Do you feel safer on the internet today than 5 years ago?

[acr1965]

There has been many advances in security software but also many advances in malware. Think back five years ago to the year 2007. Steve Jobs announced the iPhone, Vista was released worldwide and antivirus companies prioritized developing products that used fewer system resources. Do you feel safer on the internet today than you did five years ago?

[wtsinnc]

Virtualization/Sandboxing and more advanced HIPS and behavior blockers is why I feel more secure, plus forums such as these which provide so much collective knowledge.

[Mman79]

Originally Posted by wtsinnc

Virtualization/Sandboxing and more advanced HIPS and behavior blockers is why I feel more secure, plus forums such as these which provide so much collective knowledge.

I'd argue though that isn't really feeling safe. Safety is feeling like you can wander about without those tools. Of course you could also go off in a different direction with the discussion and ponder how safe we as individuals are against these threats. Discussing that, I'd say we're fairly safe really. The serious attacks that really matter and get attention are never against us as users, but corporations and governments. We personally are more in danger of being recruited into botnet parties than anything truly damaging to us. We can't include data theft from credit card companies and such in this because those sandboxes, behavior blockers and HIPS on our machines aren't going to do a darn thing to protect hacked companies. So, I guess my answer would be we're as safe as we were five years ago.

[noone_particular]

Compared to 5 years ago, I feel much more able to secure my equipment and mitigate the risks that I might encounter.

Much less safe, and not just due to malware.

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by acr1965

Do you feel safer on the internet today than you did five years ago?

Absolutely.

[Dark Shadow]

I sure do.Five years ago is when I joined wilders and even though I been using computers long before that,I knew nothing about security or hardening the operating system.I used to surf the web anywhere and click on flashing adds and open email attachments from mystery senders.
I have No idea how I managed with a few minor infections.The worst was when I used Aol and I got Hijacked and sent over 500 porns to people within minutes.I had some ticked off people IM me and AOL closed my account.I learned a lot since then thanks to wilders or I probably would be getting hacked daily.The first thing I learned was drop AOL and that in its self was like getting a beat down from a gang to get out of the services.

[Kerodo]

I feel the same as I did 5 years ago, and 5 years before that, and 5 years before that. For me nothing has changed. In fact, I use less security software and take less precautions now than ever before....

[bo elam]

I not only feel safer, I am safer. Five years ago, all I knew about security were antiviruses, getting infected was easy. That changed four years ago when I started reading about Java and plugins and realized that in my case, I had no use for any of that except Flash. So, I kept Flash and got rid of everything else.

At about the same time, I discovered SBIE and NoScript. Deciding to use those programs, changed my internet experience completely. Now, I cant get infected anymore even if I try despite using nothing but the programs that I mentioned.

Bo

[Techwiz]

Information security is never guaranteed. I'd like to believe that what I've learned over the years and what I've done has at best given attackers more fences to jump and walls to breach. I really dislike these kinds of questions because they don't really answer anything. I felt safer when I knew less. That doesn't mean I was safer. Today, I feel less secure despite everything I've learned and would probably say I'm paranoid. There are only three computers that I trust: an old BASIC calculator (my father used when he went to school), a simple notepad (non-electronic), and my brain (when not on drugs).

[The Hammer]

Originally Posted by Kerodo

I feel the same as I did 5 years ago, and 5 years before that, and 5 years before that. For me nothing has changed. In fact, I use less security software and take less precautions now than ever before....

Same here.

[nikanthpromod]

ALL same

[Wild Hunter]

Much more safe.

[Noob]

A lot more safer thanks to Wilders.

[tomazyk]

I feel the same as 5 years ago. Internet threats have evolved and so has my security setup. I have felt safe 5 years ago and I also do now.

[Osaban]

I feel safer today than 5 years ago even though I use less applications. Browsers are more sophisticated security wise, and I can't see a single piece of malware from the 60,000 +, security vendors claim are created every day. I take some precautions when I use my credit card online which is still the real Achilles' heel of the Internet, although Sandboxie and Shadow Defender should be able to give me some basic security.

[PJC]

Malware has been more sophisticated.
Security software has been more sophisticated, too.

So, do we have a TIE?

[Boost]

same

I could easily run my old machine with windows 98se and not be infected.

[luciddream]

Absolutely. Since then I've discovered sandboxing/virtualization. I've improved my backup & imaging regimen. And have also discovered more hardening tweaks over time. Every once in awhile I still learn a new one here & there.

Whereas 5 years ago I was relying on Avira Free AV & Comodo FW/D+, solely, for my protection. Well, NoScript too.

On the other hand, I didn't get infected back then any more than I do now. Not at all, in both cases. IMO I have NoScript and my safe habits to thank for that. Quite frankly I probably could have gotten by just fine all this time with just a NAT router, NoScript, and my noggin.

[TOMxEU]

Originally Posted by Noob

A lot more safer thanks to Wilders.

Exactly. 5 years ago, I had dozens of security software and I used to get infected anyway, now I run none and I do not even worry about getting infected (I do not scan PC).

[moontan]

i feel safer than 5 years while using a lot less programs related to security.
all i use is in the sig.

browsers are more robust than they were 5 years ago and i just don't think there is as much malware than there were 5 years ago.

[Robot_Z]

Yes, I was very naive and wasn't interested in security. I just had Avast running with no knowledge of anything else except set and forget.

[Mman79]

Originally Posted by moontan

i just don't think there is as much malware than there were 5 years ago.

I don't agree with that part of your comments. I would say there is far more than there was in 2007. The real question is whether the malware from then is all that much different from malware now. I personally believe that it is not.

[Wroll]

Without security products you can infect your machine as easy as 5 years ago. Though, in the past 5 years I stopped using antivirus & anti-spyware software & phishing protection.

[KelvinW4]

I feel a lot more safer because of more experience from here