The internet is fucked.

[pikeh]

Not had a virus since I first got a computer in 1997. Sensibility > viruses.

Its not hard.

 

[tierk]

Installed Avast years ago on my home PC while living in London and i ahve never had a problem since then.

 

[Lamp]

Agree. Since installing Avast, never had a problem. Job, its your own fault, surfing all those nasty German porn sites & opening up exe attachments in your email.

 

[cHodAX]

Avast is brilliant but I have known many viruses to bypass it due to the weakness of Internet Explorer, that is why every PC I build for friends/family now has Firefox installed with NoScript and Adblock. Not one machine with a combination of Avast and that browser setup have been infected since I started doing it 2 years ago.

I know where Job is coming from with this though, even with full hueristic scanning on alot of new viruses are not being detected due to the sheer volume of new malware/viruses out there. The Antivirus people just cannot keep up with thousands of new virii per week and the system is starting to crumble, fortunately a good browser and addon combination removes 90% of the threat anyway. That along with a decent virus scanner, firewall and properly configured router is going to get you PC up to maybe 98% secure, you are never totally protected though and it is foolish to think otherwise as programs will always have bugs that can be exploited and Windows is riddled with them.

I think the future needs to be something like running the browser in a virtual machine to stop the actual system from being infected.

 

[tierk]

Avast is brilliant but I have known many viruses to bypass it due to the weakness of Internet Explorer.....

Stopped using IE about 357 years ago. I have the regular firewall that comes with windows and this has worked a treat ever since.

****EDIT****

OFC with Firefox as browser, it rocks.

 

[BloodOmen]

my computer is ultra secure the last time I had a virus was around 7 years ago and! there are no foreign exe's running on my pc + nothing visible in task manager or msconfig its all stuff I wanted there and i've had this windows installed for about 4-5 months now.

and all i'm using is AVG (free version at that) a sick as fuck firewall via my router and windows 7 ultimate (also got ccleaner + search and destroy running frequently)

browser I use is firefox with noscript + adblock plus - all does the job nicely.

 

[Vasconcelos]

Stopped using IE about 357 years ago. I have the regular firewall that comes with windows and this has worked a treat ever since.

****EDIT****

OFC with Firefox as browser, it rocks.

Same here: just firefox n a freeware antivirus.

 

[Ch3tan]

No Job, you are claiming that everyone is infected, it's not true. Just because there are 60,000 new threats a day does not mean you are sure to be infected. Firstly a lot target old versions or software with vulnerabilities, a lot rely on no firewalls. If you are up to date software wise then you are safe. Secondly a lot of those "new" threats are just variations of old virus's and malware, they aren't necesarilly undetectable.

It's not bluster that I have no virus's, I clean my boot services once a month or so to remove fluff services from programs that don't need them running, I know what is running on my system. I can use task manager to see what is running at any time.

The people who are at risk are the computer illiterate and the stupid, who click on every link and download everything, and those that do not keep their software patched.

I'll stick with basic protection and common sense, as it's not failed me yet, and judging by the replies on this thread, your view seems to be in the minority.

 

[old.Osy]

Savy users don't get viruses. I don't even use an antivirus at home.

How would one get infected? I don't install/execute apps from shoddy websites, I use a pool of applications directly downloaded from the SW manufacturer, I download movies, tvseries and porn.

Most of my games are Steam-ed or otherwise licensed.

Use IRC & yahoo as IMs/chat. Firewall is up and customized by myself.

There is no way in for the buggers, unless MS really screws up (anyone remember lsass hack?), but that happens once a decade.

I use a decent browser (not that using IE is as scary as it used to be), but I much prefer the usability of a modern browser, which has revolutionized the way people browse (Opera).

Job, I'm sorry mate, but it's down to the user. I haven't had a virus since 98SE times, and that was because back then I would download games/apps from warez, with infected keygens and such.

 

[Ch3tan]

Yea but if nobody paid for antivirus ever they would all be shit

I pay coz i can as i approve of the product

I think paid for virus and security software does more harm to most systems than a virus. Resource hogs, lock out windows features, integrate themselves to deeply in the OS, and a bugger to remove.

Also, if no one paid for anti-virals, then they would not be shit, they'd have to make their money through business clients instead (which is probably most of their income anyway), the OS manufacturers would simply have to invest more in their own anti virals.

There is not one reason for any home or small business user to be paying for an anti-viral or firewall / security suite. At all. None. Nada. Zip.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Couple of extra "cockblocking" softwares, spybot and basic windows+HP combo things and this comp (has a birthday of 1 year coming up! ) has been clean the whole time.

Checked the infos and such and spybot gave all clear too(even if usually it finds SOMETHING to bitch about).

I'm not too careful of a user, but i avoid links even on this site

Then again i do load stuff from the nets, but i check what i load before i do. Mods being the main issue, as they are executables too.

 

[tierk]

None. Nada. Zip.

You forgot nish

 

[old.Tohtori]

You forgot nish

And zilts

And bubkus.

 

[tierk]

And zilts

And bubkus.

Diddley Squat.....

 

[old.Tohtori]

And ofcourse F*ck all.

 

[CorNokZ]

And ofcourse F*ck all.

Don't mind if I do

 

[georgie]

Couple of extra "cockblocking" softwares, spybot and basic windows+HP combo things and this comp (has a birthday of 1 year coming up! ) has been clean the whole time.

Checked the infos and such and spybot gave all clear too(even if usually it finds SOMETHING to bitch about).

I'm not too careful of a user, but i avoid links even on this site

Then again i do load stuff from the nets, but i check what i load before i do. Mods being the main issue, as they are executables too.

Surely you mean especially on this site.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Surely you mean especially on this site.

Well yes, quite well put

 

[Wij]

Run your OS off a Live CD. Problem solved.

 

[Job]

I've thought of that, can you make your hard disk read only for a single session?

 

[Lamp]

running the browser in a virtual machine to stop the actual system from being infected.

liking the sound of that

 

[Wij]

liking the sound of that

SandboxIE is your friend.

 

[cHodAX]

SandboxIE is your friend.

YouTube - Sandboxie Review Part 1

 

[Lamp]

just playing around with it now...[currently in sandbox]

 

[Job]

All ready tried it, seemed to take over my PC, couldn't work out that 'use the start menu' bit.
Then again I have the attention span of an autistic gnat.