How do YOU stop malware for the masses?

Discussion in 'other anti-malware software' started by Sully, Aug 6, 2012.

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  1. Kees1958

    Kees1958 Registered Member

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    Off Topic, good read on Chrome's PPAPI plug-ins on your blog :thumb:
     
  2. Hungry Man

    Hungry Man Registered Member

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    Glad you enjoyed it.
     
  3. Athletic

    Athletic Registered Member

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    For my ''average knowledge'' friend:

    1.Avast or Avira AV
    2.WOT and Adblock Plus for browser (super easy to explain/understand)
    3.Backup of system partition (super easy to explain/understand)


    ...and turning off some unnecessary system services (security related like remote registry etc.), programs,UAC (nobody loves annoyance, NOBODY !...and I would tell him that cracks (keygens) are the one big reason for getting PC infected, other ways are rarely...if he download programs only from sites: softpedia, filehippo, is 99.9 % secure.
     
    Last edited: Aug 24, 2012
  4. For the masses

    Avast free, Avira free or MSE
    Paid: Norton, Macafee or KIS
    Browser: Chrome, add block plus + do not track + https everywhere
    CCleaner set to automatic start on boot
    Windows Image backed up on a external hard drive

    That's the best you can do.
     
  5. bo elam

    bo elam Registered Member

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    I was part of the masses until about 4 years ago. Until then, I have never read nothing about security, didnt even know that there was a security community. What got me interested in learning how to stop getting infected for good was an infection, the last infection that I ever got.

    This infection was a rootkit that somehow I was able to get rid on my own. The funny thing was that when I got infected, I didn't get mad or frustrated, actually getting rid of the infection became a game for me, a game that would only end when I got rid of the infection. It took me about 2 weeks to win "the game". Afterward, I realized that there were ways to prevent getting infected and all of the sudden I found myself looking at 100 programs all telling me that they were the greatest in the fight against malware.

    Luckily, one of those programs was SBIE and somehow I knew, I smelled that Sandboxie was the right program for me to help me out. I did not have to install 25 programs in order to get to SBIE. I think that was great.

    My formula is really simple. I strictly follow, as WAT mentioned earlier, "download and install from known, trusted sources" only. I also got rid of Java and all unnecessary plugins and run all programs that I normally use and all files that are downloaded in a sandbox. Today, even though, I am still a dummy user, I don't get infected anymore despite using nothing but Sandboxie. I don't even have a scanner installed in the computer anymore.

    I think for you guys that work in computers, the key is getting users interested and motivated in learning. Make it fun, like I did when I got rid of the rootkit. To me, cleaning my PC was like a football or baseball game. I remember I was at work and was thinking about what I was gonna do that night to fight the thing. The rootkit kept coming back and I was there with a big smile on my face playing with it until it was gone for good.

    Bo
     
  6. ams963

    ams963 Registered Member

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    @BoYou lost your smile and your fun. That's not good I guess. You intend on bringing the good old days back?:D
     
  7. bo elam

    bo elam Registered Member

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    It was fun playing with that rootkit but is more fun now since I have learned how to do what I like doing when using the internet without getting infected.

    Why wasn't I motivated earlier to learn?, I don't know. That rootkit was a friend of mine....I will always remember him.

    Bo
     
  8. jmonge

    jmonge Registered Member

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  9. Kid Shamrock

    Kid Shamrock Registered Member

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    AppGuard with scheduled daily scans by Hitman Pro. Almost a year with this combo and no infections. I think this would be a good setup for a novice user as it requires no decision making by the user. Even if you allow something to install, it will be monitored and not allowed to do anything destructive.
     
  10. jmonge

    jmonge Registered Member

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    plus it protects the Master Boot Record in Real time:thumb: :thumb:
     
  11. LagerX

    LagerX Registered Member

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    I protect many of my relatives/friends with:

    avast! free AV (family computers have IS)
    Comodo Dragon (and Comodo DNS with browser only) + Adblock and WebOfTrust addons.

    That's practically it. Nothing more to do. Other things are too complicated for them to handle and I don't have the time to tell them about image backup software (+ how to maintain it). What I do is I tell them to back up important stuff in DVDs or external storage devices, or in internet (Skydrive for example). But, in general, non-tech computer users forget this as soon as I've told it and continue living their internet life as it always has been.

    I also update their software with Patchmypc.com program and set Flash/Adobe reader to auto-install updates. Dragon already auto-updates it. From time to time, I check their PCs for malware and update programs that are out to date.

    If something happens, they turn to me and try to restore everything they've lost during virus attack or other malfunction. Then, it's up to me to recover things, which in some rare cases, turns out to be impossible.
    If it's just infection, I clean it and rarely install new windows due to stuff they have in PC is scattered everywhere and it's hard to get everything from the old to the new PC.
     
  12. I wouldn't call AppGuard for the masses, I think most normal PC users would tear their hair out using it. Bloody good program though :thumb:
     
  13. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    Education. And the spike in the wheel thingie syndrome, In fact, after I removed anti-virus software from my parents' comp, they started thinking more about what they do and how they do it. That's all. Just some discipline.
    Mrk
     
  14. mattbiernat

    mattbiernat Registered Member

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    Well, I know someone who knows very little about computer security. She basically uses it to watch youtube, netflix, browse the facebook and skype. For people that uses PCs mostly for media consumption then the best solution IMO is something like SD or DeepFreeze.
     
  15. new2security

    new2security Registered Member

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    I tend to go with LUA, SRP (or parental controls when SRP isn't available), an account password, sometimes EMET and more often than not, a realtime antivirus scanner like Avira* scans reading only. I also advise them against opening files /clicking links they didn't ask for etc.

    *My wife had Avast! for a long time but I happened to discover some malware on her drive and it didn't block it so out it went.
     
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