"More often than not, it's just what the antivirus flags as a false positive."
Norton is famous for this.
Norton is famous for this.
I'd like to say Norton is being cautious but of course they're not....it all ties in with their business model I suppose - it looks like the program is doing the job you're paying for - the more 'positives' they flag....
#20
That works both ways. Some criminal opportunists capitalise on the sheer anticipation for something bound to be very popular and release a fake torrent hours or perhaps a day early in order to warrant thousands of guaranteed downloads at the very least. In some cases, it can be a bit of harmless trolling, like a few hundred megabytes of garbage data or something else altogether, but there can also be malware attached.
That works both ways. Some criminal opportunists capitalise on the sheer anticipation for something bound to be very popular and release a fake torrent hours or perhaps a day early in order to warrant thousands of guaranteed downloads at the very least. In some cases, it can be a bit of harmless trolling, like a few hundred megabytes of garbage data or something else altogether, but there can also be malware attached.
Something funny for you....I was scammed as a student....in a C++ tutorial no less....I had a window pop up on my screen telling me that I had to report to the administration department because they had detected porn in my university email account....I brazenly walked into the open plan administration office and was greeted by the secretary who enquired ' How may I help you?'
" I was told to report here because you've detected porn in my emai account! Since when is photographs of topless women porn?"
" I think somebody is winding you up - we don't check emails". The whole office was laughing :D
That's when I remembered the 2 culprits behind me in the tutorial laughing as I left...
" I was told to report here because you've detected porn in my emai account! Since when is photographs of topless women porn?"
" I think somebody is winding you up - we don't check emails". The whole office was laughing :D
That's when I remembered the 2 culprits behind me in the tutorial laughing as I left...
#24
On the other hand, you just might have scored a real life "Naughty Office" or "My First Sex Teacher" experience when you turned yourself in :)
Porn found in college student's emails?
Round-up the usual suspects...
On the other hand, you just might have scored a real life "Naughty Office" or "My First Sex Teacher" experience when you turned yourself in :)
Porn found in college student's emails?
Round-up the usual suspects...
For the last 5 years or so I've only been running Microsoft Security Essentials and periodically running some sort of malware scan. If you're careful about how you use the internet, there is very little to worry about...
1. Be careful about what you download and where you download things from.
2. Don't open suspicious emails.
3. Don't click on suspicious links.
4. Use a browser that blocks all pop-ups and Active-X by default, and only enable it on a site-by-site basis, and only for websites you trust. (This is why people say not to use Microsoft Internet Explorer. The main vulnerability in IE though is Active-X, though. If you disable Active-X by default, the current versions of IE is just as secure as anything else.)
5. Clear your browsing history and cookies regularly and never open your bank site and then go to a suspicious website.
Basically if you do all this, and then run some standard real-time virus protection like MSE, and occasionally run a malware scan, you really should never have to pay for antivirus software or run bloated ad-filled 'free' softwares like Avast.
1. Be careful about what you download and where you download things from.
2. Don't open suspicious emails.
3. Don't click on suspicious links.
4. Use a browser that blocks all pop-ups and Active-X by default, and only enable it on a site-by-site basis, and only for websites you trust. (This is why people say not to use Microsoft Internet Explorer. The main vulnerability in IE though is Active-X, though. If you disable Active-X by default, the current versions of IE is just as secure as anything else.)
5. Clear your browsing history and cookies regularly and never open your bank site and then go to a suspicious website.
Basically if you do all this, and then run some standard real-time virus protection like MSE, and occasionally run a malware scan, you really should never have to pay for antivirus software or run bloated ad-filled 'free' softwares like Avast.
Here are a few things I put together off the top of my head, trying to avoid focusing on what was already mentioned. There's a lot more I could get into but I tried to limit it to the ones that are of higher importance and not difficult to do.
-You should put 3 types of security software on your computer. Anti-malware, an anti-virus and a firewall.
