Do NOT! I Repeat, Do NOT! Click on .EXE files sent via webpages.

I don’t know how many times I have had to tell people not to click on something that pops up during their surfing, or remind people to look at the status bar of their browser so they can see what is going on. Just as true in their email usage, don’t click on links embedded in email. Sure, it is easier to click. But it is more expensive too.

So, I’m amazed that something like this still happens. Come on, it takes someone to work hard to make this happen, and it still happens. This is why we need IPv6 adoption immediately so that identified zombies and virus distributors can be chopped from the greater internet tree before it causes more harm. A phone call to their internet provider, and notification that they have been compromised.

I’ve been around since 110 baud acoustic-coupled modems… using little cups that attach to a rotary dial phone… and I’ve never been infected by a virus unless I chose to so I could see how it worked and that was on a machine I could wipe clean easily. Thank you Restore disk. When I provide advice to any user, I always tell them to get a good antivirus program [I currently use AVG Free] and a good firewall program [I use Comodo, but currently just Windows 7]. I also suggest that users become familiar with programs like Hijack This, Ad-Aware, and Spybot Search & Destroy [Hardly use this after everything else.], and ultimately, common sense will win out.

Go to trustworthy sites, and become familiar with their navigation. When something is strange, like a popup that requires the launching of a new application… question it and investigate before running the application.