Computer Security: Anti-spyware and Anti-virus

[TstebinsB]

There was a time when I was a little computer genius (well, I thought so).. a time not too long ago actually. I was a computer tech as an undergrad. That's also when I was a computer engineering major. But at 24, I don't feel so smart. I feel like the YouTube, MySpace world is passing me by. Maybe I'm too occupied with law school and work and girls. Mmmm.. girls.

Nonetheless, the need to protect my computer, which in turn means to protect myself, has never been more recognizable. Just from daily browsing of news, music, and sports sites, my security software has been picking up SOOOO many trojans. I have ZoneAlarm firewall, AVG Anti-virus, SUPERAntiSpyware, Spybot - Search & Destroy, AND Ad Aware Pro 2007 installed on my computer. You might think this is overkill but remember I was a computer engineering student. A guy can meet a lot of hackers and would-be hackers in those college programs. I know firsthand what they can do. Not to mention the fact that different software will pick up different viruses and spyware. My point is that if you don't have the proper security on your computer, you are an identity theft victim waiting to happen. Men and women, USE PROTECTION!

[mr_economy]

My main lines of defense, in order of use: Common sense, Mac OS X, Ubuntu, Firefox + AdBlock Plus + NoScript.

Most malware and virus/worm threats today rely on user ignorance (I'm being polite here) more than technological skill. Prominent virus writers are mostly script kiddies, with software to help them write the things, and social engineering to do the rest. Common sense and education are seriously the most potent tools one can have in the war against spyware and viruses.

[TstebinsB]

My main lines of defense, in order of use: Common sense, Mac OS X, Ubuntu, Firefox + AdBlock Plus + NoScript.

Most malware and virus/worm threats today rely on user ignorance (I'm being polite here) more than technological skill. Prominent virus writers are mostly script kiddies, with software to help them write the things, and social engineering to do the rest. Common sense and education are seriously the most potent tools one can have in the war against spyware and viruses.

I agree with your software decisions and the issues with user ignorance. Still, as a younger guy who is more prone to go to a bunch of random sites, I am probably more susceptible to attacks than the average person. I don't deny I set myself up but sometimes these are band sites and online stores. Not where you'd expect to get a security breach. Sometimes these things just happen.

As for the script kiddies, I know kids who are doing much more than that. I don't feel like getting a knock on my door by a suit tomorrow morning, so I won't say all the sites/programs they've hacked into but two of them are now working for Apple after hacking Apple software.. can't beat 'em, hire 'em!

[mental]

I'd echo the praise for Firefox + NoScript + AdBlock Plus. I actually don't run anti-virus on my personal computer because the Firefox extensions keep unknown junk off my computer, I don't click on email attachments that I'm not familiar with, etc. I keep the operating system and software patched and I haven't had any issues. I generally don't go to "iffy" sites either, but knowing that NoScript blocks a lot of potential attack vectors is nice. If a site can't execute JavaScript or Flash or any other stuff, there's little it can do to hurt you.

All that being said, I can understand where you're coming from, and I certainly don't think that running anti-virus is a bad idea. I run an IT department and we use Symantec Corporate on our machines, but I can't comment on the consumer versions because I haven't used them. I've heard good things about NOD32 and Trend Micro. You can also use Trend Micro's free online scanner if you just want a "check-up".

http://housecall.antivirus.com/

Honestly I'm a little baffled at the people who end up with tons of spyware, viruses, etc. because a little common sense, plus closing off common attack vectors by keeping software patched and running stuff like NoScript, will keep you clean (in my experience). Of course, I recognize that not everyone is knowledgeable about these things, just as I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to many non-computer-related things.

[TstebinsB]

I have Ultra Ad Killer and that has NoScript, flash and ad blocking features in it. IE is the biggest culprit. This might sound silly but I have IE because when Windows Messenger notifies me of a new email message, clicking on it won't open the email message in FireFox. It'll go straight to IE. It was getting to be too annoying to have 2 browsers.

[Ecuador Jim]

I haven't reached the point where I feel a need to have 5 or 6 programs installed to keep me safe, but then I don't tend to visit sites where hackers tend to deploy their attacks.

