In even the best case scenarios, sometimes spyware can still get you no matter what you do.  This is why I am a firm believer in a few small changes to the software you use to help protect your computer just a little bit more.

If you use the following tools, you will be shocked at how much less of a hassle the Internet in general will be to you.

Try this out and see how it suits you:

1. Install Mozilla Firefox

This is going to be the new baseline for your web browsing experience.  Firefox’s greatest strengths are its ability to update itself when a new version comes out (YES PLEASE ALWAYS CLICK OK WHEN IT ASKS TO UPDATE!) and its large selection of quality add-ons that make the software even better.

2. While in Firefox, visit addons.mozilla.org

You’re going to want to pimp out your browser with a few essentials.  This is crucial. I’m going to list these extensions by order of annoyance, starting with the least invasive one first.

3. Install Adblock Plus

This is the single greatest weapon in your arsenal.  It will remove the shiny objects that distract you from the content on web pages. This one is a set it and forget it.

4. Install Web of Trust

A very popular addon that will flag bad sites outright for you.  A traffic light appears at the top of your browser bar and flags any site others have found issues with.

5. Install RefControl

One of the ways websites track you is by seeing where you are coming from so they know how to tailor the content to you.  This is a growing problem specifically on sites like Facebook.

RefControl allows you to block this information while passing from site to site protecting your computer just a little bit more.  Once you have it installed, do the following:

After restarted, right-click the document looking guy on the far left in the picture above.

Click RefControl Options.

In the “Default for sites not listed” click Edit and select “Block”.

Hit “Ok”

Now all your referrals will be blocked outright.  On some sites (like newegg.com) you’ll see some odd strangeness like not being able to use the shopping cart.  Just go back into this option panel and add the website (like newegg.com) to the exclusion list and everything will work fine!

6. Install FlashBlock

Ever been annoyed by a webpage that just finishes loading only to see some animation fly over the entire page and prevent you from clicking anywhere?  Flashblock blocks all animated flash to run ONLY when you want it to.

If a page has Flash on it, a giant play button will appear.  Click it if you want to watch that YouTube video or see that dancing bear, but until you do, it’ll stay neatly tucked away from annoying the crap out of you.

7. Advanced: Install RequestPolicy

This bad boy takes some getting used to, but whoa nelly is it powerful.

RequestPolicy (or RP) blocks any request a web page makes to other web sites not on the same server.  This means that cross site scripts that send information to and from other websites will be stopped cold in their tracks.

RP has a great new subscription service they just added which takes a lot of the pain away from the original version, but some websites need a quick click to make them work:

Click the flag in the bottom right hand corner of your web browser in the status bar.

If you trust the website you are on, click “Allow requests from…” and then all requests in that site will work fine.

This can be a learning curve (and an annoyance) in the beginning, but the more you use it, the safer your browser becomes and the less it will need your interaction.

Just be sure to use it properly, and only allow requests from websites you know and trust.

8. Advanced: Install NoScript

There is a lot of fence-sitting in the tech community about this add-on.  NoScript is going to be flat out the most cumbersome of these addons to install but it can also make your browser virtually bulletproof.

The idea is that all javascript is bad. Period.  Just like RequestPolicy, you get a little icon in the status bar that you click and allow javascript to run.  This means you get to pick and choose what gets executed directly in your browser.

The problem is that when you visit any new website, you’re almost assured you are going to have to decipher what javascript is good and bad.  While this isn’t a bad thing, its a hurdle to learn that some of your favorite sites uses content distributors like Akamai and cdn to execute some code, so it looks nefarious.

I recommend trying it, and you can always uninstall it.

If you install these add-ons, you can be assured that your browser is going to be a lot less of a weak link that it currently is on most systems.  Its not going to allow you to be completely blind to security, but its a step in the right direction.

My daily work routine has me maintaining and supporting about 60 workstations and a dozen servers. Due to the nature of the industry, I have to keep the computers and the network almost completely wide open and unrestricted.

In almost six years, we’ve had almost no spyware outbreaks.

