Turn off scripting behaviors in Internet Explorer: Many worms and viruses spread through Web page scripts (commands in the page that push the worm out to anyone who opens it in IE). Other browsers don't have this problem, but if you can't or simply won't change to Opera, Mozilla, or another browser, you must alter IE's scripting settings to block the threat.

In IE, click Tools, Internet Options, Security. Choose the Earth icon under 'Select a Web content zone', and click Custom Level. The settings in the dialog have three options: Disable, Enable, and Prompt. Enabling everything is asking for trouble, but being prompted every time a script or ActiveX control wants to run will drive you batty. In any event, disable 'Download unsigned ActiveX controls', 'Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe', 'Active scripting', and 'Scripting of Java applets'. Set 'Java permissions' to High Safety.

With scripts disabled, many of your favorite Web sites may not open. Also, your company intranet or Web mail service may require scripting. If so, add the URLs for these sites and services to IE's Trusted Sites list. Open IE and click Tools, Internet Options, Security. Select the Trusted Sites icon, click Sites, and then enter the URLs one at a time. Uncheck Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone, and click OK.

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