The 17 Most Dangerous Places on the Web

[Boyfriend]

The scariest sites on the Net? They're not the ones you might suspect. Here's what to watch for and how to stay safe.

Those photos of Jessica Alba may be murder on your PC. That Google search result that looks as if it answers all your questions may do nothing but create a serious tech headache. The fun you had watching that hilarious video you downloaded may not be worth the misery it can cause your system.

You've been warned that the Internet is something of a security minefield--that it's easy to get in trouble. You can do everything you can think of to protect yourself and still be taken by a malware infection, a phishing scam, or an invasion of on**line privacy. We'd like to provide a little help. Here are some of the hazards you may encounter, how dangerous they are, and what you can do to stay out of harm's way.

Not all Web dangers are created equal. Thankfully, our friends at the Department of Homeland Security have made our work of classifying Web threats a little easier. Will you get taken just by visiting that unfamiliar site? Or will you have to look for trouble? Let our threat level indicator be your guide.

Threat 1 >> Malicious Flash files that can infect your PC
Threat 2 >> Shortened links that lead you to potentially harmful places
Threat 3 >> E-mail scams or attachments that get you to install malware or give up personal info
Threat 4 >> Malware hiding in video, music, or software downloads
Threat 5 >> Malware in photos or videos of scantily clad women
Threat 6 >> Trojan horses disguised as video codecs, infecting your PC with malware
Threat 7 >> Geolocation--your smartphone and perhaps other parties know where you are
Threat 8 >> 'Poisoned' search engine results that go to malware-carrying Websites
Threat 9 >> Malicious PDFs that try to fool you into installing malware
Threat 10 >> Malicious video files using flaws in player software to hijack PCs
Threat 11 >> Drive-by downloads that install malware when you visit a site
Threat 12 >> Fake antivirus software that extorts money--and your credit card information
Threat 13 >> Fraudulent ads on sites that lead you to scams or malware
Threat 14 >> Questionable Facebook apps
Threat 15 >> Sites that lure you in, get you to sign up, then sell your e-mail address for spam
Threat 16 >> Phishing 2.0 on social networks that tricks you into downloading malware or giving your Facebook login information to a criminal
Threat 17 >> Oversharing--exposing too much personal information on your social network profiles

Further Reading: The 17 Most Dangerous Places on the Web (WOT: Green)

[luffy]

Well, everyone I know can easily catch every single threat on the list every day. I have told them many time. But they think that I'm annoying.

[Neo]

thx for link ... hmm .. btw no place is safe actually

[jj1two3]

Thanks Boyfriend, great article.

[Bearcat]

Thanks Boyfriend! This was most informative.

[JayCub]

very few places on the net are safe really, it's down to administration and site owners, crooks have always been amongst us, they are more blatant hiding behind keyboards, it takes a handful to make good experiences bad for the majority of good responsible people that use the net for recreation purposes or research.. this article doesn't make for good reading for people that are unaware that this is going on, and it's thanks to users like BoyFriend that bring this to the attention of all

[INDRANIL]

Thanks for the info .

[KaYaN]

Thank you Boyfriend. Very good information

[safeguy]

I treat the web similar to how I treat the roads. Sure, I can get into accidents but I'll try to cross as safely as I can, maybe by looking out for the speeding vehicles, wait for the green light etc and just hope that I'll stay alive while I dash across that road. If anything bad were to happen, I'll learn from the mistake provided I'm still alive.

And oh if I died, I'll just accept it as "it was meant to be".

[Swarup]

Thanks for info Boufriend