-For anti-malware, spybot search and destroy AND malwarebytes(both).
-For anti-virus I'd recommend Avast OR AVG(you can't have two AV's)
-For the above two, update and scan frequently.
-For firewall Comodo. In addition to the actual firewall, Comodo has a great live system protection that is better than avast.
-Ensure Microsoft Security Essentials is installed and running.
-there is a type of service called a web shield, which is included for free in avast(idk if it's in avg, I haven't used AVG in a while) that will automatically alert you if you try to go to a dangerous/fraudulent/impostor website. It also automatically checks the spelling to be sure you spelled it correctly and are not going to a bad website with a similar name to a legit website. It also alerts you on google search results to any bad website.
-the others were talking about the importance of keeping everything up to date. I hate to sound like an advertisement for Avast but it also includes a free feature that automatically checks for updates and even will auto install the updates for all your programs for you. The need for updates will be detected even before you start the program, which is helpful. Again, IDK , avg might have this too. I just know avast does. Of course you should be sure that you have microsoft updates set to the "automatically download and install" setting.
-ensure that you are using https if you are doing anything sensitive. You can see right in the address bar/closed padlock. This prevents people from intercepting your data.
-if the website you are visiting is even a little suspicious use the 'sandbox' feature of Avast(or other program) it will isolate that instance of the browser and make it almost impossible for it to do anything dangerous. I'm not giving up my porn, HELL NO :P
-read the fine print when installing anything. Even legitimate software will often try to sneak in extra tool bars and things you
don't want or need, which are often tailored not to be useful but to serve you advertising and track you. Always do 'custom install' and look for any sneaky 'extras'.
-never dl anything from the website CNET. CNET is a cautionary tale of how companies/websites that were once legit can sell their good name out to the maleware pimps.
-use strong (random/unguessable/long) passwords and never use the same password for different things.
-be sure that if any hardware/software you got came with a default password, that you change it!! Still to this day big companies are falling victim to this type of attack.
-automatically distrust any program that wants you to install it to give you better security or to 'boost your computer's performance' unless you have a way to know that it's legit. Almost always those will be a threat to your security and slow performance, ironically :P Only use ones that are tried and tested and well known to computer experts, such as the ones I mentioned.
-optional
-avoid sites like facebook(they make a complete joke out of your privacy), but if you want to use them be aware of the privacy settings and use enhanced log in protection.
-disable 3rd party cookies in your browser. You might need to put google.com on exception in order to use some features of youtube, if you use chrome. I put this in optional but I'd really recommend it.
-use a wiping program like CCleaner, to securely erase deleted files which also removes unneeded files cluttering up your HD.
- disable java in your browser (homeland security recommendation) Java is rarely used now and is a security risk.
-doing a clean install of windows once in a bluemoon will give better security and performance
The most important thing of all imho.... backup your data to somewhere or something not connected to your computer.
-You should put 3 types of security software on your computer. Anti-malware, an anti-virus and a firewall.
-For anti-malware, spybot search and destroy AND malwarebytes(both).
-For anti-virus I'd recommend Avast OR AVG(you can't have two AV's)
-For the above two, update and scan frequently.
-For firewall Comodo. In addition to the actual firewall, Comodo has a great live system protection that is better than avast.
-Ensure Microsoft Security Essentials is installed and running.
-there is a type of service called a web shield, which is included for free in avast(idk if it's in avg, I haven't used AVG in a while) that will automatically alert you if you try to go to a dangerous/fraudulent/impostor website. It also automatically checks the spelling to be sure you spelled it correctly and are not going to a bad website with a similar name to a legit website. It also alerts you on google search results to any bad website.
-the others were talking about the importance of keeping everything up to date. I hate to sound like an advertisement for Avast but it also includes a free feature that automatically checks for updates and even will auto install the updates for all your programs for you. The need for updates will be detected even before you start the program, which is helpful. Again, IDK , avg might have this too. I just know avast does. Of course you should be sure that you have microsoft updates set to the "automatically download and install" setting.
