Safest browsing tools

[Greyhatter]

Ok I've had my time testing many browsers intentionally surfing many drive by sites mostly in Russia, China, Chek republic that were loaded with lovely injection scripts, bugs and other nasties designed to rape or kill browsers.

So here's my question:

What do you browse with for safety?

What do you browse with for annononimity?

What methods (if any) do you use to protect your browser(s) while surfing?

What other browser(s) on the same PC do you use?

What browser(s) do you despise?

[xor]

Re: Safest browsing tools

Ahhhh unplug your computer from the internet.

Just kidding, sort of.

Actually you already answered your question in another post... lynx.

Or run any browser with no scripts, no java, no flash, no active X, https pages only with current certs (as many seem expired these days).

As we have seen with the Avon Lady case anonymous proxies really aren't anonymous. You could always use a proxy running on a system in a non-extradition country or a country that doesn't have cyber laws which might be the most anonymous method.

xor

What browsers do I despise; all and none.

[Greyhatter]

Re: Safest browsing tools

Ahhhh unplug your computer from the internet.

Just kidding, sort of.

Actually you already answered your question in another post... lynx.

Or run any browser with no scripts, no java, no flash, no active X, https pages only with current certs (as many seem expired these days).

As we have seen with the Avon Lady case anonymous proxies really aren't anonymous. You could always use a proxy running on a system in a non-extradition country or a country that doesn't have cyber laws which might be the most anonymous method.

xor

What browsers do I despise; all and none.

Only for you xor, I should have stipulated WinBlows browsers.

[xor]

Re: Safest browsing tools

Only for you xor, I should have stipulated WinBlows browsers.

Lynx runs on most platforms including Windows. You could also do a virtual machine through like vmplayer if you wanted safety. Have a Windows host and a Linux guest; and start off with a fresh snap each time and or wipe it after you are done (no puns here). Sounds like a pain but if you script the whole deal if could be easy. Or if you have a MAC, you could do MAC host and a Linux guest.

There are products like Ghost Surf don't know who affective they are. I personally use a USENET service that doesn't log connections except for initial authentication and they offer SSL connections.

Unfortunately, if you say you want "privacy" people think you are up to no good.

xor

[Chris]

Re: Safest browsing tools

Or if you have a MAC, you could do MAC host and a Linux guest.

xor

Don't all networked computers have a MAC?

[Greyhatter]

Re: Safest browsing tools

xor, i was looking for MS user tallies, but if you read the post no one looks for the other (stuff) security questions I added dude. For the all bright it's a XP VISTA question.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Safest browsing tools

Only for you xor, I should have stipulated WinBlows browsers.

ah-ha... i see what you did again. you changed the word "windows" around to make it sound inferior and express your distaste with that user environment. boy, i'm sure when 'ol Bill read the forums this morning he sure was steamed. if you'd spelled the name of the Redmond software giant with a dollar sign instead of a letter "s" that would have really fixed 'em.

(just as a side note, i'd like to clarify that i find your posts to be pretty great a lot of the time, but i also make a little poke at you -- as i do with others -- whenever ad hominem attacks appear since i think we're all rather above that)

to answer your specific question...

• I run a win32 environment on most of my equipment (occasionally multi-booting to a *nix environment as needed for various applications)
  
• Firefox 2.x is my browser
  
• Back in the day i ran local proxies like WebWasher but now the browser itself can do most of what i sought
  
• I keep all the "common sense" features enabled... like not having the browser remember passwords and having Firefox delete all cookies and personal data whenever it closes
  
• I have the NoScript plugin installed and enabled by default on all sites (only a handful, including the DC Forums, are trusted sites)
  
• Just for good measure, i have antivirus etc. but i can't even remember the last time a legitimate threat has appeared on my system, due to the web or otherwise. in fact, most of the time nowadays i just battle with my AV, trying to get it to stop flagging certain utility tools and the like.
  
• i have the vidalia bundle installed and will occasionally enable TOR routing if i'm doing something that requires additional privacy. routing the entire affair through a VPN or SOCKS5 ssh tunnel elsewhere can also be a measure that's useful.

[xor]

Re: Safest browsing tools

Don't all networked computers have a MAC?

