I've been reading the forum about the new trojans and others coming out TDL3,TDL4 etc. I don't know a whole lot about them or how one gets infected by them but was wondering if NoScript would help. Or what would be a good extra layer of security? Thanks.
Hi NervousWreck,
NoScript does indeed add a layer of protection to your internet browsing. JavaScript, while necessary for many sites to work correctly, is a very powerful tool that is often implicated in malware attacks. With NoScript you can select to block JavaScript, Java, Adobe Flash and other plugins globally and then only allow such things to run on sites that you specifically allow. This enables you to permit scripting for sites that need it without also letting third-party sites, such as ad hosting sites, run active content on the same page. There is a learning curve, as each page you load will contain options for the primary site and also for these third party sites. Some third party sites are necessary for the main site to function properly, so at first it can be a bit of a nuisance to try to figure out what needs to be allowed and what to leave blocked (middle clicking the site names in the NoScript menu will provide some guidance about each site). But you will quickly develop an intuition about this and when a page doesn't work, you will be able to make intelligent guesses about what additional content needs to be allowed. For example, to use features at Norton.com you would also need to allow Lithium.com. Some people feel that this gets too granular and demands too much user action, but it is a safer way to surf and you should quickly become accustomed to it - besides, most of the sites you regularly visit will be set early on so you will need to make fewer choices as time goes on.
Hi NervousWreck,
I would just like to add to SendOfJive's excellent explanation that I myself have got NoScript installed and love it; once you get the hang of which websites you can block or unblock, you'll find it fairly straightforward to use; it also gets updated regularly, so it is constantly being improved.
Thanks for the explanation and advise I will give NoScript a try.