Confused about software installation security issues

Hi,

Im considering purchasing PG, but have a few concerns about the protection it really can provide. In particular it would seem to me that in order to install most application software with PG installed, it would be necessary to disable PG's protection (or set it to learning mode). That being the case, how does PG offer any real protection at all? All the nasties can slip through when you do the install correct? Or am I wrong and you don't have to disable protection when installing software or am I even missing the whole point of PG? What is best practice in this area?
Sorry if this has been answered before (im sure it has), but im on dialup at a friends place atm & can't tie up the line searching all day (though i did do a fairly quick search & found nothing).

Thanks

 

You can install anything you like with protection fully enabled. Usually the worst that can happen is that a service tries to install and you might need to reinstall the program after disabling protection. Most installers simply add files to your PC, create shortcuts, and thats it. Its quite rare that an installer will have a problem, and you will know if it did

Its quite ok to disable protection if you have a program you 100% trust is not going to contain malware. If you bought a program on CD for doing your books for example, what is the chance of it containing something nasty ? if you have a resident antivirus it will scan the files as they are installed, or scan it for viruses before using it.

 

Expanding on what Gavin said, it is up to you to know what you are installing and where it is from. Say you are installing an update or the latest version of your favorite word processor, you trust the vendor/creator of this program don't you I would hope so. In this situtation disable PG so the install can have free run and access to do what it needs to do. Now say you are installing a game/program crack that either you or a "friend" downloaded from a warez site. This puts your computer in danger of being compromized, because these sites are well known to have programs that are infected with a multitude of nasties.

Another thng you can do to protect your computer is to read the EULA!!! I know they are; boring, confusing, not written so you can understand them, and in general are a pain in the _. By reading them you get a feel for what the install will do, and I have found that if the EULA doesn't feel right I abort the install right then.

All of this really boils down to the user/computer owner taking responsability for what is installed on their computer. With that said PG is indespinsable for everyday browsing, for the fact that you will not fall victim to a drive-by-install. PG will tell you when something unexpected, and not already permitted to run, is trying to run on your system.

I hope this has helped you, and that I have not come across to harsh in what I have said. It's just that sloppy safe-hex practices affect everyone when connected to the internet. Take care.

 

Hi,

I always install new programs with PG running. I give the program permission of installing a service, if I think it is warrented (e.g. another security program). I only turn off PG when installing Microsoft updates.

Rich