While on an extended road trip, I managed to "stay clean" without any protection. I was probably lucky, but I did take care to stay away from You Tube, and places where lots of people go.

I use Norton 360, Ad Aware Pro, and SpySweeper. Seems to work well for me.

[TstebinsB]

I have Ultra Ad Killer and that has NoScript, flash and ad blocking features in it. IE is the biggest culprit. This might sound silly but I have IE because when Windows Messenger notifies me of a new email message, clicking on it won't open the email message in FireFox. It'll go straight to IE. It was getting to be too annoying to have 2 browsers.

I installed Firefox and did some tinkering. Windows Messenger still isn't connected to Firefox but I managed to work something into Firefox that'll work...

[mr_economy]

I installed Firefox and did some tinkering. Windows Messenger still isn't connected to Firefox but I managed to work something into Firefox that'll work...

Have you considered trying an alternative messaging program like Pidgin? It's open-source, 100% free of spyware, and multi-protocol so you can use your AIM/MSN/Yahoo/Gmail/whatever accounts simultaneously. For MSN accounts it will still notify you of new mail if you want it to, and it will open whatever web browser is set to your default (which I'm assuming is Firefox for you).

[TimmyBoston]

I use Ubuntu and I haven't had any problems.

[Tinzien]

Have you considered trying an alternative messaging program like Pidgin? It's open-source, 100% free of spyware, and multi-protocol so you can use your AIM/MSN/Yahoo/Gmail/whatever accounts simultaneously. For MSN accounts it will still notify you of new mail if you want it to, and it will open whatever web browser is set to your default (which I'm assuming is Firefox for you).

Kyle,

Thanks for pointing this program out. I've been running an older version of AIM with Messenger Mate installed for my text messaging needs, but I'll give Pidgin a spin.

[denissawyer]

Leopard !!!!!

[jamacdon]

Leopard !!!!!

Yep, but I'd also use a non-Admin account for most of the daily operations, just to be extra sure.

[Tanksfurnutin]

Recently I have started using a Sandbox whenever I connect to the internet or open my e-mail reader. It's a slick little program that basically will not allow stuff to be downloaded onto your hard drive. Surfing the net and reading e-mails appear as they normally would. But If you want to download pictures, programs, or add bookmarks you will have to use your normal unsandboxed web browser. If you want a better explaination of how it works you can check it out at www.sandboxie.com. It is freeware, unfortunately after 30 days an annoying pop up to buy a full version appears. On the latest update this pop up won't go away for 5 seconds. But free is free.

You can also check out this site for some free software recommendations to protect yourself http://techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm. I actually use alot of these free programs on both my office and home computers and have not had any problems.

[SmoovD]

It is not fancy but the Zone Alarm Suite has worked well for me.

[Taz]

I use something with a starting with a K for my anti virus(Not on the home PC and can not remember the name ) It is great and one of the lowest for demands on your system.
As for INTERNET I still use IE I here you guys take about the others if someone has a minute to explain the advantages of other Explorers other then they are not from the Golly Green Giant . I would be thankful would not mind switching but like IE unless the others are not that much better, Take that back I do not love IE just use to it.

[MikeNYC]

The reason all of you think that your anti-programs work and protect you is because you have never faced a serious attack. So what if retailers can't install cookies, or ad agencies can't spot any patterns in your shopping behaviour. BIG DEAL. They still find a way to keep track of you. You are minneow in a sea of whales. You think hackers spent months cooking up the programs so they can see how much porn you store on your PC? Please, they are taking risks to crack banks databases, investment banks trading records, online merchants customer info. That's why the companies spend thousands if not millions of $$$$ for protection. They have experts on 24-hour standbys, tech departments spread around the countries. Your $50 SecuritySuite has no chance. In order to properly protect consumer PC's, you need to spend around $1200.

[arcman]

Working in the field I've had to fix Zone Alarm going FUBAR on several occasions, so I don't recommend them at all.

