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Just wondering what kind of programs you all think should be on most PC's these days. Not talking about the obvious things like web browsers and word processing stuff.
More things like:
virus checker - Norton or AVG
Adaware
Spy bot search and destroy.
Music player - Winamp, iTunes
So what do you use regularly or recommend as being quite important.
More things like:
virus checker - Norton or AVG
Adaware
Spy bot search and destroy.
Music player - Winamp, iTunes
So what do you use regularly or recommend as being quite important.
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Notorious Biggles wrote:
> Maybe they have changed it now, but the original Internet Security was
> just a firewall. If it isn't now then sorry.
It includes nearly every product they do now.
> But the single most important reason for running a firewall is not to
> stop things getting in, but rather things getting out. AVG and
> Ad-Aware are not perfect. Once in a while they get beaten, even more
> likely if you don't keep them up to date. But that way, with
> Zonealarm installed, if you have some form of malware trying to send
> your credit card details out over the net it will get stopped. That
> is the single greatest benefit to a firewall. And just as applicable
> for modem users.
That I didn't know... *Turns NIS on* :-)
> Maybe they have changed it now, but the original Internet Security was
> just a firewall. If it isn't now then sorry.
It includes nearly every product they do now.
> But the single most important reason for running a firewall is not to
> stop things getting in, but rather things getting out. AVG and
> Ad-Aware are not perfect. Once in a while they get beaten, even more
> likely if you don't keep them up to date. But that way, with
> Zonealarm installed, if you have some form of malware trying to send
> your credit card details out over the net it will get stopped. That
> is the single greatest benefit to a firewall. And just as applicable
> for modem users.
That I didn't know... *Turns NIS on* :-)
Notorious Biggles wrote:
> Only if you have active X off completely. Recently I came across a
> couple of pop ups that had scripting that tried to install a virus. I
> understood what was happening - most wouldn't. That is why most
> people should have an anti virus scanner.
No, it's why people should not use Internet Explorer. Anti-virus software tricks people into thinking they have the luxury of not using common sense when using a computer. Most people who use a virus scanner think it is an impenetrable line of defense against all kinds of nasties from the internet. No virus scanner can totally make up for the ignorance of users who click "Yes, install this bonzi-buddy software!" or "Yes, open this attachment!" or "Yes, install this cracked software I downloaded from Kazaa!". Common sense and an understanding of what actually constitutes a security threat on the internet will always make for comprehensively better security than the best virus scanner.
> No, I got pinged well over a million times. The direct connections
> were from some Russian kid trying to hack my machine. He gave up and
> moved on after a while.
It was almost certainly just a hijacked machine running some automated scanner. Of the millions of machines on the internet right now, your's is of no more interest than anyone elses.
> Only if you have active X off completely. Recently I came across a
> couple of pop ups that had scripting that tried to install a virus. I
> understood what was happening - most wouldn't. That is why most
> people should have an anti virus scanner.
No, it's why people should not use Internet Explorer. Anti-virus software tricks people into thinking they have the luxury of not using common sense when using a computer. Most people who use a virus scanner think it is an impenetrable line of defense against all kinds of nasties from the internet. No virus scanner can totally make up for the ignorance of users who click "Yes, install this bonzi-buddy software!" or "Yes, open this attachment!" or "Yes, install this cracked software I downloaded from Kazaa!". Common sense and an understanding of what actually constitutes a security threat on the internet will always make for comprehensively better security than the best virus scanner.
> No, I got pinged well over a million times. The direct connections
> were from some Russian kid trying to hack my machine. He gave up and
> moved on after a while.
It was almost certainly just a hijacked machine running some automated scanner. Of the millions of machines on the internet right now, your's is of no more interest than anyone elses.
Allred - if you have MSN, could you add me please - [email protected]
I made a list of these before scrapping my old PC.. here it is
MSN
Mozilla Firefox
iTunes
WMPlayer
Quicktime
PSP8
Firewall of some sort
AntiVirus of some sort
Office XP
Soulseek
Advanced WMA Workshop
Nero
Ad-Aware
WinRAR
WS_FTP
That's my list.