-ensure that you are using https if you are doing anything sensitive. You can see right in the address bar/closed padlock. This prevents people from intercepting your data.
-if the website you are visiting is even a little suspicious use the 'sandbox' feature of Avast(or other program) it will isolate that instance of the browser and make it almost impossible for it to do anything dangerous. I'm not giving up my porn, HELL NO :P
-read the fine print when installing anything. Even legitimate software will often try to sneak in extra tool bars and things you
don't want or need, which are often tailored not to be useful but to serve you advertising and track you. Always do 'custom install' and look for any sneaky 'extras'.
-never dl anything from the website CNET. CNET is a cautionary tale of how companies/websites that were once legit can sell their good name out to the maleware pimps.
-use strong (random/unguessable/long) passwords and never use the same password for different things.
-be sure that if any hardware/software you got came with a default password, that you change it!! Still to this day big companies are falling victim to this type of attack.
-automatically distrust any program that wants you to install it to give you better security or to 'boost your computer's performance' unless you have a way to know that it's legit. Almost always those will be a threat to your security and slow performance, ironically :P Only use ones that are tried and tested and well known to computer experts, such as the ones I mentioned.
-optional
-avoid sites like facebook(they make a complete joke out of your privacy), but if you want to use them be aware of the privacy settings and use enhanced log in protection.
-disable 3rd party cookies in your browser. You might need to put google.com on exception in order to use some features of youtube, if you use chrome. I put this in optional but I'd really recommend it.
-use a wiping program like CCleaner, to securely erase deleted files which also removes unneeded files cluttering up your HD.
- disable java in your browser (homeland security recommendation) Java is rarely used now and is a security risk.
-doing a clean install of windows once in a bluemoon will give better security and performance
The most important thing of all imho.... backup your data to somewhere or something not connected to your computer.
Unfortunately, I feel as though the bulk of the methods mentioned in this thread are like bringing a tank to a gun fight. Everything I mentioned in my post should be suffifcient for the average user. If you are engaging in numerous extra-curriciular sort of internet activities (hacking, piracy, running a ton of freemium games, etc.) then a lot of the advice in this thread is overkill. That isn't necessarily a bad thing though, however sometimes the more anti-malware sorts of software you stack onto your computer, the more resources they hog to the point they act like malware themselves.
Microsoft Security Essentials is lightweight and free for Windows users. If you are using a Mac, obviously you'll need something else like AVG or Avast, but I think both give a lot of false positives for Windows users. I had AVG and Avast both trying to tell me Windows system files were viruses once.
Also, CCleaner is a good recommendation, as is the recommendation to check your privacy settings on Facebook, and disabling third party cookies. And disabling Java in browser is also a good plan. Great recommendations here by Uncrowned.
Finally, one thing I didn't mention was Web of Trust. WOT is a browser plugin that allows users to rate trustworthiness of websites. It's a must if you are out in the wildnerness of the web and don't want to get scammed!
Microsoft Security Essentials is lightweight and free for Windows users. If you are using a Mac, obviously you'll need something else like AVG or Avast, but I think both give a lot of false positives for Windows users. I had AVG and Avast both trying to tell me Windows system files were viruses once.
Also, CCleaner is a good recommendation, as is the recommendation to check your privacy settings on Facebook, and disabling third party cookies. And disabling Java in browser is also a good plan. Great recommendations here by Uncrowned.
Finally, one thing I didn't mention was Web of Trust. WOT is a browser plugin that allows users to rate trustworthiness of websites. It's a must if you are out in the wildnerness of the web and don't want to get scammed!
Anti-viruses are useless, they are sold and used because of myths.
Tell that to Mikko Hypponen.
Dan Kaminsky did, and scurried away with his tail between his legs.
Dan Kaminsky did, and scurried away with his tail between his legs.
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