I see a good thread going on between Linux and Windows. But I'm curious, how many times have any of you been infected with a virus? Was it your own fault from downloading a file, a driveby or hacked? For me, I've been infected a couple of times a long time ago on XP by downloading "sketchy" files. I've never been hacked or been infected by a driveby. ***mods, if this is in the wrong forum, plz move.
In almost 30 years of using PCs only twice. One was a driveby on XP but was only adware. I reformatted anyway. The other never actually succeeded in infecting the PC It was an early Java virus on Windows 98 and it was too broken and poorly programmed to actually work. Other than that, no. P.S.- Someone with the username infected asking folks if they have been infected before? Is this a metaphor?
Yes, I remember those adware driveby's. I used adaware, giantspyware and others to get rid of them. lol, was the name of my "company" 'Infected?' i used to run ads in craigslist for virus removal.
I used those things too. The one instance I am referring to was different though. It actually shut down my AV to install itself. This was why I reformatted. I might not have even caught it for a while but I saw icons disappearing from my taskbar tray.
As I recall many of the alerts reported by my AVs turned out to be FPs. I did have my browser hijacked a few times in the early years which changed my search provider and was a pain to get rid of.
Other than tracking cookies, no. Oh, SuperAnti-Spyware detected itself once. I've installed Norton a few times but that is more of a PUP / PUA.
I got routinely hammered on Windows 98 when I finally applied SpyBot Search & Destroy with an AV I now don't remember which one. On Windows XP HIPS came roaring onto the scene which greatly eliminated intrusions in their tracks before they could muff up anything. Along with Raxco FD-ISR as a backup the desktop experience vastly improved. On my current Windows 8.1 very early on I tried QiHoo 360 AV and after it let thru what at the time was the debut of ransomware I ditched off AV's permanently and resorted defenses with 3rd party only programs and ShadowDefender which to this very day and now for years have been intrusion/interruption free from anything even resembling a infection.
Yes, I always hoped that GesWall would come out with a 64b version, but never did. That was my go to back in the day. I also used diamond processguard and onlinearmor.
OMG! How 'bout that tall emu Online Armor combo HIPS + Firewall. It was the best all versatile program I ever had the privilege to use and was devastated when it ended. Just imagine our choices IF IF IF all those 32bit security apps had transitioned to 64bit.
I've been hit 3 or 4 times since the Internet discovered where we live, back in 1996. I remember the first time, when I was running a free AV but don't recall the brand. It's long gone. It found nothing. Fortunately, I had the dozen or 2 dozen floppies to Win 95 and reinstalled the OS and found a new antivirus. I loaded up on security software, trying or using almost everything on the market including the newly invented firewalls. I ran one called Tiny Personal firewall (not the same Tiny as today). I had it so bulletproof I locked myself out of my computer, and had to reinstall win95 again. Now, a recent change. I use WVSX 3.03 and Shadow Defender v1.4.0.672 and it goes into Shadow Mode the moment the machine boots. The things I need are in exclusions (Commit) and password enabled. Between WiseVector's AV, HIPS and Firewall, and Shadow Defender, I don't think I need anything else.
From 2003 to 2005 I was constantly infected unknowingly at first hence stumbling into Wilders trying to do something about it. From memory there were viruses, but most of the malware was spyware and adware. Like others my first ever anti-malware program was ‘Spybot Search & Destroy’ which was incidentally recommended by MS. I remember cleaning up my computer for the first time gave me a lot of satisfaction and self-esteem (I used to invite friends over for dinner so that they could check my computer). The rate of infections in those days was high due to the fact that hackers were trying to infect everything and everybody in a destructive way, in my job through flash drives. I never had any problems after discovering virtualizers like ShadowUser (StorageCraft) first and Shadow Defender afterwards. But the real turning point was the large scale introduction of a rudimentary MS Defender with Vista allowing a minimal level of protection for the average Joe. Nowadays hackers target institutions, big corporations, hospitals, and celebrities, basically where they can make big money. My system first with Eset, Avira, and Kaspersky hasn’t detected anything since 2007. MS Defender + Chrome and uBlock Origin + Macrium Reflect are all I need for any negative contingencies, although as far as I’m concerned I’ve had no malware detection for the last 15 years…
Speaking of SAS ... ... it detected the only malware I've ever had (Vista). Google Translate (SeaMonkey) notified me about it, Norton and SpyBot S&D were clueless. It was my own fault as I tried to click off an annoyingly large pop-up in Cyrillic. I couldn't read what it said on the pop-up. It probably said 'This is a trojan click off to infect your computer'.
I've been infected a number of times, but it is very rare for me to get infected these days. I've only been infected by a driveby download once. The other times, I opened infected files. I've never considered an infection as an indication that I need better security. Just that I need to be more careful about what files I open.
I've been infected twice. First it was Michelangelo on Windows 3.11 (I got computer from my friend already infected). Second was Sasser worm before MS enabled firewall by default in Windows XP SP2 and me applying a patch. This one got me interested in computer security. I've never encountered drive-by so far AFAIK.
AFAIK, I have never been infected, even without using a realtime AV on Windows for over 10 years. If you download software from well known sites like for example Softpedia, the chances of downloading malware are slim. Similar to downloading software from app stores. However, I did scan those files via VirusTotal and monitored app behavior via HIPS. If I saw any questionable behavior I simply blocked them. I also use Sandboxie to run newly downloaded apps inside the sandbox before deploying them to the real system. Yes exactly, especially when it comes to ''zero day'' drive by attacks. Why target home users when you can make millions from hacking companies. However, just to be on the safe side, I would never solely rely on AV's like Win Defender and a firewall. That's why I'm still using stuff like anti-exploit and behavior blocker. Because you never know when you might encounter a more sophisticated attack.
The sad thing it that this was probably the most accurate detection it ever made. Thanks for sharing it, I needed a laugh.
It was not related to browser. The problem was WIndows XP without last patch and without firewall (pre SP2) to block incoming connections from net. Also didn't use NAT router at the time. It was quite interesting, since it was worm it infected quite a few system. I had to help some of my friends. It was shutdown -a and then Norton's removal tool. After OS update all was OK. Luckily ransomware was not "invented" yet back then.
A couple of minor incidents many years ago, 98/xp-ish....nothing since. I recall having a program that would backup several critical system files onto a floppy in case an emergency repair was needed, boot from the floppy and replace the files automatically, can`t remember what that was called now but found it useful once or twice.
