moment. Why? Well, besides the usual banter and insults about it being a Microsoft Product, it is because it is a Microsoft Product you want to be careful where you go out on the web for. The reason why: Ease of programming. Microsoft got most of its power from how it made things easy for users, which also included interoperability with its OS, its Office Suite, and also with many of their other products, which means their Web Browsers, their Web Servers products and basically anything Microsoft. The original intention, just like many things, was to provide a medium for users to develop communication and linking of things.

The real drawback on it, was not considering the security ramifications and making sure such things were properly secured to avoid how they could be easily exploited. And unfortunately, you can't put in a lot of security if you want things to have interoperability, the quintessential catch 22.

Now Google's Chrome... I haven't played with it, but I know there are some complaints about it for other reasons. Opera and Safari, well, not enough information for me to comment on them either. The one thing I seem to prefer is Firefox and some of the Add-ons like NoScript and AdBlock Plus to help in some of the issues, if not all of them.

The drawback of using this solution is taking the stance of "OMG - BLOCK EVERYTHING!"... Which is what they sort of do... And then you slowly go, "Ok... I will let you do what you do..." Which can be annoying at times when you keep going to a site for the first time and you are filling out stuff, and finding out you can't go further unless you allow scripting for that site, which means... Re-entering all that information you spent x minutes filling in the first place.

But again... Even with this precaution, this doesn't stop the e-mail tricks, which rely on you to be informed and paranoid to not trust the link!

The best way to be internet savvy... Is to question everything!