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- stealthninjaman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6TO ALL YOU MAC/LINUX ZEALOTS:
First I use Ubuntu as my main desktop OS, and own a Mac so save the "hater" argument. In addition to being a Mac technician for about 4 years now. I think all of you nuts fail to see any of this from an actual end-user perspective, so allow me:
Nix Zealots:
Your whole one step solution assumes Joe six-pack will KNOW what distro to select after reading through endless "My distro is the best" arguments. KNOW how to locate the reading material to install and properly configure their chosen distribution. Will KNOW how to get proper help when running into issues, they can't fumble through on their own.
Also, they be well versed in installing packages from source, hunting down the rare dependecy you can't get from their package manager. What to do when their camera, iPod, whatever other peripheral doesn't work out of the box. What to do when some of their built-in hardware doesn't work. Let alone how to compile kernels, edit IP tables and so on. You are seriously misguiding people, leading them to believe that when they install whatever distro you go ***** over, all their problems are solved. Get real.
What happens when they can't play their favorite game? Or have diffilculties attempting to locate Nix equivalents of all their Windows apps? Have you setup a support line they can call? Perhaps one of you nuts could write a newbie friendly tutorial, instead of aimlessly flaming here? Alas, that would require work that would benefit someone other than yourself. So you won't. Go away please.
For you Mac zealots, understand this. Your retarded argument of "just buy a Mac" is even more ridiculous. This equates to your Camry breaking down, and a stranger pulling up next to you suggesting you buy a Bentley. Sure it may be better but unfortunately the average person cannot roll into Best Buy or wherever, plunk down a cool $2000 and walk out with a Mac. Yes, I'm aware Mini's are cheap, by Apple standards at least. However, as we all know they are basically laptop's wrapped in a shiny white box.
Building on the Mini argument, why don't you explain how incredibly slow they are out of the box? About why the hard drive is a blazing 4200 rpm (read: butt ass slow)? The few hundred dollars it will take to make it barely comparable (in performance) with an eMachine? Hey, at least it looks nice right? Be truthful, to get a REAL Mac, you'll be spending a lot more than $500. To all you I say please grab a Nix zealot by the hand and exit stage left together. You all must be crazy, and are meant for each other.
The purpose of this article was to I'm sure, offer an existing PC (Mac users pay special attention to that) user a way to keep their machine relatively safe from Spyware, Ad-ware, Virii and the like. If you don't bring anything remotely constructive to this conversation then why post? - stealthninjaman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Secure Windows? Easy.
1)Do not run as admin unless you must. Use a limited account for everything else. There's a handy "run as" function you get by right-clicking something. Anything that won't run unless your logged in as admin, install to the "My Documents" folder. Exceptions being your Anti-virus, and Firewall software. Login as Admin to install those. Be cautious and use that workaround if absolutely necessary. Reason being it is a little bit of a security risk. Of course the upside to all this is you are (relatively) limited in the damage you can do to your PC should some nasties make it in.
2)Make sure you have an anti-virus app, AND at the very least a decent hardware firewall. If you don't, get a software firewall. Free ones include Avast anti virus, and Kerio Personal Firewall. Good & Free. Can't beat that. Ignore the Mac fan boys who banter on about good security products cost a lot of money. Not true at all...again they are totally F-R-E-E.
3)Like many others have recommended, don't use IE whatsoever for anything outside Windows update. Use Firefox, Netscape, Opera, or whatever else. Avoid IE like the plague it is.
**Hard part's over***
4)....and most importantly, EXERCISE COMMON FREAKING SENSE. Yes, I had to type that in all caps. Moving on, don't be stupid and download crap like "unclejoe'sxxxfreeplatinumeditionmediaplayer.exe" then attempt to install it. If this seems to hard for you to understand, jump out a window. Your stupidity needs to be removed from this world.
