Browser Security Essentials for User Privacy part 2

Before moving ahead we should understand what a term cookie is ?

 It is a small piece of Text string  placed in the user's memory ( System ), by  a host that is being visited. Why it is placed ? And How it is used ? are the two questions that a  user should understand and use it according to personal preferences, like the trust you place with a website being visited with respect to your online privacy.

 A cookie is used for many purposes including authentication, session tracking or  remembering the user preferences such as shopping carts and other data.

Authentication involves a host to know a particular user’s information and simultaneously it can allow it to log in at the terminal.  Here, a browser needs to accept the cookie,  without doing so, you may not be able to access the service.

Session tracking as the name itself suggests, is used to track the amount of time spent by a user at a website and other related info.

Also we understand, by remembering the preferences of a user such as shopping carts and other data, lets a host or other third party hosts know the details of user’s spending and this data further used in business targeting.

As you know now that a cookie is very helpful when it is used in a proper manner, but sometimes there are many bad sites which attack computers online, it is well advised to be cautious and you can enable switch it on and off  according to your preferences and trust which you place with the website. Browser security will be further discussed in the next post.

Browser Security Essentials for User Privacy Part 1

                                           
                                                       Source freepixels.com
One of the aspects of computer security mostly neglected or ignored is the browser security. 

Most users tend to neglect or ignore this important feature of securing their system from malware being run on their system when they inadvertently visit a bad site and click scrupulous  links thinking them to be safe. And let the malicious software’s intrude your system, the actions a wary user can avoid.

 This is a news story I followed this morning and this should be an eye opener,  how an unsuspecting consumer is led to click on malicious links and rogue anti-virus software’s getting installed onto your system without you knowing the veracity of the rogue software. 

The big part of the problem is removal, it is hard to get them removed from your system once you have installed them. So protection is better than cure here too. 

Check the authenticity of the security software you are downloading from the web.

One thing you will notice when visiting a website, you come across many other third party sites. Some times these third party sites are vulnerable and can pose a security risk to your system.

One thing a user should keep in mind when visiting a website, that the browser and the network are giving out information to the host. Like the IP address, the type of browser you are using, and other details, as most of us know this fact. So is akin walking onto an open street.

Besides this, our system also shares a level of security when visiting a host. That you allow a host to place a cookie on to your system and run scripts. You can simultaneously block these options. Why ? We will look into the reasons ahead in the next post Browser Security 2.

For Further Reading :

Browser Security Esssentials Part 2 

Broswer Security Essentials Part 3

Browser Security Essentials Part 4