Websites to Avoid: pranks

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Installment #30 - Pranks & Online Pranks

I am feeling a little devilish these days, so I had to check out 15 prank and online prank sites. As I expected, of the 15 sites I checked on, only 5 were good. Here are my results:

BAD:

strangereports.com
winterrowd.com
computerpranks.com
monkeydoo.com
the-jokes.com
webupon.com
hollywire.com
pranksite.com
prank.org
museumofhoaxes.com

GOOD:

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Installment #14 - Practical Jokes and Pranks

Just in time for April Fool's Day on Tuesday - I checked on 10 related sites. I am happy to report that only 3 were judged to be bad, 1 is still too new to have any information available, and 6 seem to be safe, although a few use third party cookies. (Just remember to use your Ad-Aware and Spybot S & D programs afterward if your computer slows down more than you can tolerate.)

Here are the results:

BAD:

pranksite.com
prankplace.com
theprankstore.com

GOOD:

NOTE: If you ever find results contrary to my findings, do let me know as soon as you can so I can properly document it for us all!

Why Websites to Avoid is Vital

The Internet has become a part of life - of the world's estimated 6.7 billion people, 24.7% of them use the Internet - that's over 1.6 billion people - and boy, does that excite the "cyber-creeps!"

But, adware and spyware are not the only things that can make a website "bad." Websites need to be checked on several issues - excessive or potentially dangerous spam, the integrity of the site's downloads, their use or abuse of third party tracking cookies, reports of malware, browser exploits, phishing, scams, or bad shopping experiences, and, of course, virus infections.

I rely a lot on Siteadvisor (by McAfee) - SA can either be used online (my preference) or downloaded. WOT (Web of Trust) and Finjan Secure Browsing are browser add-ons available as free downloads. I use all three!

However, word of mouth and personal experience are equally vital. That is why my blog/website is one of many vehicles of precaution you need to use faithfully.

Protect your Computer!

Even though you may have security software installed (free or not) and regularly run them, never let your guard down and "click" without thinking!

Be sure to use a firewall, anti-virus protection, anti-spyware, and system optimizers and/or cleaners - and defrag your PC on a regular basis!

Update these programs weekly, if not more! New infections surface every day!

(NOTE: Personally, I use Avira anti-virus, Spybot Search & Destroy, SpywareGuard, Advanced System Optimizer, Ccleaner, IOBit Security, Diskeeper Lite defragmenter, and Windows Firewall & Windows Defender (Microsoft) - and, of course, my browser is Firefox with AdBlock and Finjan enabled!)

Websites to Avoid

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Installment #30 - Pranks & Online Pranks

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Installment #14 - Practical Jokes and Pranks

Why Websites to Avoid is Vital

Protect your Computer!

Labels

My Other (Just for Fun) Site - Geni's Gabs

My Favorite Safe Websites

IMPORTANT ADVICE