***Last, I'd like to say that I use a Mac, Windows and Nix. Here's my fast & Humble opinion on them.
Macs are cool, though I think the OS is highly overrated. It is however very basic to work with so anyone can pick it up. I really have no beefs with it though I don't really care for the vendor lock-in that comes with it. Fan boys say what you want, but it's very clear Jobs rams all this iCrap down your throats, without you having a choice.
Some of you kill me with how you bad mouth MS, complain how Windows comes bundled with so many MS apps which of course are part of some wider conspiracy (with the Russians of course) to sway you from using anything else. Cry and moan about how this (and more) makes MS the devil incarnate, then you turn around and praise Apple for the same thing. Jobs is no better. Accept it.
Currently there are no known virii for the Mac, it IS inherently more secure than Windows, out of the box at least. As with any OS, I still recommend you exercise common sense in your web habits. Again NO downloading "unclejoe'sxxxfreeplatinumeditionmediaplayer.dmg". Use your brain.
Linux is good if you're into tinkering. If you have no patience, don't even bother. I personally have a love/hate relationship with it. Upside is the easy package management, tons of FREE software. Downside to it is accomplishing what would be trivial tasks in Windows or OS X (streaming web media anyone?). I haven't found any evidence to support the theory that Nix is more secure than Mac as some would argue, but I think it's safe to assume it's at the least just as secure. Nix is excellent for the family member who only needs to surf the web and type papers.
It's more of a challenge for those like me who do it all like video editing, stream media to my Xbox, other PC's etc. Getting everything to run is a pain in the ass. Once you do though, you're set for a good while.
Bottom line. Use whatever OS *you* feel most comfortable with. Above all else USE COMMON SENSE. Thank you for reading my humble comment. Peace people. - tastypastry, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have no spyware at all on my PC. And all it takes is a reformat, and 4 free programs.
-Microsoft AntiSpyware
-Spywareblaster
-Spybot
-Ad-Aware SE Personal - dharm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2just quit clicking ads, quit going to crack sites, quit going to porn sites,
- groverallnight, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"*****. Firefox was introduced in 2004."
From the wiki article on FF [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FireFox ]: "Firefox has developed considerably since its first release as Phoenix on September 23, 2002." - pondster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Mcafee and Norton? what a joke.
Here is my list, no viri/spyware
1) webroot spysweeper (only $30)
2) S&D Spybot (free)
3) Ad-aware (free)
4) MS Windows anti spyware BETA (Just for S&G but always run last)
5) NOD32 for antivirus
all my systems are clean as a whistle (Except the wifes computer but I'm convinced she's jinxed lol) - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1For one, no one should be reformatting their Windows box, if they are then there is something wrong with their computers.
If you know what your doing, you dont have to do that.
Also, the people in here aren't most people, most people don't know much about computers, not everyone in the world knows how to use them, for example my dad only recently knows how to turn on his new computer.
And at this moment in time i would actually recommend people to migrate to "alternative OSes" such as OS X because of its easy use and stability over Windows. But until Windows changes for the better, i will recommend my friends to buy Macs. - wjadams, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Good article. People need to be in the know to fight this. Yes, Microsoft Windows and IE have some issues. So does Firefox, Linux distros, Unix...blah blah blah.
Look, unfortunately people buy computers thinking they can dive right into it and e-mail people, watch videos, whatever. They need to know the security aspects of things and be more aware of things. YOU ARE NOT BUYING A TOASTER! You are buying a highly sophisticated machine that is a wonderful tool.
So, I like the article. There needs to be more out there like this. - DewayneSmith, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Maccer, I will restrain from flaming your incredibly stupid ass for now.
Except on one thing, "AMD_5x19906y05" - Never classify AMD with the idiotic naming system of Intel. AMD has model numbers with a + sign on the end. The dual cores have X2 before that model number. Maybe you can't even get a handheld on them so you must let them go. - multifaceted, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Good tips:
editing the HOST file.
locking down IE, I've been looking for a way to do this.
