Anti-virus vendor shennanigans

[Judge Roy Bean]

We did away with (as much as we could) Norton's AV product some years ago over a support issue and it appears things have gotten worse:

http://pubcit.typepad.com/clpblog/2009/ ... blems.html

We eventually settled on Eset's NOD32 and have only had a handful of issues that were easily resolved - other than the fact that when it does its automatic update (sometimes three or more times a day) it literally takes over the machine for upwards of thirty seconds.

[Arthur Rubin]

...

We eventually settled on Eset's NOD32 and have only had a handful of issues that were easily resolved - other than the fact that when it does its automatic update (sometimes three or more times a day) it literally takes over the machine for upwards of thirty seconds.

I no longer have access to the service or the E-mail account, but there is a Windows mailing list, perhaps "Windows Secrets", which once offered a registry setting change which prevented automatic updates from taking over the computer. I don't know if it worked.

[SteveSy]

Back in the old DOS days Norton was an excellent, top of the line, product suite. I don't really recall viruses being an issue back then and they didn't have an anti-virus suite. Anyway, Norton has gone to the toilet, it truly is crap-ware. Their anti-virus product is the worst out there. It basically takes over the computer, causes major performance issues, and fails to protect against infection of so many viruses, some fatal to your operating system, it's not even worth using.

AVG is a much better product and much cheaper. We use that along with the free version of Malwarebytes and we don't have any issues at all. I recommend that anyone buying a new computer immediately remove Norton's and install these two tools.

[Demosthenes]

Malwarebytes kicks serious butt!

[Brandybuck]

I use Unix, so someone please explain to me what a "virus" is?

[SteveSy]

I use Unix, so someone please explain to me what a "virus" is?

You don't have viruses, you just have version hell. We use a lot of Linux boxes and one thing I've learned over the years is once you got it humming don't touch it, don't try new things, and kick anyone's butt that does the those things. Don't neglect your nightly backups because if it does die which is very rare you're likely to be sitting there for days trying to get it all up and running again with all the stuff you had on it prior to it dying if you're starting from scratch.

The biggest complaint I have about that operating system is the lack of backwards compatibility between versions. You'll likely be playing whack the mole for hours upon hours trying to chase down all of the other applications you screwed up while you were trying to get the new version of an application complied and running. Kind of like DLL hell for windows on steroids.

btw, don't forget to get on your knees and thank the Linux Gods once you got it up and running, providing you don't screw with it, because it's likely you'll never have to touch it again. We've got a few servers that have been running for well over three years without a reboot.

[Brandybuck]

Who said anything about Linux? I'm using FreeBSD. Of course, it does not avoid your laundry list of complaints, and even exacerbates some of them. But those complaints only exist because you keep upgrading stuff. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Install a stable release, and then don't change anything unless it's a security fix.

Then there's the Unix on my laptop. It's called Mac OSX.

[Judge Roy Bean]

I use Unix, so someone please explain to me what a "virus" is?

It's that thing you think your machine doesn't have just because you're allegedly immune.

[Brandybuck]

It's that thing you think your machine doesn't have just because you're allegedly immune.

Worms maybe, viruses no. Due to the way a Unix works, it's incredibly difficult for a virus to infect a system. Worms are a different story, so you can't be too complacent. Still, it's the difference between deadbolts versus aluminum latch chains.

[fortinbras]

There are a number of perfectly satisfactory, totally free, anti-virus / anti-malware, programs readily available on the internet. Use a reliable consumer guide (such as About.com) to choose one or more; it may be a very good idea to have more than one, since none of them - even the expensive ones - seems capable of catching EVERY form of malware. These programs require frequent (at least once a week) updating from their home websites to keep current with the known malware out there.

On bit of malware out there right now is a sort of shill, called "scareware". It somehow attaches to your system - clicking into the wrong website can do that - and keeps sending you a message that looks like it's from your own system, telling you that a virus or trojan has infested your system. Clicking for further information, it may offer to do its own scan of your system (which may be an opportunity for it to get even a firmer infestation of your computer) which invariably reports (perhaps only as a possibility) scores, even hundreds, of infections that somehow sneaked past your existing protection. Then comes the hard sell; the same scan tells you to BUY (online, immediately, with your credit card) the particular protection software that it is touting. If you don't, this annoying warning routine recurs at frequent intervals. I have no reason to believe that the software being touted will remove anything but its own scareware advertising.

Running your existing anti-malware programs may sweep the scareware out of your system. There is also a specific freeware anti-scareware program (SmitFraudFix), which was so effective that it not only made the scareware vanish but also my collection of desktop themes - which fortunately could be restored by a recovery program.

[Doktor Avalanche]

I use Unix, so someone please explain to me what a "virus" is?

“Two of the most famous products of Berkeley are LSD and Unix. I don’t think that this is a coincidence.” - Anonymous

Ken Thompson has an automobile which he helped design. Unlike most automobiles, it has neither speedometer, nor gas gauge, nor any of the other numerous idiot lights which plague the modern driver. Rather, if the driver makes a mistake, a giant “?” lights up in
the center of the dashboard. “The experienced driver,” says Thompson, “will usually know what’s wrong.”

And that's an apt description of Unix.

[silversopp]

Then there's the Unix on my laptop. It's called Mac OSX.

A little over 50 security vulnerabilities were fixed last month for OSX.

There's no such thing as a perfectly secure OS.

[Tednewsom]

FYI on the "Your computer is infected" virus scams:

I had replied to one in stupid & relatively innocent good faith, figuring, "OK, maybe I do need an internet condom these days" (in addition to my existing protection). The cost was minimal, fifteen bucks or so, and I typed in a credit card number, using an account which was almost completely at a zero balance. I got just far enough to check the submission report before I hit SEND... then stopped... when I saw how much I was authorizing. The "amount authorized" for payment was mysteriously the balance on that card account, something like $488.50, or some bizarre figure.

Bailed out of that one in a hurry, boy. Checked immediately with the card service, which had not processed anything.

Lesson learned: double-check before you hit ENTER.

Then change your mind and forget about it.