#1 Security Risk

Drew

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Mar 25, 2006
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I thought this was a thought provoking article I came upon recently. Here it is followed by the peice ofFeedback I had added to the others under the article.

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[h=6]Link Removed due to 404 Error[/h]There are certain basics & best practices that must be met or exist... being/keeping current, good A-V, good A-M, good firewall, only good surfing & downloading activity et al, absolute 'givens' AND correct, NO platform, NO Operating System, on the Net, is immune or untouchable & yes, the misconception came from when some things had small footprints & sickos & criminals didn't give those much attention. But, beyond the 'givens', the biggest threat & weakness regarding security is the (all too often & sadly naive, unaware or even thoughtless) user. Somehow the messages of prudence just don't get to most users. End Users must know there are concerns to have, required tools to have & schedules to keep but, DO they know to even ask the questions or have the cares OR what to do if they did?? The single biggest, indullable, most challenging "Security Risk" & hardest to mitigate against OR educate is computer Users.

Drew1903
 
Solution
Malwarebytes, for A-M reactively.
Windows Defender OR Microsoft Security Essentials for real-time A-M or preventitive(ly)
Also, SpywareBlaster works to stop bad stuff getting in a machine.

Regards,
Drew
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I agree wholeheartedly. The absolute worst security risk in our PC use is ourselves. Our PC practices, sites we visit, opening attachments without thinking, borrowing CD/DVD's from friends to get a pirated copy of _ _ _ _ (you fill in the blanks), downloading from less than desireable sites, clicking on pop ups without checking things out. All of these actions can have dire consequences and the bad people out there are depending on this.
 
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Yup!

I give all my customers a really great 'Package' of Security software, and I include a booklet of instructions on exactly how to update their software, run scans, etc.
It's disheartening when I get a call six months to a year later because something is not working, and I go back there to find that not even ONE update or scan has been done.
Those people are definitely their own worse enemies.

And the worlds best Anti-Malware software is still FREE.

 
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Malwarebytes, for A-M reactively.
Windows Defender OR Microsoft Security Essentials for real-time A-M or preventitive(ly)
Also, SpywareBlaster works to stop bad stuff getting in a machine.

Regards,
Drew
 
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Solution
Hmmmmm! Don't read much do you?

My entire list of FREE anti-malware software is on my web page. It's also available with a Google Search.

As for anything from Microsoft, I wouldn't trust them any more than I could throw Bill Gates across the street one handed.

It's bad enough that we have to deal with their buggy OS.
And, I've been dealing with it for a very long time.

NO one product, program or suite, will ever keep you 100% safe, once you go on the internet.

Some people swear by Norton, but one day I took 151 viruses off of a PC, supposedly protected by Norton, right after the PC's owner had just paid another $49 to update Norton for another year. This is a family channel, so I won't tell you what that nice little lady said to the guy at Symantec when she got them on the phone. OK?

I was using AVG to de-bug her PC. Then after taking out the viruses with AVG, I installed Spybot Search & Destroy and took out a whole pot full of spyware. I lost count after a hundred. She was quite happy when I left her with a nice clean and efficient running PC. Getting a PC clean of Malware is only half the job.

Sorry, I didn't mean for this post to become a rant. Old Timers have a tendency to go on and on.

 
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Contrary to popular belief, Linux OS's need to be secured just as Windows does. Although upon the install process, one will read, no more defragging, no more maintenance, no need for an AV, that last option is simply not true. A Linux install, although hard to infect the OS itself unless one is logged in a root (same as administrator in Windows), can pickup viruses & malware & be passed on to Windows computers.

Fortunately, there are a couple of options for Linux users to protect their computers. One, ClamTK, is free of charge, while not an active virus blocker, it's scanner is powerful. If it's dual booting with Windows, it can scan the Windows partition, one at a time. ClamTK can be found here:

ClamTk Virus Scanner

Another option, but a paid one, is ESET NOD32 for Linux:

ESET NOD32 For Linux (Ubuntu)

Don't believe the hype, Linux installs are as easily infected as Windows is. Even those who concedes that while Linux OS's can carry infections, just because it can't break the OS, doesn't bog it down, that's excuse enough not to bother with security. They simply don't care about infecting other's computers. That's reckless computing, having no disregard for others.

I use Ubuntu & Mint (second to Windows 7), and I take security just as serious with those OS's as I do with Windows. After using either, I first run BleachBit (identical to CCleaner), then I do what's called a recursive (full) scan of my home folder, where my browsers are at. I've only found one thing, a false positive, but the scan only takes 5 minutes tops, and I don't worry about spreading infections across the net.

BleachBit can be ran on Windows also. Here it is, but watch out, it's powerful software.

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Cat
 
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Tasmey said:
So Linux OS is not secure as every one says, right?
Click to expand...
No OS is 100% secure, sure Linux OS's are secure. The thing is, Linux computers can pick up viruses in the browser, & spread them to Windows computers. The only way these viruses can reach the Linux OS's core is to be running as root, which would be foolish while online. Same as running Windows as Administrator.

So Linux users does need a virus scanner, like the ClamTK one I linked above. It does find things embedded within the browser.

Cat
 
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Why did you ban OldTimer?

He is right about Windows

Windows 7 is a Gov't sponsored Spyware Platform

It's easy enough to prove to anyone willing to look but it is so much easier to ban people than to do actual research for most of these Windows Forum Moderators these days

The entire Windows product line generally falls under "Spyware" or "Malware"

Microsoft Security Essentials is a great example

With Windows XP-SP2, you could block EVERYTHING coming in or going out through your firewall untill Security Essentials is installed

After installing Security Essentials, a backdoor is opened that bypasses your firewall and the program will update itself even though all traffic is blocked in your firewall

Want to hear more?

I found lot's of spyware embedded into XP-SP3, Vista and Windows 7 and have tons of expert testimony to share
 
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OMG!... Come on, seriously, you're kidding, right? You wrote all this as a joke, as comedy, to see if, anyone would play along, right?

& 'OT' never said anything that jibes w/ or even, spurs what you have written. He may not be a big fan of MS products, may find their OSs "buggy", may make a crack about hurtling Bill; BUT, he never, even, came close in any way, to where you've gone.. he didn't, even, imply the stuff you've said. If, you can find anyone who will support the rather extreme & eccentric concepts you are professing, really don't think you should the treating (or citing) OT as being like-minded or a cohort for your suggestions.

We were discussing security programs & software to protect computers & Operating Systems and SO WAS 'OT'. He was not, even, hinting @ the, frankly, nutty sounding stuff you have put forth.

There is freedom to opine but, please, come back down to Earth before forming an opinion on something. You keep spewing stuff like that & people will just laugh @ you & definitely not take you seriously.

Regards,
Drew

PS: WOW!
 
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Drew

I'm confused (You bet, he thinks)
No, I mean why would you "assume" that Microsoft is NOT a spyware platform?

After all, they just turned Skype into a massive spying network

Do you think that MS Security Essentials DOESN'T access the Internet when blocked in your firewall?

I've tried this on several different copies of Windows with the same results

It's people who blindly spew Pro Microsoft Propaganda who are hurting the End Users here

Are you one of those types that tells people that Bitlocker DOES NOT have a backdoor?

If you are then I can easily prove that you are lying

Are you ready to play this game?

Get up and stretch, then grab another cup of coffee cuz this could be very informative or very entertaining...

...and the readers here probably don't care which
 
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