MSN
Mozilla Firefox
iTunes
WMPlayer
Quicktime
PSP8
Firewall of some sort
AntiVirus of some sort
Office XP
Soulseek
Advanced WMA Workshop
Nero
Ad-Aware
WinRAR
WS_FTP
That's my list.
Miserableman wrote:
> I've never run antivirus software and I never will, as common sense
> and proper precautions can detect 100% of viruses without the bs and
> the performance hit that virus scanners entail.
Only if you have active X off completely. Recently I came across a couple of pop ups that had scripting that tried to install a virus. I understood what was happening - most wouldn't. That is why most people should have an anti virus scanner.
> No, you got pinged hundreds of thousands of times, with a few direct
> connection attempts by trojans scanning for victims. One of the most
> relevant criticisms about Zonealarm is that the messages it displays
> are sensationalist, and lead users to think that hackers all over the
> internet are personally trying to break into their machine.
No, I got pinged well over a million times. The direct connections were from some Russian kid trying to hack my machine. He gave up and moved on after a while.
> I've never run antivirus software and I never will, as common sense
> and proper precautions can detect 100% of viruses without the bs and
> the performance hit that virus scanners entail.
Only if you have active X off completely. Recently I came across a couple of pop ups that had scripting that tried to install a virus. I understood what was happening - most wouldn't. That is why most people should have an anti virus scanner.
> No, you got pinged hundreds of thousands of times, with a few direct
> connection attempts by trojans scanning for victims. One of the most
> relevant criticisms about Zonealarm is that the messages it displays
> are sensationalist, and lead users to think that hackers all over the
> internet are personally trying to break into their machine.
No, I got pinged well over a million times. The direct connections were from some Russian kid trying to hack my machine. He gave up and moved on after a while.
Afternoon wrote:
> You have some points but it is recommended some type of anti virus be
> run although I personnaly do not run them all the time, in fact I
> personnaly run it once a month along with a defrag.
> Some type of firewall is always recommended, my Router has served me
> well even though only having NAPT I havent had any problems, if its a
> plain modem I would advise yes to have a Software Firewall on but
> generally it causes more problems than they solve.
> Keeping Windows up to date is important, although may not able to
> stop all exploits there is no excuse not to keep it updated.
Yeah, I agree with all of this. There is nothing wrong with manually running a virus scan every so often, just as you might run spybot or ad-aware - it's the persistently running virus scanners that cause problems. I, too, only use a NAT router for a firewall, it does all the important things a firewall should do.
> You have some points but it is recommended some type of anti virus be
> run although I personnaly do not run them all the time, in fact I
> personnaly run it once a month along with a defrag.
> Some type of firewall is always recommended, my Router has served me
> well even though only having NAPT I havent had any problems, if its a
> plain modem I would advise yes to have a Software Firewall on but
> generally it causes more problems than they solve.
> Keeping Windows up to date is important, although may not able to
> stop all exploits there is no excuse not to keep it updated.
Yeah, I agree with all of this. There is nothing wrong with manually running a virus scan every so often, just as you might run spybot or ad-aware - it's the persistently running virus scanners that cause problems. I, too, only use a NAT router for a firewall, it does all the important things a firewall should do.
You have some points but it is recommended some type of anti virus be run although I personnaly do not run them all the time, in fact I personnaly run it once a month along with a defrag.
Some type of firewall is always recommended, my Router has served me well even though only having NAPT I havent had any problems, if its a plain modem I would advise yes to have a Software Firewall on but generally it causes more problems than they solve.
Keeping Windows up to date is important, although may not able to stop all exploits there is no excuse not to keep it updated.
Some type of firewall is always recommended, my Router has served me well even though only having NAPT I havent had any problems, if its a plain modem I would advise yes to have a Software Firewall on but generally it causes more problems than they solve.
Keeping Windows up to date is important, although may not able to stop all exploits there is no excuse not to keep it updated.
Notorious Biggles wrote:
> My personal picks:
> AVG
> Antivirus software should be compulsory for being allowed on the
> internet.
I've never run antivirus software and I never will, as common sense and proper precautions can detect 100% of viruses without the bs and the performance hit that virus scanners entail.
