Internet Messaging

[Dugout]

My daughter is after me to get a Gmail account and set up my computer for Gmail Chat. I did some research and after reading this web page, http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1657 I felt that this might put my computer at too much risk. I don't have the technical knowledge to set up my computer's firewall, anti-virus, spyware, etc. to protect me from the risks of using Instant Messaging (if that is even possible). If it is possible to protect myself, where would I find the information to show me how to do it?

[drragostea]

Instant Messenging is mostly like browsing the web itself. It has it's bad and good parts. The of the main things to protect yourself is to watch what you get from others. It seems like that is the most part of infections that comes through. Securing the connection from two people can take a lot of effort and if everyone were to use a "secured" session it would be a great load of traffic and encryption and decryption.

If IM'ing were to be removed then the world will be a boring place. One crucial thing to remember not to fall for is phishing sites that require your screename credentials (I remember I was baited with a site called 'heyxd') and not to put any sensitive information, and that includes personal and financial information. Logs and kept and achieved in some remote server (that's that bad thing, but it's used for mainly tracking purposes) even though the IM session of closed.

Just watch what you receive and use a rock solid password.
Your firewall and AV (it's more like critical) is your first line of defense.

[honda12]

To build upon drragostea's post

Just like email, your best defence is common sense (ooh, it rhymes). Like email, you shouldn't open suspicous attachments or links to websites, even if it from a 'friend' (your friend may just be infected with malware). The same principles applies to instant messaging as well. With a little common sense, instant messaging can be a great medium of communication.