source of virus - most common

Was thinking again about virus's and their impact which focused my attention as to how they get to the computer in the first place.
1. Peer 2 Peer (Morpheus, etc)
2. Internet broadband always on connections.
3. Disk sharing.
Its number 2 that interests me with windows sp1,sp2 improvements have been greatly received but there is a flaw INTERNET EXPLORER, how many times have you had to disable the install active X button before you can proceed. These Active X installations in MOST cases are installing spyware products, dial up's or some other nasty. Internet explorer has become a pain in the bot..it is the main target for hacking attempts. I suggest that you try firefox 1.1 which will replace internet explorer entirely, its similar but a better experience and hassle free.
Just another way to limit the chances of getting another unwanted file installed by mistake by yourself.

 

Hi Wilbur, as your post is in relation to viruses, I have moved it to this forum where it should receive better attention.

Cheers

Blackspear.

 

If you're talking specifically about viruses, I'd have thought imprudent handling of email was one of the best ways to get infected. For malware in general, downloading from suspect sites is always a danger.

As for IE, many people, including myself, happily browse quite safely without becoming infected - it really depends on what you do and how you configure it. For example, it is a good idea to go to the 'Advanced' tab of Tools/Internet Options and untick the boxes for 'Enable Install On Demand...' and 'Enable Third Party Browser Extensions'. And of course you should not permit Active X and Java when browsing unknown, or untrusted, sites.

It would be a big mistake to think that just because you are on Firefox you are safe and can take risks, whereas with IE you are automatically not safe. When it comes to 'Browser wars' commonsense seems to be the first casualty.

 

i agree with the firefox1.0.1 recommendation wilbur, the more i have used firefox the more i stay away from IE.
absolutely proven to be more secure than ie-6.
and how cool is Tabbed-browsing?

 

That is so true. Although I use Opera and Netscape most of the time these days, I still use IE occasionally as well. I get tired of some FireFox Evangelists [Fanatics, Extremists] speaking of IE as if it carries a "disease" or is an automatic "smoking gun". There is no need to take such an extreme position or to resort to such rhetoric. And the fact is, some webpages don't render properly in the alternative browsers. That said, there is nothing wrong with using FireFox or whatever browser you wish, but still exercise caution -- keep an up-to-date resident AV; tighten the Zone Settings in IE if you use that browser; run a well-configured firewall; exercise caution, don't open foreign attachments, stay away from unseemly sites; etc. etc.