Rebuffs:
-Windows firewall is a POS, ZoneAlarm is better but buying one from either Norton or McAffery (sp?) is best
- Spybot is 10x better then adaware
- - timbudtwo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What is up with all of the top 10 lists. Lets get stuff of substance. No digg
- bcassner, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1+Digg Good Stuff!
- saysaknow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1But seriously, on my Windows machine, I never get spyware. I use MS Anti-spyware, Ad-aware SE Personal, Spybot - Search and Destroy, Spyware Blaster, and Zone Alarm.
It takes a lot of RAM to run MS Anti-spyware, Spybot's Tea Timer, and Zone Alarm. Maybe 200-300 megs but it pays off. - HMTKSteve, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2and the number one answer should be:
1) Do not use your computer to access the internet! - shaft, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I thought they shut down kazaa's network like months ago?
- saddad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1With everyone of these articles I can expect a get a Mac or use Linux comment. This is what I say to them. Yes, convert everyone you know to Mac and Linux so you will then have the larger base of users like Windows users are now. Then you will finally be happy and giddy and stop spamming with comments like this. Soon enough, all the spyware/malware/virus/etc. writers will realize this and start migrating to you. Then, people will be saying, "just use Windows to get rid of spyware".
- Pay_, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1how about using vmware player for your browsing.
- tharealmegaman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1All those anti-virus and anti-spyware programs slow your system down as much as the spyware does.
- rob08, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1There should not be a need to install several third-party programs just to be able to use the internet. Damnit!
- middy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I find this funny. The suggestion for people who just got a new computer and want to protect themselves from spyware is... buy a new computer. I don't know about you guys, but I didn't get a money tree in my stocking.
I agree with Mrmysterious. MS Antispyware is probably one of the best utilities they've ever produced. That and Spybot S&D will generally take care of anything and everything you may run into on the net. - whatsthatsmell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0FOR THESE SUPERIOR BEINGS :
"spy-ware blaster on a fresh install of xp has given me nearly a year (and counting) with NO spy-ware issues."
"I run no firewall, no anti-virus, and no anti-spy-ware software.
All it takes is a smart user and firefox, and you have nothing to worry about.
Just like wuss stated, since installing firefox ... not one piece of spy-ware or adware ... ever again on my system."
How can you know you are spy-ware or virus free if you have no way of checking??
and since no one anti-spy program is perfect, how can you know you're spy-ware free by only running one spy-ware program?
dumb. - t928, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Funny that everyone responds to the top 10 article with their own top 10
anyone else tired of all these top 10 lists for EVERYTHING? - mcsurfer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0reading some of these comments it is clear that the demographic that has the time and patience to put up with this unsustainable platform called windoze fits the following profile: 1. broke (clearly spent your allowance on AV software and squandered the time when you could be getting a real education) 2. way too much invested in putting humpty-dumpty together again 3. actually thinks there is an objective debate about which OS is king
- turbopro, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1or stop looking at PORN. Pervs
- TheBurt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Use Windows 98.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is lame. Really ***** lame.
- Cerberus047, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0and the most impornatnt dont use kazaa use bit torrent!!!
- covaro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Tips for having a spyware free Windows Box:
1) Make sure you have a good hardware firewall
2) Make sure you update Windows religiously to close all those damn holes
3) Have a quality AV program
4) Use Firefox or Opera
5) Use a 3rd Party IM Program if you must IM (GAIM or Trillian)
6) Don't fall into the ID10T issues that plague most users (click every popup, download and open every attachment, etc)
7) See Number 6
8) See Number 7
9) See Number 8
10) See Number 10
Computer security is mostly (un-)common sense. I've been running all three of my daily use Windows boxes with nothing but a nice Hardware firewall, and a solid AV program for well over two years now and haven't had a piece of spyware yet (and no, cookies don't count... porn good).
-Scott - termal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Running resident I have just a licensed copy of NOD32 and the free version of Kerio at all times and my computer's not in the least encumbered by them. I haven't had a security incident in many many years.
