A close look at web browser security

Microsoft's web browser, Internet Explorer, is often and rightly criticised for being open to attack by virus writers and other criminals but there are some simple ways to reinforce it.

We will not hide the fact that the measures can take a little time to set up and interrupt your browsing but the reward of safety easily outweighs these minor inconveniences. AOL users can also benefit from the advice here as your browser is based on Internet Explorer.

None of these tips remove the need for a good firewall and anti-virus application. You can download free versions of these vital tools and others from VNU's website.

All these tips can be applied in the main settings control panel within the application. To access this from Internet Explorer, click on the Tools menu and select Internet Options. A window will appear with seven tabs along the top; each contains options that can be adjusted to put extra barriers and checkpoints between Internet Explorer and the web.

Personal zones
Let's start with the most obvious tab to look at - Security. Often neglected, the web content zones settings, represented by four symbols, are a good way of making sure you can use all the features on your favourite websites but still maintain security on others you occasionally visit. These lists tell Internet Explorer the sites to trust and those to be suspicious of.

To display the Zones, click on the Security tab in Internet options. There are four zones: Internet, Local intranet, Trusted sites and Restricted sites. Don't worry about the second one; you can safely ignore this at home. The most important option is Internet, as this will be applied to all websites unless you specify otherwise.

There should be a slider in the main part of the window that you can move up and down to change the level of security. If there is no slider, it means there are custom settings applied to your computer; click on the Default Level button to bring the slider back.

If you try to move the slider below Medium in the Internet zone, the application will display a warning and then move the slider back to Medium. You can move the slider to High for extra protection but this means the browser will block tools contained within websites. For example, online shopping sites contain small programs that work out what you have ordered and its cost and setting the Internet Zone security level to High may stop this and other handy features working.