5 Security Software Myths That Can Prove Dangerous

mlts22 wrote:
That seems to happen with MS... they put out an AV product (MS OneCare for example), it stagnates... then they get back on the ball and update it, and the cycle begins again.

So true and of all the free stuff. Remember, free means the developer is not getting paid (at least directly) for maintaining free. That is why I think there is a constant change to the best "free" version. I also believe some of the paid ones take a similar maintenance approach. Pocket money until many figure out it is no longer good enough.

Moral: Ya just gotta stay informed.

All the different opinions on AV security remind me of what a fellow said who worked in the Louisiana DOT's asphalt materials research lab. Engineers and technicians would go 'round and 'round for years arguing about the proper mix proportions to get the best asphalt pavement (and I am sure they are still at it). He said "it's just like a bunch of guys sitting around arguing whose jambalaya recipe tastes best - there is no single answer."

I will trust that MS is savvy enough to maintain reasonable AV control via MSE and MSRT, and every few weeks I can also do a Malwarebytes full scan. I use FF w/ a few handy add-ons to see it better and block ads and trackers. I feel comfortable w/ this. My nearly 10 y/o single core AMD Athlon XP 3200+ will start bogging w/ any browser VMing or NoScript add-ons.

I'm XaPpy, and maybe just clueless enough not to be worried! Will let all know if anything blows up XP-wise.
I've started leaving PC on fulltime since the fan sounds smoother than w/ daily wake-ups from hibernation. Ole Nellie may have another year in her.

That seems to happen with MS... they put out an AV product (MS OneCare for example), it stagnates... then they get back on the ball and update it, and the cycle begins again.

Of course, here is one fact from personal experience: Most exploits these days are via security holes served up from ad servers or web pages. They attack the browser and its add-ons. Usually no AV program will intercept this since a compromised instance of the Web browser in memory doesn't "look" to different from a regular instance unless the AV program constantly looks at other program's process space (very slow.) Since there are no executables or Trojan horses sitting on the hard disk (the code is loaded into the Web browser itself), there is nothing for a scanner to find until the rootkit gets downloaded/installed.

So, the first line of protection is isolating the Web browser from everything else. I prefer to run my Web browser in a sandbox, and that running in a VM, but just running the Web browser in a sandbox will go far to stop unknown attacks from compromising the entire machine. It also is wise to do security sensitive stuff in one browser while general browsing is done in another browser/sandbox/VM.

Keep the AV program, as it can't hurt, although unless it actively blocks IP addresses of malware sites, it will likely be bypassed by a "0-day" exploit (which come out quite often.)

Bobbo wrote:

Yes, but what is? The recommended program changes quite often.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition has been rated top among key independent security testing organizations. It's also lighter than MSE on resources, and the most unobtrusive I've seen.

AV security suites don't tend to change drastically over time. However, MSE has been rated among the bottom for protection for a few years now.

WoodGlue wrote:
1492, excellent post w/ a great article!

Again, MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) IS NOT adequate! I hope readers take the advice of this article!

Thanks!

WoodGlue

Yes, but what is? The recommended program changes quite often.

1492, excellent post w/ a great article!

Again, MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) IS NOT adequate! I hope readers take the advice of this article!

Thanks!

WoodGlue

Unfortunately, some take the word resilient to malware exploits as meaning immune? Especially, in the case of MAC and Linux systems.

All my PC, MAC, Linux, and Android systems have AV installed. Will be adding one to my iOS shortly.

Totally agree there. Especially for the Linux side considering this:

Unix servers hacked

It's unfortunate but true that you have to constantly maintain your computer just like you maintain a car or RV.