Stay safe online – Even NYT now serving up malware
Sometimes you can do everything right to protect yourself and still get hit by a virus or nasty piece of malware. As if to prove that’s the case, the New York Times has this weekend found itself the vendor of an unauthorized ad that while promising to keep you safe online actually does the opposite. Is nowhere sacred on the Web any more?
Malware, viruses, phishing scams, and every other nasty you can think of that will do harm to your computer are rife on the Internet. The chances are that the majority of people reading this have been infected and affected by the problem since they first ventured on to the Web. Because no matter how many precautions you take, there is always still the chance that one ill-advised click can lead to a world of trouble.
A big part of the problem is what types of sites you visit on the Web or what sort of activity you are partaking in. Visit unknown porn sites, or celebrity wallpaper and screensaver sites and you’re asking for trouble. Or download unverified torrent files or open email attachments without first scanning them and you are also asking for trouble.
However, normal Web sites, sites that you would assume to be as safe as houses, can sometimes also be affected. And as MediaMemo reports, The New York Times has found that out to its cost over the weekend. The newspaper issued the following notice to readers outlining the problem.
Some NYTimes.com readers have seen a pop-up box warning them about a virus and directing them to a site that claims to offer antivirus software. We believe this was generated by an unauthorized advertisement and are working to prevent the problem from recurring. If you see such a warning, we suggest that you not click on it. Instead, quit and restart your Web browser. Questions and comments can be sent to adtraffic@nytimes.com.
This is an issue faced by all Web sites because not all ads are served directly. Instead, there is a reliance on the advertising networks to ensure these types of bogus advert don’t make their way on to the Web, especially placed on such a trusted and high profile property as The New York Times.
Although there is no way of guaranteeing an immunity to malware, there are obvious and easy safeguards you can put in place to minimize the risk. Start by installing a good firewall, antivirus software, and anti-spyware software on your system. These are available both for free and paid-for. Then keep all these up-to-date at all times. And lastly, use common sense at all times. Which is easier said than done.
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