Chapter 5: Securing Your Web Browser

Overview

It may come as a surprise to many new users that the Internet isn't limited to the World Wide Web and e-mail facilities alone. Although there's certainly a great deal of Internet real estate beyond these components, it's hard to argue that the Web isn't the face of the Internet. In fact, the vast majority of users rely on one particular program - their web browsers - to access every facet of the Internet. From using web-based e-mail services to browsing Usenet newsgroups via specialized web sites, there are few corners of the Internet that one cannot reach via a web browser like Internet Explorer.

As handy and ubiquitous as the web browser may be, its popularity has made it an increasingly popular target for hackers, crackers, and other shady organizations in the online world. As the capabilities of web browsers have grown beyond accessing simple HTML-based web pages, so too have the risks associated with using browsers as an interface to the Internet. The experiences offered to the web surfers of today are much more dynamic in nature, allowing them to interact with sites in a variety of new and exciting ways. The drivers behind these innovations include technologies like Java, scripting languages, ActiveX, and the like. Unfortunately, many of the same technologies and features that make surfing the web a more interesting and dynamic experience for the web surfers of today are the same ones that are putting the browsing public at a more serious security and privacy risk than ever before.

And so the time has come when every Internet user - and (arguably) especially those who use Internet Explorer - needs to give serious consideration his web browser's security. From malware threats like spyware and browser hijackings to the privacy risks associated with tracking cookies, there's just no shortage of security and privacy threats that can find their way onto your Windows Vista system via your web browser.

In this chapter you'll learn more about the need for web browser security, and how to implement it using the Windows Vista native browser Internet Explorer 7 (IE7). You'll also learn why many people are looking beyond Internet Explorer to many alternative web browsers as substitutes in their quest to surf the Web with a higher degree of system security and personal privacy.