I use Opera and/or Firefox for browsing, both of which I've been using for years. Switched to Opera primarily for the last year, but I've gone back and forth...used Mozilla Firebird/Phoenix in the early days and occasionally the old suite before that, and had first used Opera in the 4.x days. What can I say? I'm fickle and inconstant. For exceptionally dodgy sites, I use my Linux computer or a virtual machine.
For the occasional audit I use the usual free anti-spyware suspects already mentioned by many, including Ewido (free version), and also Sysinternal's Rootkit Revealer and their other handy tools, F-Secure's Blacklight and BitDefender's free anti-virus (which is for on demand scanning only, and doesn't conflict with NOD32 at all). I'm also familiar with each of the processes running in the background and never let anything that's not essential creep into startup. I use batch files to start/stop services required by Ewido, BitDefender and VMware, so they only run when needed.
The only thing that cost me anything on that list is NOD32 (not counting VMware). Everything else is free if my time is worth nothing. - CJHtxGeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I think #9 would be the most important, I've had a clean, fast windows OS for about 8 months now, no firewall(just the hardware side-effect of a dhcp router), and check for spyware once every 2 weeks or so, rarely comes back with more than 3. I'm just very cautious and don't go about recklessly downloading.
Note: Yes, this is my main comp, yes I use it all the time, yes it has apps and games on it, geez. - roberto_deneero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+01. Get a Mac
2. Turn it on.
3. Go spend the rest of your life with your family, not dicking around with freakin lame Windoze POS. - roastedbagel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I agree with dhakbar, i too only use Ad-Aware, that with browsing with Firefox only for the past year now seems to keep me spyware free, and i hardly ever run ad-aware either. Guess i know how not to click on bogus "your computer is infected, click here to scan your computer" pop-ups
- dhakbar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"But seriously, on my Windows machine, I never get spyware. I use MS Anti-spyware, Ad-aware SE Personal, Spybot - Search and Destroy, Spyware Blaster, and Zone Alarm."
That seems rather excessive. My Windows box has only Ad-Aware, and I've never had any spyware troubles. - chrono13, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"What happened to not running as an admin on your system?"
Whenever I am on my Linux box, I always run as a regular (limited) user.
And when I am on my Windows box, I always run as Administrator.
Why? Oh yeah, because limited user on Windows is the definition of a pain in the ass. And don't give me that BS about Run As. It sucks compared to sudo.
Also, the fact is that major software vendors require Windows Admin rights just to RUN their software.
The reason I don't run as a limited user is because I will not log out of my user twice a day to log into an Administrator account just to get normal ***** done. And hacking my OS to get this to work (which will still only work part of the time) is not an option. - MrMysterious, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2+digg for mentioning M$ anti-spyware which seems to be the best there is. Go ahead and flame!
- bonzooznob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Missing bits:
11.) Get SpyBot Search & Destroy (the real one), skip MS-Anti-spyware... you are asking your crack dealer to police the dealers cutting crack delivered to your kids... totally wrong approach.
12.) If you use IE? huh? are you serious?... switch NOW! there is a brand new zero-day exploit out for IE/Outlook/Outhouse Express (anything using the IE core engine)... why on earth would you still be using this browser? Get Firefox, Opera, heck even Netscape... anything but IE.
13.) Don't download CODEC's or "Licences" that are "needed" to play Porn files... just don't.
14.) Don't use any Email/IM client (cough MSN) that won't let you see file attachment extentions.
15.) Make sure file extentions are turned on in Windows (if you have to use Windows)
16.) Backup. If it has been more than a week, since you last backed up (admit it... its been over 3 months hasn't it?) Backup. The only time you will regret NOT backing up regularly... is when your PC takes a dive... Virus, HD crash, bad Win Driver... Spyware, Rouge App.... - HairyBallz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Step 11) Don't get on the Internet. :)
- jcs_goog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Excellent article. It's nice that they put all 10 tips on one page, too.
- Wings, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"1) Do not use your computer to access the internet!
