In my previous article, I discussed how to improve web browser’s security. In this article, I will describe on how to extend and protect the web-browser’s homepage from Hijackers.
Web browser’s main or home page is set by the vendor to any page of their choice. Most users have their own favorite page and would like to see it as soon as the browser opens. Many organizations automatically set their companies or organization’s website as the user's homepage but it’s not limited to that one page only. This article will show how you can extend and protect
your browser’s homepage. (View the sample screenshots below)
1. Internet Explorer – The default homepage of Internet Explorer is www.msn.com. You can change it to have many homepage by installing the free add-on called IE7Pro. This add-on includes a lot of features and one of the features is the Easy Homepage. You can configure Easy Homepage to show up to 24 different pages with screen capture of the pages.
2. Firefox – a customized Google.com is Firefox’s default homepage. Like IE7Pro add-on for Internet Explorer, you can customized Firefox to show many homepages by installing the free add-ons called Speed Dial or Fast Dial.
3. Opera – The Opera portal Opera’s default homepage. You do not need to download or install anything to extend Opera’s homepage because Speed Dial is one of the features in Opera. If you have a free account in Opera, you can even synchronize your Speed Dial, bookmarks, notes and personal bar using the free Opera Link online service.
Homepage can be changed by spyware and this is one of the major concerns by organizations and individuals. Hijacked browsers are often caused by spyware infection or rouge websites. Once hijacked, you cannot browse anywhere, you are re-directed to malicious or other pages or you will not be able to modify the setting until anti-malware or anti-virus has removed the infection. In some cases, special tools are needed to get rid of the infection and the special tools are often used by HijackThis analysts in security forums. Not only spyware or unwanted software can change the default homepage but many software installers will offer or automatically change the browser’s default homepage. To protect the homepage, configure your anti-virus or anti-malware program in guarding the browser’s homepage. If your security tool does not have this option or it is not effective in guarding the changes in your browser, you can use the free WinPatrol. WinPatrol simply patrols fast and it’ll guard not only the browser’s settings but also critical system locations (e.g. services, scheduled task, hidden files, file types etc).
Microsoft, Mozilla, Opera and other browser developers continue to improve the security features in a browser. You and your organization need to keep it patched, upgrade to newer version and configure it right. Below are security options that you should configure before using a powerful application, the browser:
1. Manage the browser using the add-on or application manager - Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera let you manage the add-ons of your browser. You can use the add-on manager to update, remove or view who owns the add-ons. This allows you to determine if the add-on is needed and legitimate.
2. Protected Mode – Internet Explorer in Vista includes Protected Mode feature and it is enabled by default. Take advantage of this feature to restrict changes on system and browser.
3. Privacy matters – Browser keeps our private information (password, username, credit card etc). Most browser has options to deal with this information prevent identity theft, targeted advertising and fraud.
4. Reset Tools - Firefox includes Safe Mode feature. While this feature of Firefox is built to troubleshoot, a user can use it also to get rid of the bad or rogue browser add-ons and by resetting the browser to its default state. Internet Explorer offer also this feature by providing a reset and restore options.
5. Content Controls – Not all information in a page is safe to view. Opera, Internet Explorer and Firefox allow you to control the content of any webpage. Example: blocking the pop-ups, images, javascript, activex etc.
6. Anti-Fraud and Anti-Malware – Firefox offers Web ID, anti-malware and anti-fraud protections, Internet Explorer offers anti-phishing while Opera offers anti-malware and anti-fraud protections. Enable these options to avoid visiting sites that will infect your computer and steal information.
7. Certificate settings – Before making any transactions using these powerful browsers, you should ensure to identify the certificate and that it is verified.