t 'n t luoma

You gotta hand it to Microsoft.... they are innovative when it comes to how you ought to protect yourself.

For example, in a recent Microsoft bulletin describing yet another security flaw in Internet Explorer, here is their first suggestion in the category “Things that you can do to help protect yourself from malicious hyperlinks:”

The most effective step that you can take to help protect yourself from malicious hyperlinks is not to click them. Rather, type the URL of your intended destination in the address bar yourself. By manually typing the URL in the address bar, you can verify the information that Internet Explorer uses to access the destination Web site. To do so, type the URL in the Address bar, and then press ENTER.

Why of course! That’s exactly what you ought to do! Nevermind those pesky hyperlinks, type everything in yourself! (Anyone else think that perhaps Microsoft ought to spend more time fixing bugs and less time writing inane security bulletins?)

Here’s an easier solution: Don’t use Microsoft Internet Explorer! It has more holes than a swiss cheese factory! I would suggest either Opera or even Firebird would be a better option than Internet Explorer.

(Hat tip to C|Net’s story on this bug.)