Simple method to fight malware

One thing that we as common users can do to help interrupt the spread of many types of malware is to simply turn off our computers when we are not useing them.

It may not seem like much but users like me who have broadband and allways leave our computers on, are prime realestate for bot-ets etc. Capable of storeing and distributing large amounts of malware during the hours we are off the computer. Also we contribute to the spread of illegally copied softwares.

By denineing them the use of this storage and distribution network we may well be able to seriously curtail their activities without haveing to spend a dime or install softwares to combat their efforts.

Now I am not advocateing getting rid of your existing security programs I just feel by decreaseing their avaiable targets we may well hurt them even more than we think.

I have been a long time advocate of leaveing systems on but my viewa over the years have changed considerably.

Any thoughts on this?

 

I totally agree. Although, not only for security reasons. Turning off an infected computer won't do much to stop the spread once you turn it back on again.

I agree turning off the computer on a regular basis is a good thing only because I subscribe to the whole, Standby is good, but it's still using power. And by still using power, Stuff in the computer is still working. Which means that your computer in the end will have a shorter lifespan. Although most people throw out their computers every 5 years or so, I have also seen many who have burnt out their CPUs because they have left their computer on for months at a time. :T

 

Switching on and off can shorten the life span too by the expansion and contraction of the cpu as it heats up and cools down.

 

Okay, expansion and contraction of CPU?! AHHH!!! I didn't know about that. :T

Though I do the same thing Peter does, shutting down at night, if i'm gone for more than x amount of hours, perhaps out of habit. I think I'm going to invest in that 5 for $10 package of CPU fans I saw the other day. xP

 

The theories about whether a computer lasts longer being turned off or not is something that has never been able to be proven either way, and is not really something to base your decision on either way. I agree that it may be a good idea to do so security-wise, though.. it may still spread malware while it's on, but while it's off is at least that many less computers being infected by your machine, and gives you opportunity to find the answers you need elsewhere while spreading the infection as little as possible.

 

Hi,
I have never switched off a computer since 2001. If your computer is clean, then there is no reason why not spread happiness all over the net (I mean pron).
Now, seriously, turning the pc on and off can be more damaging than leaving it on. Unless you use ups and your supply unit has a surge protector, the powering on / off procedures are the most dangerous steps in a lifetime of an electronic device. While running continuously in a steady state, the chances of a damage are reduced.
BTW, most people ditch computers after 5-6 years not because they are bad or damaged, but because they become obsolete. 6 years ago, the most advanced comp was a solid p3 500mhz, which is rather junky today. The pace of computer evolution has been very fast recently. And older processors / OSes were less stable. I believe that new computers will last longer as the ability to squeeze more peformance out of normal microchips goes down.
Computers die at a certain age also because they have been made to last a certain period of time. No one wants to sell you a 100-year computer, because you will not be buying from them any time soon!
Why do they give you 1-2 year warranty only? Why not 3-5 year warranty? It will happen soon, like with cars. 2010 will have processors that are dual, quad or octo core, but the individual processor speed prolly won't go much beyond the exisitng 3-4Ghz - physical limitation of the chips. You'll have bigger storages, but again not drastically much, and a bit faster media roms, but not much (even now they are almost relativistic). Things will settle down. And like with cars, which have not changed much in the last 20 years, you'll have a lot of tweaking being done on delicate details, and overall durability will increase.
Mrk

 

what if you adjusted the Power Save modes to turn off HD after 2 hours or hibernate. could that stop malware or intrusions from getting in?

 

I press the little "sleep" button sometimes.

 

Current draw can easily double when any eletric device is turned on, PSU's need to charge big coils, the capacitors all need to charge, then theres the phyiscal devices like fans, which require extra energy to activate/spin up, that adds furth stress to the PSU's etc. HDD's are psu killers, why you need delayed power up for a large number of drives, they can consume 4x the current to spin up than they do at a constant speed.

Even power saving adds a strain when a drive has to wake up.

I just try to aviod turning machines on and off too often.