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Makes sense

Rasmus Lerdorf, the programmer who authored PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor), an open-source language that can be embedded into HTML to produce dynamic pages, admits to practicing what he calls "hygienic" surfing, operating two browsers at a time.

Running a single browser is simply "insane," claimed Lerdorf during a keynote address last week at the MySQL Conference in Santa Clara, Calif., because of "nine out of 10 Web sites having cross-site scripting holes." That includes the portal of his current employer, Yahoo Inc., where Lerdorf is an infrastructure architecture engineer. To protect himself, Lerdorf uses Apple Inc.'s Safari to surf personal sites and Mozilla Corp.'s Firefox for everything else.

So why are two browsers better than one if the Web site, not the browser, is the threat?

"First of all, [Rasmus] Lerdorf is a very smart guy," said Huger. "It would work. But only as long as you used one browser to surf to all the important sites, like your online bank and the sites you shop, and never used that browser for anything else."

The idea is to separate all the surfing where personal information may be exposed from all other Web activities. "Theoretically, the places you trust are less likely to less likely to have cross-site scripting vulnerabilities, like your large, name-brand bank," said Huger. "So the browser you use to go to those sites is safer."

And if a cross-site scripting exploit is launched by a questionable site viewed through the second browser, that browser won't store any critical information, such as bank account passwords, for the attacker to steal. Some people have taken that strategy even farther, said Huger, by splitting personal and other activities between two computers.

"It's not a bad idea, simply because it's an extra layer of defense," added Roger Thompson, chief technology officer at Exploit Prevention Labs.

Woods categorizes trolls in the following ways:






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  Spamming troll: Posts to many newsgroups with the same verbatim post.
  
  



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  Kooks: A regular member of a forum who habitually drops comments that have no basis on the topic or even in reality.
  
  



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  Flamer: Does not contribute to the group except by making inflammatory comments.
  
  



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  Hit-and-runner: Stops in, make one or two posts and move on.
  
  



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  Psycho trolls:  Has a psychological need to feel good by making others feel bad.

2. DFTT

This is one of the more important acronyms in the blog world, meaning, "Don't feed the trolls." "Just like in-person bullies, trolls feed off your reaction," Tim says. "Under no circumstances should you acknowledge the behavior or repay it with anger or defensiveness. If you don't react, they'll get bored and go away."

Even if ignoring the harasser doesn't get him to stop, at least you won't fan his flames, Wood says. "The more a person responds, the more they teach the stalker about themselves or divulge information they shouldn't," he says.

3. Maintain your privacy

Don't publish any personal information, such as your address or phone number. If you need to, use a Post Office box number. Wood suggests asking your state's motor vehicles and voter registry to put a block on your address and phone number. "Otherwise, any person may obtain them just for inquiring," he says.

Some longtime bloggers, such as Bray and his wife Lauren Wood, a senior technical program manager at Sun, refrain from posting photos of their children on their blogs.

5. Keep a log

Be sure to keep a copy of anything you receive from the harasser, Lauren Wood suggests. If they contact you by phone rather than e-mail, take notes on what they say and how often they call, she says. "You'll need proof rather than, 'I think he was calling three times a day,'" she says. "You'll want a log that says, 'He called at 9:14 p.m."

Above all, when you have an online presence, you need to prepare yourself for the possibility of becoming a target, Wood adds. "Just like in the real world, you need to realize which dark alleys you shouldn't enter at night, and if you do, have protection and know what you should do when," she says.

Adds Silverstein, "you're very vulnerable as a blogger. You're out there hanging on the line, and anyone can take a shot at you."