For years now people have taken advantage of features (os-bugs not included) to use them for malice purposes. These because someone can see your ip address is not necessarily a danger in itself. What tends to be dangerous is the false sense of security people have when they install firewalls and intrusion detection systems and then go and circumvent those measures by downloading and running software from untrusted sources.

It have been my perspective that it is possible for you to run a completely safe and secure computing environment by just following some simple rules.

1. Is your OS patched and up-to-date? (This is an industry problem these are the most dangerous types of issues because you can follow best practices but if your software platform is full of holes your a sitting duck.)

2. Is your virus software up-to-date and functioning properly?
(If your systems are clean of viruses the best way to keep them that way is not expose them to new risks by downloading and running things from untrusted sources.)

3. Backup Strategy (Can you recover your machine if it became seriously impaired? - I would add to this one You should not keep anything on your system that is important if you are going to use your machine in a hostile environment. I would highly recommend a dedicated machine for use on the Internet if you can afford it. Or at least the ability to switch between configurations.)

4. Know your machine (this is the most important)

The industry sells a lot of products to people who are naturally ignorant to the risks of computing in a hostile environment. I think knowledge of general to advanced computing practices and the associated risks would allow the general public the ability to accurately assess these risks and plan accordingly.

So the story goes:

Sally Sue want to use the Internet to do all of these cool things with her computer. Sally Sue want to do all of these cool things as safely and securely as possible. Sally Sue want to retain full functionality in her computing in environment.

Unfortunately, as people find ways to turn functionality into a security risks the Internet as a medium for sharing and exchange is turning into a ocean of little islands of highly restricted and limited communications.

In essence the price you pay for security is sometimes a loss in functionality.


hope this helps.