The android rants out...finally

I often used find myself frustrated as i would try to understand how the various aspects of different operating systems and networks around me. the whole internet/computer thing is so damn jargonized and sadly most geeks are also the biggest snobs one comes across...

that was then. now for almost a couple of years (with active help from a few good people :p) i have gotten used to a lot of what i deal with in my system everyday....as well as the net. the net is something very intriguing....it is something that almost everybody interacts with in someway or the other....even people who are not 'tech savvy' have to rely on many things online. over the years i have seen everybody in my family, with the exception of my granny, get caught and increasingly get used to the net, if not addicted to it. what horrifies me thus, is the fact that how blissfully unaware everybody is to whatever they are doing online....in the past it was not uncommon for me to find my family members disclose information online which they would otherwise worry about disclosing even within conversations...

anyways, i believe it is important to remain curious. specially when it is about being curious about something where you are spending a substantial portion of your day [and thus your life!]...heck...i know many, including myself, who are emotionally invested onto the net [i get rather fidgety if i cant check my mail daily]...

now when one talks like this one is very easily brushed aside as a paranoid...

i do not think it is paranoia to be curious about how things work...and how i can control them so that my seemingly harmless actions do not endup harming me...like they said...dont blindly trust something whose brain you cant see :p

my journey to understanding the net started at wikipedia (where else..?) :p
this is a good place to start, for anybody having the inclination : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet

My personal advice (to absolute laymen) for better safety online:

1. For god's sake Get Off Windows..!!!!
2. Stop using IE. Switch to more customizable and controllable browsers such as Firefox or Opera.
3. Get a proper antivirus (needed only if you are still on windows...duh!)
4. Norton antivirus usually sucks when used alone...when on windows..i did prefer using AVG Antivirus. McAfee was also decent.
5. Use a firewall.
6. Do not let your system store any passwords. The files which store these are the first to be stolen from your system.
7. Delete all your cookies once your session is over.
8. Unless you really know what you are doing, do not install keyloggers etc. Many of such programmes are actually malware, i.e. software which seek to harm your computer. They can do this in many ways. to know more read this.
9. Do not download programmes unless you ALREADY know what they are for. Download them from their original creators sites or sites generally accepted as safe sites. If you want to play with stuff, do it on a public system, with prior permission of the owner.
10. I repeat...GET OFF WINDOWS. Its as simple as that. Many beautiful and easy to use options are available (ubuntu for example). Being secure on windows is a feat to achieve even for the computer savvy. Using windows and wanting online security is kinda like building and living in a mud house bang in the center of a highway intersection. You will be infected. It's just a matter of time. Infections will chase you to other systems too...but it will be more like once in an year, if at all.

Now, this list is NOT comprehensive, nor is it even close to being complete. But if this did help you decide that you do want to know more about what you are doing (highly unlikely for some folks i know :p), then please do take the trouble of searching and reading more stuff. It's all out there...all you need to do is to want it.