In fact, I don't usually recommend a software firewall in the first place. If you're on dial up or you're directly connected to your cable/dsl modem, the Windows XP SP2 firewall is really all you need (unless you absolutely MUST monitor your outbound traffic). If you have a router between you and your cable/dsl modem then you don't even need that, the router comes with its own hardware firewall that's so much better and easier to deal with than a software firewall.

Norton Internet Security suffers in this respect too, because when software firewalls malfunction they usually completely wreck the client's internet access, which turns into a major pain for them, and not always the easiest thing to fix.
Norton AV 2007 by itself is just fine, though.

The best all-around AV for the money IMO is NOD32, though. Excellent definitions/updates, excellent heuristics (detecting new viruses in the wild), very light on the system resources, and not too expensive.
Kaspersky is very good too, it's what you run to when you need a good brute force virus removal because it will seriously eradicate everything. You need a pretty good machine to run it, though.

Webroot's Spysweeper was a pretty good antispyware program the last time I used it if you need something like that. Usually though, as long as you run Firefox, Opera, or some kind of non-IE browser, and as long as you don't download suspicious executable files (screensavers, "free" games, pirated material, pirated WMV files, .vbs email attachments, etc.), you're not very likely to get spyware.

[Halden]

A Hardware router is the best first line of defence.

[Taz]

Working in the field I've had to fix Zone Alarm going FUBAR on several occasions, so I don't recommend them at all.

In fact, I don't usually recommend a software firewall in the first place. If you're on dial up or you're directly connected to your cable/dsl modem, the Windows XP SP2 firewall is really all you need (unless you absolutely MUST monitor your outbound traffic). If you have a router between you and your cable/dsl modem then you don't even need that, the router comes with its own hardware firewall that's so much better and easier to deal with than a software firewall.

Norton Internet Security suffers in this respect too, because when software firewalls malfunction they usually completely wreck the client's internet access, which turns into a major pain for them, and not always the easiest thing to fix.
Norton AV 2007 by itself is just fine, though.

The best all-around AV for the money IMO is NOD32, though. Excellent definitions/updates, excellent heuristics (detecting new viruses in the wild), very light on the system resources, and not too expensive.
Kaspersky is very good too, it's what you run to when you need a good brute force virus removal because it will seriously eradicate everything. You need a pretty good machine to run it, though.

Webroot's Spysweeper was a pretty good antispyware program the last time I used it if you need something like that. Usually though, as long as you run Firefox, Opera, or some kind of non-IE browser, and as long as you don't download suspicious executable files (screensavers, "free" games, pirated material, pirated WMV files, .vbs email attachments, etc.), you're not very likely to get spyware.

That is the K name I was talking about but I have found it much less demanding on your system then others I have tried. I also read some ratings that support this, but I am no expert

[arcman]

The reason all of you think that your anti-programs work and protect you is because you have never faced a serious attack. So what if retailers can't install cookies, or ad agencies can't spot any patterns in your shopping behaviour. BIG DEAL. They still find a way to keep track of you. You are minneow in a sea of whales. You think hackers spent months cooking up the programs so they can see how much porn you store on your PC? Please, they are taking risks to crack banks databases, investment banks trading records, online merchants customer info. That's why the companies spend thousands if not millions of $$$$ for protection. They have experts on 24-hour standbys, tech departments spread around the countries. Your $50 SecuritySuite has no chance. In order to properly protect consumer PC's, you need to spend around $1200.

Uhhhhhhh, well like you said, consumer PC's are just minnows in the ocean. If someone with the skillz REALLY WANTS to hack Joe User's PC then they certainly can, but then Joe User's PC probably doesn't have anything on it worth hacking into to get, especially for the effort it would take to break through a decent SPI firewall. I can't see the need for spending a grand on security unless you're really dealing in sensitive data, in which case you'll want to hire someone actually trained in computer and network security.

I mean, I run a wireless router at home, I only use the crappy 64-bit WEP encryption which would take a hacker a whole five seconds to crack, but it'll never happen because there's really nothing on my hard drive worth taking. The only reason I enable it at all is to keep the neighbors from leeching a connection, and they wouldn't have the first idea of how to get past basic encryption.