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Antivirus, Firewall, Both, Neither?

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Namco:


--- Quote from: Xiaou2 on June 04, 2009, 07:28:38 pm ---
 Windows update as a Security Measure?! 

 I fix PCs for a living.. .and that is the funniest thing Ive ever heard   :laugh2:


--- End quote ---

Keeping on top of Windows security patches is the ONLY effective security measure. Any worms that spread through the Internet attacking Windows machines are attacking UNPATCHED boxes. Those worms and viruses are usually written by hacker groups as a result of reverse engineering a Windows security patch.

Now Trojan horses are a different matter. Anyone who downloads and runs a 152kb sized file named "setup.exe" off a sweet warez site thinking he's installing Photoshop CS3 deserves to get infected.  ;D

DJ_Izumi:

Firewalls really don't protect consumer level computers from threats.  The REAL threats are malware and viruses, unknowingly downloaded and initiated by the user, which then operate secretly.  Most firewalls would see this as ligitimate outgoing and incoming traffic and ignore it.

So long as your computer is up to date with any hot fixes and stuff and you arn't installing questionable things or 'Free Super Web Tools' or anything else that's likely malware, your computer will be fine.  There arn't people sitting, waiting and 'out to get' your computer the moment you look away.  They're waiting for you to install something stupid yourself, then your computer will come to them and do whatever they say.

severdhed:

as long as you or anyone else is not browsing the net on here and installing crap, you should not have any problems...your router is a firewall.  keep the windows update patches installed and don't be stupid.  the biggest threat to computers is not viruses..it is stupid users that don't know what the hell they are doing.

i am an IT consultant, i fix PCs for a living.  90% of what i see come into the shop is someone complete loaded with spyware because they are stupid.they got a pop up saying they are at risk and they should click OK to perform a scan.  at that point they click OK and install some crapware that reports false infections and then wants them to pay $29.99 to remove them.    they think they are safe because they use the internet security suite provided by their ISP, or AOL, or even Norton or McAfee.  some of the worst computers i have ever worked on had norton internet security installed and it claimed that everything was OK.

use some common sense and you will be fine.  i dont run any antivirus on my cabinet, but i do keep a good free anti spyware program on, that i can run on demand if i feel the need...such as Malwarebyte's Antimalware.  it is free, works very well, and does not run in the background...it only runs when you tell it to. (unless you buy the full version, which is unnecessary)

Xiaou2:

You can patch Windows all you want... and there will Still be holes a hacker can and
Does exploit.

 And its not just windows... its any flaw in any program you have installed.  All it takes
is one poke in the right place... and the virus is in the backdoor.

 Norton is bloated useless garbage.   The top AV is currently  Kaspersky.
AVG free is also pretty useless.   Its the first thing a virus attacks (being so popular and
not too advanced).

 Pandas Cloud concepts looks interesting however... but Ive yet to try it.

 The best defense - is probably running something like Sandboxie... in addition to a nice
AV like Kaspersky.


 Being that he intends not to surf... he probably is safe no matter what... as most
of this stuff is embedded in webpages.

 Im merely saying that thinking Windows Update is good protection is a joke.
In fact, it can cause more harm to update than not.   Several customers of ours
have lost their sound on laptops and desktops because MS didnt want to support
HiDef sound in xp.. and changed the drivers on SP3 additions.   Completely Pooched
their sound... and they have No plans to fix this issue!    They also install countless
crappy bloated products... which are also filled with even more security holes.  heh

 Gota Love MS.   Keeps us Busy  heh


Franco B:


--- Quote from: Xiaou2 on June 05, 2009, 02:46:35 am ---All it takes is one poke in the right place... and the virus is in the backdoor.

--- End quote ---

Thats a custom title if I have ever seen one! ;D

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