Browsing

In the earliest years the Web was very safe. In fact, to be hacked while browsing the web was much less probable, than, say, to catch cold while watching someone eat ice cream. Web pages were not as interactive as they are now; they were more like movies, family albums or books. It is not an exaggeration that animated gif pictures caused greater excitement than contemporary Flash applications. Watching was all you were doing, and no one ever thought about any underground activities that might be happening during that watching time.
As we all know, a system containing many elements is expected to be more vulnerable, since each element can contain (or be a part of) a security hole, just as a house that has many windows is potentially less secure. With time, web pages become more and more interactive. At first there was JavaScript, a language that made it possible for web pages to think, to validate information, to create cookies and pop-up windows. Then came downloadable ActiveX components that have even more control over pages and computers. then browsing becomes more secure.