Not a MAC address(yes all networks cards have a Media Access Controller)(just don't ask me what ISDN stands for I can never remember that one), MAC as in OSX using Fusion or Crossover. I still call them MAC, I guess the term is no longer valid.

xor

[xor]

Re: Safest browsing tools

Sorry Greyhatter didn't realize you wanted Windows only;

In addition to the stuff D.O. mentioned I run Eeye Blink Pro on XP and Kaspersky Suite on Vista. They aren't resource hogs and not annoying like Symantec. Actually Symantec got best of Security Suite for Vista. I wonder how much they paid for that endorsement.

You could still do a virtual Windows XP guest on top of a Windows XP host and just not worry about scripts and injection and just start off each time with a fresh snapshot wiping the slate clean. You didn't say whether you wanted anonymity on the client end or the server end and or both.

xor

[Greyhatter]

Re: Safest browsing tools

Sorry Greyhatter didn't realize you wanted Windows only;

You didn't say whether you wanted or the server end and or both.

xor

Thinking that was a given, I want to know if your in "Obekisaniskie" ..just made that up... what browser(s) from a MS machine you're using to save you arse if a nasty conservative yielding a machete is heading your way in a bi-nary fashion. Gota' love .. perhaps not....:(

Anonymity on the client end only plz.

[TheCotMan]

Re: Safest browsing tools

Not a MAC address(yes all networks cards have a Media Access Controller)(just don't ask me what ISDN stands for I can never remember that one),

It Still Doesn't Network. (joke)

(Integrated Services Digital Network)

MAC as in OSX using Fusion or Crossover. I still call them MAC, I guess the term is no longer valid.

I think one of roamer's points was, "why did you capitalize every letter in 'MAC'?"
If Mac is an abbreviation for Macintosh, then Mac. should be enough. Capitalizing every letter suggests that MAC is not so much of an abbreviation as it is an acronym, and if an acronym, then Media Access Controller is the likely reference.

NASA: Acronym.
OPEC: Acronym.
MAC: Acronym when it is Media Access Controller
Mac: If a computer, likely a reference to an Apple Macintosh

ISO: Not an acronym (when referring to the International Organization for Standardization / International Standards Organization / you-know-who-I-am-typing-about.
ISO should be Iso, as they claim their name is from "iso" meaning "equal," but I guess that they have more money than me, so they can afford to use all capital letters even when their name is not an acronym. Funny that an organization for standardization uses letters in their name in a non-standard way.

[streaker69]

Re: Safest browsing tools

Not a MAC address(yes all networks cards have a Media Access Controller)(just don't ask me what ISDN stands for I can never remember that one), MAC as in OSX using Fusion or Crossover. I still call them MAC, I guess the term is no longer valid.

xor

ISDN = It Still Does Nothing.

[Greyhatter]

Re: Safest browsing tools

just don't ask me what ISDN stands for I can never remember that one

It's really a connection of sorts xor.

[Chris]

Re: Safest browsing tools

I think one of roamer's points was, "why did you capitalize every letter in 'MAC'?"
If Mac is an abbreviation for Macintosh, then Mac. should be enough. Capitalizing every letter suggests that MAC is not so much of an abbreviation as it is an acronym, and if an acronym, then Media Access Controller is the likely reference.

NASA: Acronym.
OPEC: Acronym.
MAC: Acronym when it is Media Access Controller
Mac: If a computer, likely a reference to an Apple Macintosh

And we have a winner. At least someone understands me. Poor poor me. I need some emo music. Maybe I can import it into ITUNES and listen on my MAC.

[xor]

Re: Safest browsing tools

Sure you don't work for Ziff Davis Greyhatter

Just got this in my mailbox:

How to Reclaim Your Online Privacy

This actually looks interesting:

ZoneAlarm ForceField beta

xor

From Sans News Bites:

[Editor's Note (Skoudis): Given the recent Google Chrome and Apple
Safari for Windows problems, I think you can make a very good argument
for not relying on a browser for your main web surfing until it has aged
a bit, giving the vendor time to work out the most egregious security
flaws. How much time? My gut says about a year is needed before a
browser becomes reasonably (but not perfectly) scrubbed. Until then,
have fun playing with these shiny new toys on an experimental box.]