The reason is simple: user education. I’ve spent more time trying to educate our employees about what not to do when they are on their own as opposed to trying to find technological barriers that providers overcome at every turn. So far, its worked.

If you are looking for ways to arm yourself in your own personal war against malelovent downloads to your computer, here are my following reccomendations:

1. Don’t take candy from strangers – We all learned this growing up and it seems the Internet is making us relearn this all over again.  If there is an unknown quantity to what you are doing, think safety first and avoid clicking uncessary links, downloads, and websites that just plain look shady.
2. Look a gift horse in the mouth – There is still no such thing as a free lunch.  So many of the computers I have seen with spyware get it from software that was downloaded to install a cool poker game or screen saver.  New leaps in technology on the net mean that you don’t have to download almost anything to play the simple games and do the simple things you used to need to install programs for.
3. If you have to think about it, you probably should’t – Notice a pattern?  I’m basically rewording the same idea over and over again; don’t trust ANYTHING on the Internet.
4. Keep your friends close, but don’t click anything they send you – Stealing your identity is a profitable business and the easiest way a hacker earns your trust is by faking something you believe is safe.  Many viruses steal your friends address books and send themselves to everyone in it so that the emails look like something completely innocent.  If you aren’t expecting it from your long lost cousin you haven’t talked to in five years, you probably shouldn’t click it.
5. Forwarded chains are the devil – I can’t preach this enough.  Stop forwarding emails that are cute.  It was started by a spammer or someone who was really bored and you’re letting the crazies win.
6. Google is your friend – If you have a question about a piece of software you are about to download, Google can usually give you a good answer.  Just type in the name of the program and the word spyware and educate yourself by relying on others past experiences.  This isn’t foolproof, but it might help.
7. If you are going to download, go to download.com – CNet (who runs download.com) approves every piece of software on its site to be spyware free.  Again, its not foolproof, but its a big step in the right direction.
8. Don’t click it….TYPE IT! – If a bank or Paypal sends you an email, never trust the link they send you.  Open your browser and type in the regular web address just like you normally would.  If something is wrong, the second you log in it will prompt you to fix it.  Phishing links are hard to decipher, and they will always get you when you least expect it.

If you think about what you do when you are online and don’t click shiny things that are trying to lure you into the depths of the Internet, you should be find yourself a lot less prone to the nasties.

The site’s almost done.  Content will be forthcoming.

This has only taken what, 10 years?  I better have something important to say…

I’ve been addicted to the Internet since before Windows 95. I can’t tell you how often I have sat down and said “today is the day I finish my website”. I can tell you thatI’ve actually gotten pretty close…twice?

The first time, I had managed to use Netobjects Fusion to get a site going on vilsack.virtualave.net. I managed to write a little bit, and had something that, at the time, was considerably more respectable than the assault on your senses that was located mostly at Geocities. Hell, it even had pixel perfect positioning!

Then, about four years ago, I managed to have something even better. It was a site based on a small CMS I was trying to code for myself. It had pictures, my resume, and even a hand-coded journal. I eventually ditched it when I joined the MODx team, but nevertheless…it was ALMOST a real website!

Now, I am getting really close to finalizing this design for a new and exciting page. In fact, this very text will be serving as a more coherent “Lorem Ipsum” so I take more ownership of my creation.

I realize this is all incredibly boring, but for me, this is a big step for me.

These pictures were the first ones I saw of my car.  The guy who was selling it in Arkansas posted them up.

Originally, I wanted a black or silver Cobra but the Sonic Blue really stood out.  The paint has a look to it that very few manufacturer mixes seem to:  that pearl metallic.

This site is meant to hold my information and progress about my new car:  a 2003 Ford SVT Cobra.  Here I hope to collect what I learn, pics of my progress, and thoughts of things I think up when I do whatever it is I plan to do with this car.

As anyone who knows me can attest, I’ve been a bit…obsessed about my car since I decided to get one.  In fact, I think people are hoping I would just shut up about it.  But I’ve wanted a true muscle car for years and the Terminator Cobra fits the bill perfectly in every way I can imagine.

Most of this may end up being boring, but if you find anything you find interesting, let me know.