Securing the Microsoft POS
There's a very big chance that you are using the browser that came with your computer and/or operating system. In the case of Windows, that browser is the infamous Internet Explorer.
Internet Explorer is, at best, a mediocre browser. In some circumstances, it is a complete piece of trash, constructed mostly to provide a rich set of features for those who develop intranet applications. Features like ActiveX and scripting capable of manipulating your filesystems are also coveted by script kiddies and hacker-crackers for their destructive and annoying powers.
The browser also has substandard CSS support. Many forward-looking Web designers must curb their enthusiasm for a future of simplified development and superior aesthetics and worry about how Internet Explorer will mangle their designs.
Other browsers, such as Mozilla and Opera, do not have these gaping problems, but for some reason, people seem to insist on using Internet Exploder, despite its flaws and shortcomings. Certain sites mindlessly promote this geriatric block of Swiss cheese with their backs facing the Web Standards Pain Train.
Sometimes, it seems as if there really is no other alternative to worrying about stepping on a Gator-branded landmine and turning your $300 XP installation into a cyber-paperweight.
This guide is for those people who, in spite of my discouraging discourse, want to continue using Internet Explorer. The simple fact is, even a badly-flawed browser like Internet Explorer can be secured to the point that using it is no longer like driving a Isuzu Trooper at 160 kilometers an hour (100 mph in old-style measurements) on I-94 during a rainstorm.
However, securing Internet Explorer does not give you the advantages of the other mainstream browsers out there, such as near-perfect CSS support, built-in pop-up blocking, and lack of support for more insidious "anti-theft" coding. But if you really, really want to keep using IE and have this site look like crap on you:
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Raise the (security) bar
Increasing the strictness of your security settings is a prudent idea, and although you may lose such things as Flash and JavaScript this way, you will be better off.
In the Internet Options applet, go to the security tab and click "Custom Level." Use these settings:
- Download signed ActiveX controls: disable (prompt is okay, but may lead to accidental Gator invasion)
- Download unsigned ActiveX controls: disable
- Init. and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe: disable
- Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins: enable (prompt if you're paranoid; disable if you're really paranoid)
- Installation of desktop items: prompt (disable if paranoid)
- Launching programs and files in an IFRAME: prompt (disable)
- Active scripting: disable for maximum security, enable if you really must have scripting on any ol' page you visit (prompt is an annoyance waiting to happen)
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Keep it updated
Microsoft has a page on securing Internet Explorer, called Understand and Maintain Security with Internet Explorer. From that page, you can read on about how you can secure your
Swiss cheesebrowser.One of these ways is to get the security updates when they come out. These patches and updates often fix holes in the browser and make it safer to a small extent.
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Get a pop-up blocker
Pop-ups are a major bringer of trash to Internet Explorer users. From Comet Cursors to Gator garbageware, marketing morons utilize these wonders of black magic to force their probes up Windoze's rear end, in the form of programs that do "neat and/or useful things." This may include browser hijacking, dialing up expensive-like-De Beers-diamonds porn services, and/or otherwise reducing the already-limited control you have over your computing environment.
An acceptable solution would be the Google Toolbar. The Google Toolbar allows quick access to Google while blocking unrequested pop-ups, and as far as I know, does not contain any trashware-type tomfoolery. Other "pop-up blockers" may not be so kosher, so be careful.
With a little caution and some third-party software, Internet Explorer can be about as secure as any other browser out there. But as any Mozilla user can tell you, you're losing out on many features that make alternative browsers so attractive.
NOTE: I am not an Internet Explorer expert, and I don't play one here. So take these tips with a grain of salt the size of your head, and do consult Microsoft's pages on the subject of securing your browser.
