5. What? Me Worry?
Why should you worry about anything except your browser if you want to do safe browsing? Just download a safe browser with good security and you'll be fine, right? All this download-and-patch stuff is a pain in the patoot. My browser updates itself automatically, so I'm good, right?
Think about it this way – if a very strong virus infects a person who is old and weak, with a compromised immune system, the virus could do severe damage to that person. Conversely, a mild virus infecting a young, healthy individual with a good immune system might cause a little inconvenience, but the patient will be able shrug off the attack. If the malware you click on finds an old OS with old, unpatched programs, no anti-malware and no firewall, you'll suffer more than if the same malware runs up against a newer, fully patched OS, patched programs, and fully functional anti-malware and a firewall.
The rest of this article is going to cover steps you can take to fend off malware exploits, where you deliberately click on something and where you simply look at a file or page. Some of these recommendations will not be feasible because you will not have the right control over your computer, for example if you are using a machine at work, or because it is just not economically feasible to change your operating system or browser.
The recommendations are presented in order from your operating system up to your web browser.
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