Notorious Biggles wrote:
> Zonealarm
> Completes the trinity of safe surfing software along with AVG and
> Ad-Aware. Some people will tell you that firewalls are useless. Some
> people are fools. I don't run Zonealarm anymore now that I have a
> hardware firewall, but it picked up hundreds of thousands of
> intrusions and several direct attempted hacks in a year.
No, you got pinged hundreds of thousands of times, with a few direct connection attempts by trojans scanning for victims. One of the most relevant criticisms about Zonealarm is that the messages it displays are sensationalist, and lead users to think that hackers all over the internet are personally trying to break into their machine.
Allred wrote:
> Norton Internet Security includes the firewall and antivirus. Also,
> you don't need a firewall, they pointlessly increase pings and lower
> transfer speeds, as as long as you keep windows up to date and arn't
> a complete cretin by downloading a Trogen/Virus you are pritty much
> safe, and you can tell when your network traffic is being used when
> it shouldn't be, so you can just disconnect and reconnet, one of the
> plusses of a truly dynamic IP.
Keeping Windows up to date is not going to stop day 0, unpatched or undiscovered exploits, dynamic ip's are not going to stop rogue processes phoning home (granted, you shouldn't get these in the first place) or active scanners finding you inside 30 seconds. No amount of common sense is going to protect you against exploits like a firewall can.
> My personal picks:
> AVG
> Antivirus software should be compulsory for being allowed on the
> internet.
I've never run antivirus software and I never will, as common sense and proper precautions can detect 100% of viruses without the bs and the performance hit that virus scanners entail.
Notorious Biggles wrote:
> Zonealarm
> Completes the trinity of safe surfing software along with AVG and
> Ad-Aware. Some people will tell you that firewalls are useless. Some
> people are fools. I don't run Zonealarm anymore now that I have a
> hardware firewall, but it picked up hundreds of thousands of
> intrusions and several direct attempted hacks in a year.
No, you got pinged hundreds of thousands of times, with a few direct connection attempts by trojans scanning for victims. One of the most relevant criticisms about Zonealarm is that the messages it displays are sensationalist, and lead users to think that hackers all over the internet are personally trying to break into their machine.
Allred wrote:
> Norton Internet Security includes the firewall and antivirus. Also,
> you don't need a firewall, they pointlessly increase pings and lower
> transfer speeds, as as long as you keep windows up to date and arn't
> a complete cretin by downloading a Trogen/Virus you are pritty much
> safe, and you can tell when your network traffic is being used when
> it shouldn't be, so you can just disconnect and reconnet, one of the
> plusses of a truly dynamic IP.
Keeping Windows up to date is not going to stop day 0, unpatched or undiscovered exploits, dynamic ip's are not going to stop rogue processes phoning home (granted, you shouldn't get these in the first place) or active scanners finding you inside 30 seconds. No amount of common sense is going to protect you against exploits like a firewall can.
The usual suspects for me, plus:
Azureus - bittorrent client
mIRC - for the ultimate in geek chic
Soulseek - the best p2p music software by a mile. Actually the software itself is a bit of a memory hog but the selection of music is incredible - almost as good as audiogalaxy before it got shut down.
Exact Audio Copy - Does what it says on the tin - and can make high quality VBR mp3s as well.
And some Firefox plugins I couldn't live without: all-in-one mouse gestures, plain text links, ieview for crappy websites and about a squillion mycroft search extensions.
Azureus - bittorrent client
mIRC - for the ultimate in geek chic
Soulseek - the best p2p music software by a mile. Actually the software itself is a bit of a memory hog but the selection of music is incredible - almost as good as audiogalaxy before it got shut down.
Exact Audio Copy - Does what it says on the tin - and can make high quality VBR mp3s as well.
And some Firefox plugins I couldn't live without: all-in-one mouse gestures, plain text links, ieview for crappy websites and about a squillion mycroft search extensions.
I agree about firewalls not letting things out. ZoneAlarm is fantastic for that as it 'learns' what programs you want to allow net access to and what to deny access.
Since having ZonAlarm installed, I have never had any kind of security problem - not even hacking attempts. But then, I also have a hardware firewall inside my Netgear DG834G running too...
Since having ZonAlarm installed, I have never had any kind of security problem - not even hacking attempts. But then, I also have a hardware firewall inside my Netgear DG834G running too...
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