How are viruses & malware spread in today's world

I certainly waste a lot of time wandering around the Web. I've gotten maybe 6-8 trojans or other malwares that were not stopped by AVG or whatever I was running at the time.
Half of them come by clicking on some dodgy link -- like "what Angelina likes on her oatmeal". And half come from webforums, including one right here on RV-Net.

I'll concede that those geeky enough to know what Uhuru or Lanex means probably are equipped to avoid these. Otherwise, they are just a risk of surfing -- if you haven't had one yet, count your blessings, because tomorrow you may well.

cleo43 wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

I guess Ubuntu works as well as Windows then because I've had no viruses either. :)

How much does it cost you, beside hardware ?
It costs me Absolutely Nothing, beside small donations here and there, if I feel the program authors deserve it.

I paid $124 for the Windows 7 Pro and, to me, worth every penny. And besides when I've spent $1200 on my homebuilt box what's another $100 give or take? A boot-up time of 23 seconds and shut down of 8 seconds, what's not to like?

I'm a gamer, so how does Max Payne 3 run on Ubuntu? Bioshock? Skyrim? Call of Duty?

Mine works fine, and I have no issues finding software for it. I've tried Linux before and it didn't do what I wanted it to do, and Windows does. Don't like it? Don't use it.

1492,
My comment was a joke - sorta. We did watch an educational film and Betty was the star - just thru that in for a laugh :) We were asked afterwards if we had any questions - one guy asked "Whats Betty's phone number". You had to be there.


Cleo,
Chrome is certainly the tightest on security and apparently works well for you to test drive links before you bite.

fj12ryder wrote:

I guess Ubuntu works as well as Windows then because I've had no viruses either. :)

How much does it cost you, beside hardware ?
It costs me Absolutely Nothing, beside small donations here and there, if I feel the program authors deserve it.

fj12ryder wrote:
"hand cupped Chrome"?

Or maybe 'on leash' is a better word ? I am sorry for my poor English.

cleo43 wrote:
You misunderstood me.
I just want to say I use a hand cupped Chrome to avoid clicking inadvertently on bad links...but using Chrome in that form, one quarter of the times websites refuse to talk to me, so if I am sure the site is safe, I will copy the link then open it in Firefox. I find this is much better than going into settings, modify them, then change them back.
But maybe you are right. I don't know what viruses are - because I use Ubuntu.:B

I guess Ubuntu works as well as Windows then because I've had no viruses either. :)

"hand cupped Chrome"?

wittmeba wrote:
Understand that you will not get a virus from your own PC.

Also understand that email and surfing (anything using your browser or an email client such as Yahoo mail, gmail, Outlook, Thunderbird, etc) are "online" programs. You are online using email even without your browser being open.

You misunderstood me.
I just want to say I use a hand cupped Chrome to avoid clicking inadvertently on bad links...but using Chrome in that form, one quarter of the times websites refuse to talk to me, so if I am sure the site is safe, I will copy the link then open it in Firefox. I find this is much better than going into settings, modify them, then change them back.
But maybe you are right. I don't know what viruses are - because I use Ubuntu.:B

wittmeba wrote:

Sidenote:

sharker6 wrote:
Viruses & malware is spread by toilet seats in campground shower houses

Not so. We saw a movie in High School 1966 and they said you are more likely to get hit with a meteoroid than get a virus from a toilet seat...unless you go out with Betty. She was the star of the movie. :)

Getting off topic for a moment, and speaking of bacteria and not specifically viruses, the UK Mail Online recently found that 6 out of 10 fast food restaurants ice machines, harbored bacteria levels higher than water from their toilets .

My gosh that's a horrible page from that link. Gave me a headache in about 10 seconds. Whoever thought that color scheme was a good idea? I don't care if the location of the Holy Grail is listed on that page. :)