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Anti Virus

rongtw
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Registered: ‎01-12-2010

Anti Virus

Antivirus applications and other security software are supposed to make users more secure, but a growing body of research shows that in some cases, they can open people to hacks they otherwise wouldn't be vulnerable to.  Roll_eyes
http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/09/security-wares-like-kaspersky-av-can-make-you-more-vulnerabl...
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24 REPLIES 24
St3
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Registered: ‎13-07-2012

Re: Anti Virus

Think its best to stick to the well known ones for now
chenks76
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Registered: ‎24-10-2013

Re: Anti Virus

i have two systems at home
Mac OSX - run no AV at all
Windows 8.1 - nothing other then the pre-intsalled windows defender (or whatever it's called).
previous systems of windows 7 and XP - never ran any third party AV, always just used the MSE
never had any virus issues on any system, EVER.
products42
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: ‎25-03-2013

Re: Anti Virus

I'm in the same position.  I don't run AV on my Mac and run defender on Windows.
Generally virus developers don't target Macs (although they are starting to do so) so it's less dangerous there not having AV.  On Windows, defender works perfectly and seems just as reliable as some other AV software, so I'm happy with it.
WTF
Grafter
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Registered: ‎14-09-2012

Re: Anti Virus

Quote from: chenks76
never had any virus issues on any system, EVER.

If you don't have AV .. how do you know ..?  Wink
chenks76
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Registered: ‎24-10-2013

Re: Anti Virus

because i'm not an idiot, YMMV though.
7up
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Re: Anti Virus

Quote from: chenks76
i have two systems at home
Mac OSX - run no AV at all
Windows 8.1 - nothing other then the pre-intsalled windows defender (or whatever it's called).
previous systems of windows 7 and XP - never ran any third party AV, always just used the MSE
never had any virus issues on any system, EVER.

That you know of Wink
Trust me... somewhere in there you would find some nasties lurking on those machines if you used 3rd party scanners.
I tried this a few times... used AVG... then uninstalled and used Avast.... or Norton... etc... each one would pick up something the others had missed. Thats quite a scary thought really when you think about it... no matter what AV you use, something WILL slip through undetected and you've got no idea until disaster dtrikes.
I need a new signature... i'm bored of the old one!
chenks76
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Registered: ‎24-10-2013

Re: Anti Virus

see above
7up
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Re: Anti Virus

Quote from: chenks76
because i'm not an idiot, YMMV though.

I thought that once...
I paid for it when i next scanned my system and found over 140 infections  Roll_eyes
I need a new signature... i'm bored of the old one!
ReedRichards
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Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: Anti Virus

Almost all virus scanners fail to distinguish between files that were downloaded to your computer but never run and malware actively running on your computer.  They do that in order to make your situation look much worse than it really is so that you buy or continue to use their product.  If, for example, you run Malwarebytes it first scans the computer memory, then the start-up objects in the registry, then other bits of the registry.  Unless you are inclined to run programs or executable files you find on your computer just to see what happens when you do, after that you can stop the scan, anything else is just a tidy-up.     
nanotm
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Re: Anti Virus

except some stuff writes call subroutines into apps you use infrequently to scupper that rational, I use word a few times a month but I use other programs almost all the time the last nasty that I found on my system required a drive wipe to remove it because it had put its hooks into things that I ran in offline mode when the av wasn't running ...... true that was many years ago but I've never been tempted to run without at least one full scan every week though now I tend to start them before bed and hope there finished by the time I get up in the morning XD
just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you
ReedRichards
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Re: Anti Virus

Yes, nanotm, there are doubtless exceptions to my rule of thumb but when you run a scan and it says:
Quote from: 7up
... found over 140 infections  Roll_eyes

that number is almost meaningless and certainly does not indicate there is anything actively wrong with your computer.
7up
Community Veteran
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Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Anti Virus

Except that there was.... I'm not talking dodgy cookies or registry keys. I'm talking active processes that were detected.
But hey... you're the judge and jury Wink
I need a new signature... i'm bored of the old one!
ReedRichards
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Re: Anti Virus

Quote from: 7up
.... I'm talking active processes that were detected.
But hey... you're the judge and jury Wink

140?!?  The total number of processes running on my computer at the moment is only 66. 
7up, I find you guilty of gross credulity and sentence you to six months of community service taking calls from people who say they are from Microsoft and there is something wrong with your computer..
nanotm
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Re: Anti Virus

I normally have 56 backround processes running and anything up to 20 apps open at any one time (according to task manager) on my win8.1 system, back when I used xp pro it was normally between 33 (nothing open) and 45 (several things open) one of my biggest bugbears is the number of additional system processes that get opened when you open a program,  of course when I ran vm's in the past I could have anything up to 250 open processes listed in task manager, so its not difficult to see how you might not notice a few dozen nasties running in that scenario /
just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you