The wild world of Internet surfing is more dangerous than ever, due to a greater prevalence of malicious hacking, says IBM spokesman Pete Sturm.

But Sturm says that “spyware” — rather than worms or viruses — has become the No. 1 threat to be feared by those navigating the information highway.

“It’s mostly spyware now that I see people having trouble with,” said Sturm.

“Browser hijackers, tracking cookies to see what sites you visit — that’s more prevalent right now.”

Sturm said that, more than ever, individuals have to exercise the utmost care in their online habits to avoid having their computer compromised.

He offered several bits of advice:

– If you’re in the Windows world, and 90 per cent of users are, make sure you’ve installed Microsoft’s Service Pack 2 update package to take advantage of security fixes.

– Make sure your computer has antivirus software, and always keep it up to date.

Sturm said IBM’s security team is still seeing activity from viruses as old as CodeRed and Nimda, which first appeared three years ago.

– Install a firewall for your home-computer network, especially if you use an always-on connection like broadband or DSL. Malicious hackers are constantly scanning for home systems they can hijack.

– If you use WiFi hotspots to connect with the Internet with your laptop, make sure it has a firewall.

– Never respond to unsolicited e-mail. The Unsubscribe function on a spam e-mail can redirect you unknowingly to a malicious website that downloads a virus on your PC.

– Use passwords that aren’t easily guessed. About 40 per cent of computer users use the word “password’ as their password. Go for longer passwords, of at least seven or eight characters and mix in numbers.

– Back up your important files regularly.

© The Vancouver Province 2004