The internet, the web that ensnares any with the elixir that is geek within. Provided you have the elixir this guide may not apply to you, but share it with the friend that is a net noob. His life, you may make easier and more so your own “he’s gonna call you to fix his malware infested, spyware riddled box”.
Just like sex has the inherent risks of diseases such as aids so does the web come along with infections. There are various forms of infections which your computer may contract

1.Trojan - a program that appears desirable but actually contains something harmful; “the contents of a trojan can be a virus or a worm”; “when he downloaded the free game it turned out to be a trojan horse”
2.Worm - a software program capable of reproducing itself that can spread from one computer to the next over a network; “worms take advantage of automatic file sending and receiving features found on many computers
3.Virii - a virus is a self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents (for a complete definition: see below). Thus, a computer virus behaves in a way similar to a biological virus, which spreads by inserting itself into living cells
4.Spyware - Any software that covertly gathers user information through the user’s Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet. Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else.
5.Malware -  “Malicious software”; a generic term covering a range of software programs and types of programs designed to attack, degrade or prevent the intended use of an ICT or network. Types of malware can include viruses, worms, Trojans, malicious active content and denial of service attacks. In the case of invasion of privacy for the purposes of fraud or the theft of identity, software that passively observes the use of a computer is also malware

Beware of these things Equip your self with the necessary protection utilities.

Beware of the Nigerians, Hungarians and Russians on the internet. I’m not “nationalist” or anything like that but Its proven a very high volume of scams and spams originate from Nigeria. They always have some money that they’d like you to keep in your account but they need your bank account number  to transfer it to etc. Many reputable webmasters and server controllers block the ip range for Nigeria and Russia among others.

Beware of Crack sites, porn sites and warez sites with their registrations systems that ask for way too much information. Your basically looking at potential spam and saying Please sir can i have some more.

I honestly do not know of any safe crack sites, to play it extra safe maybe you should get familiar with Linux as its more unlikely for any of the forced installers for the toolbars to affect your Linux system.. however if your using Linux you probably wouldn’t need to be visiting a crack site.

Stupid You’ve won x million dollars popup windows. If you click it your are indeed beyond helping. Watch an anime called full metal alchemist it thrives on the concept of equivalent trade. Perhaps you will learn something useful. There is no way your going to win a millino dollars for doing nothing. You will enjoy the feeling of victory, winning and wealth as they leech thousands of dollars from your credit card number you just supplied in hope of collecting. -> equivalent trade (fair isn’t it). If your smart forget about the internet lottery, if you really wanna gamble go to Vegas the air and the women are way better anyway

Be careful where you purchase items on the internet. I would advise that you stick to trusted sites such as Amazon, New Egg, Tiger Direct, Buy.com, Best Buy Radio Shack just to name a few. Ebay as well after carefully checking the buyer reputation, to see if he’s trust worth and his feed back percentage of sales that have gone through without any problems. Walk very wide of the unknown sites That you cannot find much information about.

Another dangerous thing to look out for is site that look very much like a site you trust but are actually rips which have nothing to do with the original sites which they mimic and maybe trying to rob you of your hard earned dollars. I came across my first one when I tried to find the best possible price for my rebel xt.

Beware of instant messaging clients and chat rooms. Do not give any personal information, passwords and or credit card information (i really shouldn’t have to tell yo this).

Be nice to those you come in contact with on the web. You never know who is who. Netiquete can go a far way. I advise against falling for someone you met online however. Online people can be anything. Who you think is an eligible companion might actually be married, a girl if your expecting a guy or the other way around.

The next part in the net noob series will dive into securing your computer, away from the data didlers who cant wait to sink their teeth into your  information. as well as the virii trojans and other CTI (connection transmitted infections)