Myspace.com: is it reliable or could there be problems for your computer?

Answer

Myspace.com is no more dangerous than the NMBS website, say. The website has millions of users and to my knowledge there have never been any reported issues with it. A global brand like Myspace.com will also do more or less everything to ensure that harmful things can never happen, because they would not only lose all their customers and visitors, but also expect nice damage claims.

In general, it is rare that just visiting a website poses any danger, although there are known cases. That was due to errors in the browser. If you work with a sufficiently recent browser (Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3.0.8, …) you are in principle well off in that area.

Most viruses or trojans are contracted through the careless and thoughtless installation of software. It is possible to be prompted to do so by a website (“need to view this”), but usually an email attachment is the culprit. Common sense prevents a lot of harm: if you are asked to install something, always think twice whether it is necessary, whether you know what it is, where it comes from and what it does.

If you have installed a good virus scanner on your computer and update it regularly, you hardly have to worry about problems when surfing. Regular backups are also an essential precaution, especially if your computer is also needed for work.