Do you know the sites you are visiting?

We visit new, unknown websites everyday without thinking about it.  While we may trust some sites, advertisements even on these sites can lead one accidentally to unexpected sites or downloads.  With a few simple additions to your browser you can not only improve your computer’s security but also remove distractions from webpages.

Block advertisements

Adblock is a useful, pay-what-you-want extension the removes the advertisements from websites.  While most are automatically removed, you can easily tune it to remove any advertisements that it misses.  While there is no adblock extension for Internet Explorer, Adblock plus is a reasonable substitute.

With advertisements blocked, you have not only removed tiresome distractions from websites but also blocked a common route by which malware can reach your computer.

Web of Trust

Web of Trust (WOT) is a “free website reputation, rating and review tool”.  What this means is that the WOT extension tells you about how other people have experienced each website. What did they think of how the website you are visiting treated their computer or their personal data? Did it try to install unexpected software on their computer?  Using a traffic light system (green for good, red for awful), WOT gives a brief overview of the website’s reputation.

In an extreme case, WOT will warn you before you visit particularly unfriendly sites.  This may just save you from an unpleasant experience or even a visit from a computer professional.