Most bad stuff lands on your computer through the browser. Visit a dodgy site and this stuff will try to drop files onto your computer. Because most of us using Windows do so under administrator rights—so we can install programs etc—this can be done without much difficulty. Here’s how to avoid this weak link in the Windows chain, by ensuring that when you use your browser you do so without doing so as an administrator.

1.

Download RemoveAdmin from Download.com.

2.

Launch the installer.

3.

Once it’s installed you’ll find a shortcut on your desktop like this:

If you’re using Internet Explorer double click that shortcut every time you launch the browser. (Skip to Step 10 to confirm you’re browsing securely.)

4.

If you’re using Firefox, for some reason the installer won’t prepare a shortcut for you so you’ll have to do it manually.

Select and copy this text to the clipboard:

"C:\Program Files\RemoveAdmin\removeAdmin.exe"

(including the quotes)

5.

Find your Firefox browser shortcut and right click, selecting Properties:

6.

Click the mouse in the Target field and go to the beginning of the line (hitting Home should do it).

7.

Paste the copied text to the beginning of the line. The full line should read something like this:

"C:\Program Files\RemoveAdmin\removeAdmin.exe" "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox 3 Beta 5\firefox.exe"

(You may have to move the cursor along the line because the box is too small for all the text to be visible:)

8.

One more step: You need to change the startup directory. Copy the text below to the clipboard and paste it into the Start in: box below the Target: box:

"C:\Program Files\RemoveAdmin"

9.

Click on OK.

10.

To test you’re browsing securely, visit any website, right click and select View page source:

From the resulting window, try saving to your Windows directory (File/Save as and then navigate to C:\Windows.)

If you’re browsing securely you should see this message:

(Thanks to betelgeuse68, a commenter at ZDNet, for the idea and the link.)