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Nonstop viruses, can't get rid of them?

SignBurst PCs

New Member
Macs can compromised by just visiting a website too.

I am not bashing Macs. They are good computers. There is just a lot of misinformation out there.

Check this out: http://www.macworld.com/article/132733/2008/03/hack.html

5 easy ways to minimize (or even stop) infections!

A little prevention goes a long ways. I personally have not been infected or compromised in over 5 years. I surf the Internet just like everyone else and read TONS of email every day. I live by the following 5 rules:

#1. Get a good anti-virus/firewall/anti-malware program. There are a lot of good ones out there. Choose one and keep it up to date. Just installing it once and not updating the subscription is not going to cut it. $50-60 per year is a very reasonable price for a more secure computer. Most good software will license up to 3 computers for $50-$60.

#2. Stay updated. Turning off your "Automatic Updates" is CRAZY. Updates are released often and they are released to keep up with new threats and vulnerabilities. Not getting the security updates leaves you at risk. "Windows Update" will keep Windows and IE updated. You can also enable "Microsoft Update". This will keep Windows, IE, and all of your other MS applications up to date (including "Office" apps like Word, Excel, Outlook). "Office" applications all have security vulnerability fixes available quite often and keeping them up to date is key! If you have Java installed, keep it updated too!

#3. Don't open unsolicited attachments. If you don't recognize the person sending it to you, don't open it. Even if you know the person, don't open it unless you are expecting an attachment. Your friend may be infected and his computer may be sending little viruses to everyone in his address book.

#4. Use an updated browser. IE7 on Vista or XP is great IF YOU KEEP YOUR SYSTEM UPDATED. IE7 on Vista is more secure than IE7 on XP, due to "Protected Mode", which is only available on Vista. Firefox is great too if you are into customizing your browser. I personally use both. I like Firefox and use it most often, but there are number of things that I need to do with IE7 once in a while. There are other good browsers out there. Just keep them up-to-date!

#5. If you have a broadband connection, buy (and properly configure) a "router/firewall". There are a number of good brands available. Just be sure to change the default password and encrypt your wireless (if you decide on a wireless router). This is just one more safety layer between your computer and all the evil out there on the Internet.

You can go to more extreme measures, but this is a good start. These 5 steps will keep you out of harms way most of the time. Even careful people get viruses and other malware. But the more you are prepared, the less likely you are to get infected.


I reposted this to a new thread, just in case anyone else would like to read it.
 

Techman

New Member
My system has never had a virus. I use a few simple rules//

a good anti virus is helpful. AVG is FREE and works great. There are a few others that are FREE and work just as well as a paid. Free just has a few less features that most of us do not need any way.

Turn OFF al automatic updates. Do not allow anything to auto update. Any updating should be done only with your full knowledge and permission. Yes, This is important. If something updates by itself.. And your software suddenly quits you do not have any idea what caused the problem. At least if you know something updated then that could be a clue.

Some updates remove functionality. I hate that when it happens too.

opening strange anything without protection is just not good no matter who you are dating.

Leave Internet Explorer in all flavors to the others. Avoid IE at all costs. IE and Outlook are not made to prevent spammers and malware. Firebird and Firefox and other mozilla flavors are way better choices.

Anyone online with out a software firewall and a router are asking for invasions. Nearly all high speed modems have a firewall but you need a software firewall too. That means 2 way protection. Going and coming in traffic. You have to know whats trying to call out too. many modern malwares call out to a site to download more of its junk. Smit fraud is a classic call out maggot software..
 

Fuzzbuster

New Member
This floggin PC's,,, and MACS are better over the virus thing is so old.

MAC's have problems too. They are not a god and owning a MAC is not supposed to be a religious experience kin to that of enlightenment..

NOT a MAC DUDE by any strech but went to their web site the otherday and priced a loaded computer!!!!

Came out to $25k...:omg: try it for fun

they better never get viruses for that kinda coin...

must be pretty quick....heh heh

stick to what youre used to i guess?
 

Rooster

New Member
Hey, who doesn't need fibre channel network cards, a $3000 video card, 32GB of RAM (@ three times the going rate elsewhere), Quad 15,000RPM SAS RAID, and dual 30" monitors on a workstation?

You could knock $6000+ off the price right away by buying your RAM elsewhere, and it would come in about the same as a comparably equipped Dell. Although much of what Dell offers on it's website isn't directly comparable to Apple's options (ie: no quad channel fibre network card, 30" monitors, 32GB of RAM, etc). So you'd need some additional vendors to create a truly comparable system.
 

kuntry_kid

New Member
I am with techman. Get rid of Internet exploder and use Firefox. I see a lot of people talking AV, but AV does not do a whole lot for spyware that can cause a lot of issues as well. One of the top spyware detection software applications is Spybot Search and destroy. I use this and it cut down on many problems. One of my favorite features is that it will not allow a registry change or software install without you clicking allow or deny. This gets annoying sometimes, but it is well worth it. Something else I use that has helped my system is Registry Mechanic. This doesn't really do AV or catch spyware, but it will clean up your registry and improve your system's performance if there is a lot of unneeded or partial strings in your registry.
 

flyinhawaiian968

New Member
I think that I would purposely install spyware on my PC before I installed McAfee.:frustrated:


BWAAAAHAAHAHAAA!!!!! That's funny! Actually, if you install McAfee on your system, isn't that just like installing spyware? Let's think about this one, it installs a billion packages on your computer, slows your machine down immensely by having all their crap running at all times, programs seem to crash more often once its installed, your internet and email is bogged down while it sniffs everything that comes in and everywhere you go, and no matter what you do to disable it, even temporarily, it returns in full-force time and time again!

Yep, sounds just like a virus to me!!!

I'd rather install Win 3.11 and go back to Aldus Pagemaker, Corel 3 and play Reversi than install mcafee (or norton's, that one's just as bad!) on my existing system, I'll probably get the same performance either way!


Chris
 
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