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Author Topic: Security Recommendations?  (Read 4351 times)

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Thunder7102

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    Security Recommendations?
    « on: August 26, 2010, 03:18:48 PM »
    Hello everyone. I am happy to say I am not infected with a virus and don't plan to be. I am just curious, what do people recommend for a really good secure setup for a system?

    Specs:
    Windows 7 Home Premium (Genuine)
    6GB RAM
    AMD Athlon II Quad Core (260 I believe)
    Nvidea 9100 integrated (why you would need my graphics card is beyond me)
    BitDefender Total Security 2010
    Behind a Router
    1TB HD Space


    I used to use registry cleaners but I recently got a bit of an issue with booting up because of one. I had to restore my PC due to such an error so I have stopped using them. This restore also stole my second boot with Ubuntu somehow...so I have a max of 600GB on this partition and the GRUB menu went away...

    Either way, that is about as detailed as I can think of. Programs that are good, etc. I have Nmap, but I have little to no knowledge on how to use it. If I scan my IP address it freezes so I must shut it down so network security is hard to come by. :P I may not have any idea how to do it though. (I'm taking CCNA in college)

    "Curiosity killed the cat." If the cat survives, he will be smart enough to kill the dog.

    patio

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    Re: Security Recommendations?
    « Reply #1 on: August 26, 2010, 03:42:22 PM »
    My current package:

    AVG anti-virus
    MalwareBytes Anti Malware
    SuperAntiSpyware
    Win Patrol
    Stinger

    All Free....clean for over 3 years with this setup except for a sneaky rootkit a month ago.

    PS. Stay away from registry cleaners...far far away...
    " Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist should have his head examined. "

    Thunder7102

      Topic Starter


      Greenhorn

      Re: Security Recommendations?
      « Reply #2 on: August 26, 2010, 06:17:51 PM »
      I just installed SuperAntiSpyware a few seconds ago. I used to use it then too. Malwarebytes I also like a lot. I have also added Zone Alarm as a firewall. If you don't mind me asking, and I don't mean to argue with you, I tend to not agree with AVG....the scanner seems to miss too many things.

      Have you guys done a service test and compared it to Avast! ?
      "Curiosity killed the cat." If the cat survives, he will be smart enough to kill the dog.

      patio

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      Re: Security Recommendations?
      « Reply #3 on: August 26, 2010, 07:50:53 PM »
      I don't mind the disagreement...but i beg to differ...
      " Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist should have his head examined. "

      Thunder7102

        Topic Starter


        Greenhorn

        Re: Security Recommendations?
        « Reply #4 on: August 27, 2010, 11:55:47 AM »
        Oh ok. I'll take that to heart. Would you suggest me using Win Patrol and Stinger with Bitdefender Total Security? Do you know of any contradictions they have with each other? I know not to use scanners at the same time and firewalls sometimes fight. Kaspersky and Windows Firewall used to brawl it out all the time before I just had to turn off Windows firewall.
        "Curiosity killed the cat." If the cat survives, he will be smart enough to kill the dog.

        kpac

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        Re: Security Recommendations?
        « Reply #5 on: August 28, 2010, 04:24:23 AM »
        Quote
        Have you guys done a service test and compared it to Avast! ?
        http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/ondret/avc_report25.pdf

        The 2010 report shows that avast! has slightly better detection rates than AVG, but only by ~3%.

        BC_Programmer


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        Re: Security Recommendations?
        « Reply #6 on: August 28, 2010, 08:48:11 AM »
        http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/ondret/avc_report25.pdf

        The 2010 report shows that avast! has slightly better detection rates than AVG, but only by ~3%.

        AV Comparatives rarely take into account how easy the interface is to use and other various non-trivial details that are for some reason ignored on such comparisons.

        Quote from: Me
        it doesn't matter HOW effective an AV is if the user doesn't care. a user, regardless of their AV, needs to be informed of some basic "rules of the internet" you cannot just slap on some so-called "definitive best AV" and assume they will be fine- they need to have some basic education. So- any "definitive best" AV will have as part of it the user- and since the user is part of the formula, the variable that results when you solve the "equation" may bring out a different AV as the "best" for different people.

        Myself- when I want to judge a User interface blindly- I just imagine my mother using it. Now, some of you may be under the impression that my mother is probably some sort of Cobol goddess or something. The truth is, in fact, that she can't even use a mouse... (actually, wait, that would fit the Cobol Goddess theme.. .*censored*). Anyway- she fits the profile of a total newbie to computers and the internet in general. For example, Firefox is not firefox, but rather her "facepage" and of course she cannot and will not connect her camera to any computer, because the moment you connect it to a PC every single picture is put onto a web page (regardless of what I, somebody who knows what they are talking about for the most part, says).

        Since the User is such a critical component of the equation, it's important to factor in the User interface of the Anti-Virus solution that they are coupled with. In my experience, AV programs often make "alerts" regarding viruses scary and full of technical jargon, often with cute little pictures of viruses.

        They do this when the program updates as well. when my Mother was using my brothers computer, the AV updated; and displayed it's little "update" dialog. the dialog included the VERY SAME "scary" virus image (this was ages ago, with AVG) that is shown when a virus was detected. She was terrified that she somehow got a virus onto his computer or something. Not to mention the very hopelessness the image sent- she was even saying "I hope I didn't infect it, we can't afford to buy him another one" and other such talk. While one can simply say this is simply user newness to the entire computer scene, it's important to realize that AV programs are not simply marketed to the technical elite, they are also marketed towards people who have never used computers before and therefore really have no idea what an Anti-virus program does or how it works- all they know is that they "need" one because everybody says they do.

        This isn't to say that they don't, of course. Really, I'm pointing out that simply saying for them to use "X program" as their AV solution is more software evangelism then it is a proper recommendation, simply on the grounds that the AV and the user are both part of the package; they need to work together. if the user is scared of the user interface presented, they may simply click the "X" button (which, in the case of that version of AVG, was for some reason mapped to "ignore") so even though AVG was detecting the viruses, nothing was being done to them simply because of the user.

        To summarize- the user is part of the AV, in a sense that without a well-informed user, a AV simply may not be able to do it's job of eliminating and preventing virus infections. It is pertinent to educate users about viruses, and malware in general as well as how an AV works in order for it to be fully effective.

        And yes, there are a number of users who could care less about how a PC works, or whatever, and consider it a tool. Well I think they're full of it.

        First off, not all tools are intuitive. you don't grab a belt sander and instantly know how to use it and the various types of sandpaper and their ideal uses- you learn those things. Even a simple hammer has a learning curve where you gradually reduce the frequency of a smashed thumb. The people who think that a "tool" shouldn't require any sort of education are the same people who think they can dry off their cat's in the microwave.
        I was trying to dereference Null Pointers before it was cool.

        patio

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        Re: Security Recommendations?
        « Reply #7 on: August 28, 2010, 09:25:25 AM »
        Win Patrol runs in the background and alerts you to any system changes and/or if something is being loaded as a startup item...
        In 6 + years of running it on multiple machines i have never seen it conflict with any other apps...

        Stinger is an on-demand Trojan scanner and should be DLoaded everytime it is ran....

        You should as you stated never run more than 1 scan at any given time...

        And you should only use 1 firewall app...

        Safe Surfing !
        " Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist should have his head examined. "

        2x3i5x



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        Re: Security Recommendations?
        « Reply #8 on: August 28, 2010, 10:40:49 PM »
        For a firewall, you can get Online Armor if you want a third party tool, or use windows firewall (if you have vista or win 7).

        Microsoft Security Essentials --> another good free AV.