Safe Internet browsing? Here's how you can!

Every time you browse the Internet these days, it's a little bit like going through a minefield.

There are many more dangers waiting for you out there than you could think of: malicious scripts, web bugs, tracking cookies, malware, defaced websites, server vulnerabilities (think of the OpenSSL exploit utilized by Heartbleed, for example)….

Does it sound a little too paranoid? I know, but I'm big on the old saying "better safe than sorry".

Every time you open your web browser you take chances in dark alleys, so I'd like to give you some tips for a safer browsing:

1. Use a limited-right account to surf the Internet: If you use a limited account not having administrative rights to surf the Internet, you won't be allowed to install anything on your PC and neither a hacker will. On macOS (or OS X)/Linux systems a hacker would need your administrative password. If a confirmation window starts popping up without any plausible reason, this is big a red flag. So, if you don't enter the password and the hacker doesn't know it, he can do any real damages. On Windows systems you won't be prompted for a password, but for an action (reason why Unix-based systems have a higher security level than Windows). If you utilized an account with limited rights, even though you'd wrongly click Continue, you couldn't successfully complete the setup, as you don't have the necessary permissions. So bye bye hacker! For macOS/OS X, you can create a limited account from System Preferences/Users & Groups, by clicking on the "+" button. For Windows 7, access Control Panel/User Accounts and Family Safety/Add or remove user accounts. Regardless of the operating system you use, I don't recommend activating the Guest account, as it uses a default password that's well-known to experienced hackers and it's very vulnerable (it's the first thing a hacker looks for). If you want to activate an account for a temporary user, you'd better create a limited account and call it Temporary or something similar. By the way, don't name your administrator account Administrator, Admin or Root, if you don't want to get hacked in right away.
2. Use a "sandboxed" browser: Some unknown spyware had messed up with my browser settings redirecting my homepage (see figure below) but, as I'm running it in a virtualized environment, thanks to Sandboxie (see Sandboxie - free the explorer in you for more details), I don't give a damn. I could have deleted the sandbox files and called it a day, but I hate this crapware, so I reset Firefox to its default settings just the same, for the heck of it. A matter of principle. Another (commercial) alternative is Deepfreeze. It creates a system image and locks the OS to it, so any changes you make to your PC disappear when you log out or shut down your PC, preventing any infection or unwanted change. If you want to perform any change, you need to authorize it and, in corporate environments, this is up to the system administrator.
3. Refrain from Internet toolbars: Like I've already explained in my post Internet toolbars - a big hassle or a plus?, they can mess up with your browser settings and be a malware/spyware/adware vehicle, so avoid them as most as possible.
4. Use an add-on like HTTPS Everywhere | Electronic Frontier Foundation: It forces your browser to always use an encrypted connection through Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), adding a supplementary layer of security to your browsing experience
5. Don't store password locally and prevent tracking cookies from installing to your HD: Like I explained in my previous post LastPass, strong passwords for the web and in other ones, too, if you don't store password locally no hackers can steal them from you. Yesterday a massive database of 1.2 billion usernames and passwords, stolen by a gang of Russian hackers, has been discovered on the Internet by a U.S. security firm (see Russian Hackers Behind World's Biggest Internet Security Breach). Another threat is the use of tracking cookies, which spy on your browsing habits and may be used for malicious purposes as well. A tool such as Ghostery :: Add-ons for Firefox - Mozilla Add-ons is a must-have to get rid of these pesky undesired guests on your computer.  

Wrap-up

The Internet is pretty much a sort of Far West and you never know what you could meet out there.

The only 100% safe PC is a PC disconnected from the Internet.

There are several cyber threats lying in wait but, if you do your homework, use the Internet in a more secure way and you're more aware of what you're doing, you can be reasonably safe.

Hope this contribution of mine can help raise awareness about this hot topic and help you make your browsing experience more secure.