ネット感染ウイルスから身を守る

By James Watt, Freelance Writer

　家のパソコンをインターネットにつなげば、生活はぐっと便利にも楽しくもなるけれど、油断は大敵だ。ネットからウイルスが侵入し、パソコンを荒らされてしまうこともある。今回は、特に被害にあいやすいウインドウズ・ユーザーのために、自衛策として安全度のより高いブラウザーを使う方法をアドバイスする。

Buying computer software is like buying a car, but with a twist.

What if our car would only run on gasoline from one company? What if you could open the doors and the windows, but couldn't pop the hood, couldn't see the engine, and couldn't change the oil or fluids? To be honest, that would be totally fine for most people. But some of us want more control over our cars, and some of us want more control over our software. This month, we're going to talk about software that allows us to get under the hood, and can help make your computer more secure at the same time.

All of us who own Windows PCs have to deal with viruses. Viruses are annoying, fixing them is time-consuming, and Windows seems to attract them like metal filings to a magnet. This is not because Windows is inherently less secure than other operating systems. It's the most popular operating system for a good reason. But because it's the most popular, virus-makers design their viruses to take advantage of weaknesses in Windows.

The weakest link in the Windows chain is Internet Explorer (IE). IE is a great Internet browser. It's simple, efficient, and is supported by pretty much any Web site you can find. But that's part of the problem. Because it's a part of Windows, IE is often used as a "back door" for virus attacks. Hackers tend to use IE to get into computers, even though Microsoft is constantly researching ways to make IE stronger. Microsoft updates IE on a regular schedule, but sometimes a new virus spreads too quickly for Microsoft to keep up.

What can we do to make ourselves less of a target for computer viruses?

Mozilla Firefox is one browser you can use that is a bit more secure than IE, only because it's not used as much. All software has weaknesses, but one way to protect ourselves is to use software like Firefox that is less popular, making ourselves smaller targets for bad hackers.

Firefox runs under something called the Gnu General Public License (GPL). The GPL is basically an agreement between programmers that anything they make under the GPL is free to use and free to modify in any way, as long as the original programmers are credited. It's called Open Source Software, which means that the computer code used to write the software is free for anyone to look at. Updates are done more often, the software code is tested by thousands of volunteers, and best of all, it's free.

Firefox is NOT the greatest browser ever invented; as I mentioned above, all software has weaknesses. However Firefox is a bit more secure than IE because when a security flaw is discovered, many people try to fix it as soon as possible. Because anyone is allowed to fix it, Firefox gets updated very quickly.

I use Firefox for everything, but you don't have to. You can use Firefox as your "English learning browser" and keep using IE as your main browser. Or you could even try a new operating system such as Linux or Mac to make your computer more secure, though you need an Apple computer for Mac OS, and you need a bit of knowledge to use Linux. For me, Windows is perfect because I'm used to it. For me, using Firefox is a great way to make Windows more secure, without having to learn a new operating system.

Although Firefox looks superficially different than IE, both browsers are used the same way. You type in Web addresses to get to sites, you can save your favorite Web sites as bookmarks, and you can download movies, music and check your e-mail. In terms of what you can do on the Net, there is nothing that IE can do that Firefox can't. In fact, the only reason to get Firefox is just because it is a little safer to surf using Firefox than when using IE. Not a lot safer, but definitely safer.

You can download Firefox in English from www.mozilla.com/en-US/ firefox/, and in Japanese from www. mozilla-japan.org/.

Good luck, watch out for viruses. Safe surfin'.

Please visit my blog at surfin-english.blogspot.com for more information on open-source programs you can use at home.

• with a twist　多少の違いがあって
• fluid(s)　ブレーキ液などの液体類
• get...hood　ボンネットの下に行く。比喩（ひゆ）で「自分で制御や工夫ができる」の意味
• secure　安心できる
• metal filings　金属の削りくず
• inherently　本質的に
• operating systems　基本ソフト、OS。Windows、Mac、Linuxなどがある
• for...reason　当然の理由があって
• is supported　対応されている
• it's...much　（IEほどは）使われていない
• are credited　クレジット表示がされる
• Update(s)　更新
• security flaw　安全面での欠陥
• superficially　一見
• In...Net　ネット上でできることに関して言えば