Did you know your computer can get infected simply by visiting a website and not clicking on any links? Furthermore, it doesn’t have to be a nefarious site — many reputable, popular websites have inadvertently hosted malicious advertisements. If that isn’t scary enough, one study found that 13 percent of Google searches for popular or trendy topics yielded malicious links near the top of the search results.
Web browsing is now the most popular target used by hackers to try to take over control of your computer, so this month’s IT security roundtable will discuss how to browse the Web safely, or at least lower the risk of infecting your computer, since there is no way to be 100 percent secure browsing the Web these days.
Join us 9-10:30 a.m. Friday, April 9, in Union 213 to learn about:
- The dangers of web browsing, like “drive-by downloads” from seemingly passive advertisements and how hackers trick search engines into promoting malicious links
- Features built into web browsers to help protect you from these dangers
- Tools you can add to your web browser, like NoScript and the Web of Trust
- Trend Micro’s Web Reputation Services
- Other tips and tricks for safer web browsing
Harvard Townsend, K-State’s chief information security officer, will facilitate the discussion. Come learn and share your tips and tricks, so all can benefit from the collective wisdom. As always, the IT security roundtable is sponsored by SIRT and open to anyone.
