Your Responsibilities
We will focus on three areas…some of which you may have already addressed.
(1) Basic Computer Security – Anti-Virus and Security Suites As soon as you have online access, this is the first software you install on a new computer. A number of mature products with rich features are available. We use the Norton product (by Symantec) currently but have also used the McAfee and Trend Micro products over the years. A robust anti-virus is a protection against viruses, Trojans, malware, spyware, etc. that wishes to find a home on your computer. You wouldn’t live in a home with no front door, would you? No.
Reference Links: Norton McAfee Trend Micro
If you have an existing computer and it has been running for some time without the protection of an anti-virus program, may we suggest the HouseCall program by Trend Micro. This program is downloaded from the Trend Micro site in either 32-bit or 64-bit versions and will provide a quick scan for all of the usual suspects prior to you installing your newly-purchased protection suite.
(2) Securing Your Browser – Some Assembly Required (Internet Explorer 10) Fresh out of the box you can expect that your web browser is not configured as it should be to operate securely. It is probably set to whatever level was best when the system was tested prior to shipping. But that needs to change.
From the "Tools" menu (under the small gear icon), scroll down the menu and click on "Internet options".
Select the "General" tab, then under under "Browsing History", make sure the box next to "Delete browsing history on exit" is checked. (Another way to change this is from the Start button, Control Panel, Internet Options, General, Browsing history, Settings.) Now each time you close your browser window, all record of where you have gone in your previous session will be erased. Your "Favorites" and all saved links will not be affected.If the loss of your browsing history is too much to bear you can flush out the contents via the "Delete..." button under "Browsing history" on that same screen. More on that later.
Now select the "Security" tab. You will see four zones: Internet, Local Internet, Trusted sites and Restricted sites.
- Internet Zone – Use the "Medium-High" setting
- Local intranet zone - Use the "Medium-low" setting
- Trusted Sites – Use the "Medium-High" setting
Click on the "Sites" button and add the following entries:
- http://*.update.microsoft.com
- http://download.windowsupdate.com
- http://*.update.microsoft.com
- Restricted sites - Use the "High" setting
Now select the "Privacy" tab (Your first defense against cookies) - Set to "Medium High". Confirm that the boxes next to "Turn on Pop-up Blocker" and "Disable toolbars and extensions when InPrivate Browsing starts" are checked.
Selecting the "Advanced" tab (at the far right) you’ll find several settings that apply to all of the security zones.
Under "Browsing" - Although browser extensions can be conduits for tracking, we advise you leave the box next to "Enable third-party browser extensions" checked. The "InPrivate" browsing option can be used if you wish to temporarily run without them.
Under "International" - Make certain that the “Always show encoded addresses” box is checked.
Finally, under "Security" - Place checks by the entries that read "Always send Do Not Track header" and "Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed".
To complete your work and save the changes, click the "Apply" button in the lower right corner of the window. You must restart your computer for some of those changes to take effect, so remember to do so.
Deleting Your Browsing History Manually: From the "Delete..." button on the "General" tab you will be presented with several boxes to be checked.
No - Preserve Favorites Website Data (if checked, saves cookies even if you select delete cookies) Yes - Temporary Internet files and website files (text, images and other data including Web Bugs) Yes - Cookies and website data (without remorse) Yes - History (a list of all sites you visited) Yes - Download History (no complete clean up is complete without it) Yes - Form data (Purge IE of all saved information) Yes - Passwords (you will need to re-enter them next session) Yes - ActiveX Filtering and Tracking Protection data (we will explain later)Get into the habit of deleting the information your browser has saved on a regular basis. The more information you leave lying around, the easier it is for marketing and tracking types to follow you.
(3) Tracking Protection in Three Steps: (3.1) In the upper right corner of your browser window you will see a gear symbol (the "Tools" menu). Click on that then scroll down the menu until you get to "Safety" - click that. The third selection from the top of the next sub-menu is "Tracking Protection..." - click that. A new window will open up which is titled "View and manage your Internet Explorer add-ons." In the list titled "Add-on Types" at left you will see "Tracking Protection" - click that. It will say "Your Personalized List" and "Disabled" in the space to the right.
(3.2)We need to obtain at least one list for your browser to use, so look down the window until you see "Get a Tracking Protection List online..." - click that. Microsoft hosts examples of lists for your convenience. A new window called "Internet Explorer Gallery" will open. You will be presented with some background information about these lists and offered several selections. Look for "Abine Standard". Click the "Add" button next to it. Scroll down until you see "EasyPrivacy". Click the "Add" button next to it. Now close this browser window.
(3.3)You are back at the "Manage Add-ons" window. Right click on the word "Disabled" next to "Your Personalized List" and select "Enable". Now go to the bottom right of this window and click the "Close" button. You can close your current IE session and start a new one to be certain that IE is now filtering out the objectionable requests. You should also know that the selected lists will be automatically/periodically updated as new threats are identified.
Now you are ready to go.