This has got to be one of the dumber, if not, one of the dumbest answers given to anything."
Dumb answer? Not at all. I have 2 PCs that I (must) use for running a couple of programs I need in my work. I didn't use them to browse the net other than to go get specific things I needed. Have a NAT-router/DSL modem that gave me the bulk of what protection I had, but still was periodically invaded by this, that, and everything else. The last straw was a virus that couldn't be killed without a fresh install. After that I configured them both on a subnet to my Mac, and now if I need anything for them from the net, the Mac does that part and I transfer the stuff over the LAN. Not a single problem out of either of them now for over a year.
I don't think that was so dumb, as it saves me a ton of extra work.
And to the person who thinks they have to spend $1500 for a Mac just to avoid viruses... well, you know you're full of it, don't you? A Mac Mini is 500 bucks, and you get a hell of a lot more than just built-in virus protection. Anyway, wait till after January and you'll probably be able to get a Mini with Intel CPU, and from there you'll soon be able to boot into both worlds (but after 6 months all you'll probably ever want to boot into is the Mac side, after you get a firm grip on what you've been missing). - kevinski, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The funny thing about this article is that it's implying that new Windows PC's don't come preloaded with all sorts of spyware. The best way to MAKE that new computer spyware-free is to write zeroes to the hard drive and re-install Windows from scratch. After that, you can use NOD32 to keep you PC free of adware, spyware, and viruses. I'd also recommend switching to Firefox or (preferably) Opera, ditching IE entirely.
- trajceski, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Some simple advice (just follow this step):
Don’t d/l “unverified” porn or anything for that matter u don’t know its source
(GOT IT!)
Spyware – what’s that? I never had spyware;
But to be on the safe side ===> Best Combo = (Spybot) + (Ad-Aware)
-------
BTW lame article = No digg - Continuum, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I don't know why everyone here needs to go to such extremes. "Buy a mac" or "install Linux".
Technocrats (more or less everyone reading digg) need to realize that most people don't care what operating system they have as long as the ability to chat and check email.
Also, why would you recommend "buy a mac" as a tip to keep that NEW computer spyware free?
The best thing you can do is to educate the user to not install untrusted software (Kazaa type software), that way it won't matter what system they use. - k3n85, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Havn't had a virus or spyware crap in like 2 years, as much as i hate to say it, been using M$ for awhile w/o problems. Webroot gets rid of some really peskie ones though too...
Working on campus for a tech crew, I seriously don't know how people get so much ***** on their computers. I took a frozen machine and TRIED to get spyware on it, I just don't know how to anymore....just rediculous what people manage to do.... - karamba_kid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Don't log on with administrative privledges! Learn to use the RunAs command.
- Aeplus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0People can keep the new computer free of spyware by never opening the package in which it was shipped. From what I am able to deduce after reading a couple of recent quantum mechanics articles, the computer will be in a state where it is both free of spyware and isn't free of spyware. The computer will be in this state until we actually check for the presence of spyware.
- cubbieco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is so far down the list of spam hater comments that I'm sure nobody will read it.
The top 10 was major overkill. Installing 2 or more spyware checkers will kill your performance.
Hardware firewall. Don't download questionable files. update the OS. Hope like crazy that you don't find a rotten WMF file (who uses that legitimately anyway?)
And finally ocassionaly check your computer for viruses using a free online virus scanner.
Other than this recent WMF hack the spyware and viruses can all be stopped with a hardware firewall and being careful with what you install.
No digg for me. Overkill. - armbo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0i have adaware and spybot, but i can't remember the last time i ran either one. hell, my anti-virus has been disabled for so long, i removed it from the startup process. still never have problems. use firefox and avoid warez, porn, and gambling sites. you're fine.
- AttroPheed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Pretty much all you have to do is stop using IE and get the adblock plus and filterset.g extensions for firefox. I havent had anything more than a "tracking cookie" in months and I rarely see an ad banner or popup if ever.
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