Can video clip downloads damage your computer?

[Archer]

Can a virus or browser hijacker infect your computer if you download a video
clip from a web-site? I am using Windows 98 and Internet Explorer 6 without
any Fire Wall or Anti-virus programs.

I would like to view some video clips from some woodworking sites but I don'
t know if it's safe to download the clip to my computer. Is there any way to
tell if it really is a video clip before downloading or do you just take a
chance and hope its not a virus program of some kind?

If anyone has any knowledge of the possible dangers of downloading video
clips please let me know. Thank you for your assistance.

Archer.

 

[jhm]

While it might be possible for someone to slip a virus
into a video clip, it is much more likely that you would
get one simply because you are not using a firewall and
antivirus. In today's environment, it is unthinkable that
you would go onto the internet without them. Get a
hardware or software firewall, and a simple antivirus
like NOD32 (won't kill your performance like some of the
famous name brands).

-jhm

 

[Raymond]

If IE and media player are updated, I wouldn't worry
about it much, assuming you're using media player 9 or
better. I've never had a security issue with any video.
I update my system religiously, and running
Win2k here.

If I were you, I would worry far more about not
having a firewall. You need at least an inbound filter
firewall, especially true with broadband, and I recommend
getting a NAT hardware router for this. You can get good
ones for under 40 bucks.

You should also have some backups. Not having at least one
is a serious threat, since hard-drives do crash unexpectedly, and
sometimes it can also help with some types of security problems.

Anti-virus? Well I don't use one either. I'm not going to get
into whether you should or shouldn't. It's a big subject and
sometimes very debatable. What's not debatable:
a firewall of some type, updating frequently used software regularly,
and keeping backups.