Why press F1 online?

Consider some rather innocuous website returned as a "sponsered link" from a trusted search engine but one having no readily apparent sense to its layout or function; one which WAS accessed by a well-intended but naive surfer, someone looking for an answer to their query-of-the-day the best way they knew how, but one which was intended to be anything BUT helpful.

E.G.: One selected unwittingly by "one" who decided to "google it" the best they could on their own - as many "gurus" on this website chastise others for NOT doing - as if, well, that's OT.

Fools are NOT born every minute, I submit; they get that way because others are too haughty to warn them of their foolishness in such a way that neither of them are denigrated but both of them become more enlightened. Also OT.

Meanwhile, so as not to be OT yet not to NOT answer your OT query AND the OP: the snopes advice is EXCELLENT.

I offer the following in addition:

(1) Update manually from MS (daily from AV), about 1-week from the END of the month. Turn AutoUpdate OFF and ignore the cautions, ignore MS Tuesday or Thursday or any other MS day ending in "y." Despite their disclaimers, MS has no way to test all updates for the combinations of software and hardware extant and should not be trusted to do so. Give the update process time - i.e. let someone ELSE debug the "updates" - but then take responsibility for doing the update yourself AFTER the dust settles. It's like taking responsibility for not driving drunk, for not loaning your car keys to a "distraught" stanger knocking on your window, for not... you get the point. Protect yourself, but don't resolve to live in a cave without being willing to surrender satTV. There's a challenge there.

(2) Err on the conservative side; look at not the Google-label but the http shown by hovering over it; and PLEASE accept no cookies from anyone or anything outside the http (set "accept no 3rd party cookies" in IE). If that results in a "Done" in the lower left corner of IE's window - and nothing on the screen - don't DON'T do anything other than close that window/tab and go to the NEXT google return. Be prepared to miss a few "legitimate" returns for the sake of not getting "sucked in" by the many unscrupulous ones. I pay my electric bill by mail because their web-pay requires accepting a 3rd-party cookie - "webtrendslive" if I remember correctly - which I refuse to do. Their "save the trees and get your bill online" rings hollow to me.

(3) If you can't understand how to navigate or negotiate a website, DON'T PLEASE DON'T hit F1, hit "X" because esoterics are for poets, not surfers: If you need help to use the website, you are probably NOT the intended end-user, you are probably just an intended victim. If your eMail is filled with "Returned Mail" notices, please PLEASE just review your "Sent Items" folder and use your HEAD.

Regards.

Wow...

Anyway I asked because there is a proper F key to use when online and wanting to securely exit a site or an executable pop-up but it's not F1.

I'm curious so humor me