Is your browser up to darte.?
Some kinds of unwanted pop ups and mailware may be due to a weakness in your browser. Check the VERSION number.

Here is a short list.
Browser Name
Internet Explorer
 Stable Release: 10.0.6
 Latest browser version: 11

Firefox (also called Mozilla Firefox)
 Stable Release: 22.0
 Latest browser version: 23.0b1

Chrome
 Stable Release: 27.0.1453.116
 Latest browser version: 28.0.1500.53

Safari
 Stable Release: 6.0.5
 Latest browser version: 6.0.5

Opera
 Stable Release: 12.15
 Latest browser version: 15.0

SeaMonkey
 Stable Release: 2.17.1
 Latest browser version: 2.19 Beta 1

Source:
http://www.webdevelopersnotes.com/articles/latest-browser-versions.php

Note that after this list was published  there were  already newer versions.
Firefox is now at 29.1   
Well its more than just browsers... it depends on the users web activity and if they know how to safely operate a computer. For years I have heard people in IT frustrated claiming that they should make a drivers license for computers and people are unable to use a computer at a business or at home until they pass the computer drivers test.

But instead computers are more like a child wants a computer and so the parent buys him one and he crashes it and then the parent pays for the damages and frustrated that little bobby filled the tank of fuel from the questionable shady side of town where fuel is free and the fuel has something bad that chokes up the engine.

The teenager wants a computer and the parent or kid buys it, and same ISSUE. Hey there is free fuel over in the shady part of town, fills it up and wham same problem or even better while he was filling up he didnt see the masked hijacker who slipped into the back seat. The kid drives off and down the road the man jumped out from the back seat and throws the kid into the back seat while he is screaming no no no no as pop ups are happening and the hijacker is having his way with the computer car driving it eratically.

A woman who has to use a computer for her new job. She has one at home but doesnt use it much as for her husband is the main driver. She is given a Manual Transmission Porche to drive at the business and is use to an Automatic Escort. The business is sink or swim, and she luckily learns the stick shift and picks up speed and soon she is racing on the autobahn and the company is happy with her driving. She then needs to check to see where she needs to drive to next, and the boss states that she needs to ignore the GPS as for there is a problem with it and in exactly 2 miles drive as fast as you can to get there and make a hard left because you won $1,000,000 and need to collect it within the next 5 minutes or else its going to be given to some other lucky individual. She fails to notice that the message was not sent by her boss, but actually from [email protected] and so she watches the odometer and hey its the 2 mile mark and she veers a hard left and crashes. When she gets out of the computer car she then looks at the message from her boss in total confusion and then realizes that it was a spoofed message and now she needs to walk the walk of shame and tell the boss what happened.

And in all fairness I must also include a guy making a similar mistake. Since I am not singling anyone TYPE of person out.

So the guy gets a job and he wants to  get paid, but doesnt want to drive the company truck. He finds that there are these illegal apps that he can run that allows him to sit back and listen to music or watch a movie while the computer car does his job. Everything is great, boss is happy that he is getting his work and every day at work is a party with food and drinks and also the occasional video game that also comes with these apps that drive his computercar. Well the shady area of town where he was getting these neat tools from to do his job for him are hacks and the data that he is getting with them are illegal music, movies, and video games and hey who is going to find out as long as the work is done, hey I was working. Well he stops and picks up another bunch of free work hacks and other free illegal data and goes for another ride. This time surprise surprise the computer car stops and every electronic component on it is turning on and off like its the exorcist and in addition to that inappropriate content is playing on the display and there is no way to stop it. He frantically in a sweat decides to pull the battery and reset the computer car and the minute it boots back up its back doing the same thing with more inappropriate content playing and flashing and adult noises etc. He brakes down and starts to cry because he realizes that this is going to cost him his job as well as he may go to prison for all the illegal data that is on the company computer car.

In the end its always the phone call to the boss who calls the computer mechanics to fix the problem or the people coming directly to the mechanic to help.

And many IT professionals feel that with a computer drivers license it may be SOMEWHAT presentable. However we can not prevent intentional or people from making mistakes when driving the computers. And no matter how many air bags, autopilot, GPS, and other features to try to prevent crashes, people either always find a flaw in the safety or a security flaw comes to surface and its all reactive to try to prevent getting hit with it.

Those in IT are faced with the frustration also of limiting users abilities and also allowing them to do their jobs and yet, the users and or managers involved will demand to be able to do something even if it comes at a level of risk. But whenever that warning has gone unheard and the people crash, its never the users faults, its always IT's fault for allowing it to happen.



You touched on- though mostly as an analogy- the idea that people should be "licensed" in order to use a computer- in the same way as a car.

Personally I find there to be a large difference in terms of the possible damage that can be caused. People like to pretend that data loss is huge and catastrophic- and it certainly can be. But I would say that there is never a time or place where any amount of data loss can do more damage than a hurtling hunk of metal moving at high speeds. Poor driving skills can and do kill, maim, and have catastrophic after-effects to the people involved. That is why the operation of a Motor-vehicle requires some assurance that you know what you are doing.

A Home user using their PC at home, however- while they could in a way affect others- say by becoming a botnet zombie- I think any sort of idea to require computer use to be "licensed" is over-exaggerating. Under no circumstances will a person making poor computing decisions kill or injure anybody, except in very specific circumstances. This is in contrast to VEHICLES, where a poor driving decision can easily result in deaths, injuries, and extensive damage.

Computers may be central to many businesses, but files are not people. They don't have families.

More to the point- requiring a license to use a Computer doesn't seem any different than having similar requirements for ovens or Toasters, and I think we can agree that the idea of requiring a license to be able to heat bread might be a bit silly.

Quote from: Geek-9pm on May 09, 2014, 10:07:43 PM

Note that after this list was published  there were  already newer versions.
Firefox is now at 29.1