Google it.

You can also install a second virus scanner like Malwarebytes Antivirus and scan by context menu your downloads and sometimes your complete system. When you install two scanners, you should never run two background scanner at once, because they can interfere each other. The free version has no active background scanner, so no problem here.

Edit: After reading my post it's looked a little bit like an advertisement. Hope it's now more neutral.

Well, I need Linux anyway for other things, so I'll have it one way or the other. I'm dual booting now, but it's such a pain that I'm planning on trying the VM route for the new machine. And I might as well do browsing in the VM since it's available. Sandbox is also a good suggestion in general though.

Sandbox is good because you don't need to setup and run a VM just to have a separate interface for testing suspicious apps and running various websites you don't know about much/etc.

There's an easy way to check. First you need to dress up as a dentist, then kidnap a marathon runner, and now you can ask him if it is safe while giving him dental care.

I guess you could do the kidnapping before dressing up, too.


(don't kidnap people, and don't give dental care if you're not qualified)

Got a recommendation for any particular sandbox software? Maybe I'll give sandboxing a look for my new setup after all. In truth I had forgotten all about it until you mentioned it since I am used to working with VMs.

http://www.mywot.com/

you may consider using that plugin for browsers. It displays small circle near most links. The color of the link describes is it safe, trusted website or not. It's reputation-based system, with thousands of votes from internet users.

Factors like safety, privacy, children friendly are being considered.

I trully recommend that plugin.

No it's not: you have to vote yourself for the website in order for WOT to know you actually went to that website.

Thanks

That tool is really handy. You do know malicious links posted on someone's facebook walls because they click everything without thinking?

WOT showed everytime the red circle near those links for me, so I knew these websites are dangerous without need to check them.

Of course, it can't protect you from a trusted website that has been infected with a virus recently...

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I'm liking this Web Of Trust addon a lot of you have mentioned, I know Xa_chan you said it doesn't keep logs but does it keep anything else like personal info or anything else?

Also can it be abused by a low visited website by people giving false ratings?

I think that a website needs to receive several votes before the rating will show up.

like keeveek said, I think there's a minimum of ratings before it shows up. And honestly I don't think it keeps anything at all, for a simple reason: when you add the plugin to Firefox, there is no need to register to WOT website for the plugin to work. You need to do it only if you want to give ratings to websites.

You may also want to use Avast! Free Antivirus. It contains similiar plugin with site ratings, in 5 grade scale.

It doesn't work in Opera (WOT also does not)