4 Ways You Can Identify Internet "Bad Neighborhoods"

Are you tired of having to take your computer to the computer repair shop because of malware? Many people find it frustrating that they keep getting viruses even through ordinary web browsing, but what they may not know is that there are certain Internet "bad neighborhoods" which can make malware and viruses more common. Avoiding these bad neighborhoods is essential to good computer hygiene.

1. Poorly Written, Irregularly Formatted Websites

Most "bad neighborhood" websites are written by computers. Their sentences may be grammatically incorrect and they may not make sense at all. Their formatting, such as bolding, italicizing or underlining text may occur seemingly at random. In general, the website will look as though it was quickly slapped together rather than being carefully created.

2. Broken or Strange Links in Large Quantities

In an Internet bad neighborhood, almost every phrase may be a link. Many links may not lead to where they say they will or may not lead anywhere at all. This is often because the sites that they led to were malicious in nature and have already been taken down. Some links may prompt your antivirus software to warn you not to follow them. 

3. A Feeling of Anonymity and Lack of Purpose

When you go to most websites, you know who designed them, be it a company or an individual. But most bad neighborhoods don't have any names attached; there is no "author" name or "webmaster" name available, so you don't know who created the site or why. This lack of clarify of purpose is another sign of a bad neighborhood.

4. Illegal Material or Information

Many bad neighborhoods have illegal items on them, such as pirated software. The logic is simple: if someone ends up with a virus or getting their information stolen, they will be less likely to pursue legal help if they were doing something illegal themselves. If you do find yourself on a website with illegal data, you should immediately leave that website. You should also consider reporting the website to the proper authorities. If you are trying to get software or a game, you should check to make sure that it is really a free item before you download it. 

Ideally, a good antivirus solution and firewall should protect you even if you go to Internet bad neighborhoods--but the more bad neighborhoods you go to, the more likely it is that something will sneak through. Thus, even when your computer is protected, you should still be able to identify these areas of the web. A computer repair shop, like Sandtronic Business Systems Ltd, can help you learn more.