Web scanning - is it needed?

excellent point, thank you

 

And the fact that NoScript itself has vulnerabilities.

 

What software DOESN'T have vulnerabilities?

 

Agreed, we should be aware of the limitations of what we use. In this case Noscript would have worked fine.

It wasn't the google cache thumbnail images hosted on google that were infected - rather the sites that those images were located on were. The criminals were using clever ways to get their images placed high in the searches, and seeded based on popular search keywords. It got to the point where every search would have a high proportion of results blocked by the various blocking techniques.

 

Exactly. NoScript is still very effective at blocking a lot of exploits.

 

On my end, its the other way around. Using NoScript makes my browsing
faster. NS is the main reason why I prefer FF over other browsers.

Bo

 

I can't tell any slowdown with it either.

 

I concur. As mentioned in another thread, my browser runs faster with my add-on's than it does out of the box. With things like NoScript & ABP there are less things loading on your page, so that more than offsets whatever resources the add-on's use, at least in my case.

As for Web scanning, it's just like everything else. If it adds protection and doesn't noticeably, adversely affect performance/stability... then why not use it? In my case I came to realize that Avira AV Premium didn't run any heavier on my setup than Personal did. So when I saw 2 licenses for $25 (thanks to a Wilders member), I jumped on it.

 

I agree but most of the web shields slow down browsing. I think file shield and behaviour shield should be enough - no problems with malware at all

Don't use windows ...

 

lawl

 

For me web scanning is essential. Without it, it is not possible for a security software to detect malicious scripts and hidden iframes in compromised web pages. Kaspersky has a test page to test its web heuristics -http://www.kaspersky.com/test/jim.htm- Besides Kaspersky this page is also blocked by Bitdefender and Norton with web scanning enabled. I got the link while browsing through kaspersky forum.

 

For me web-scanning is needed only if you rely solely on your AV. If you have sandboxing software or HIPS, you don't really need it and as in a similar thread some time ago Stefan Kurtzalis had mentioned "any web-guard will slow down browsing somewhat". Whether it is annoying or of negligible impact - that's another story. Mostly the impact is felt on pictures and graphics heavy web pages, of course provided the scanning of certain file types is not excluded - as in Avast .jpg and .gif are excluded by default in their web-shield.

 

To me NoScript and other software like it just breaks the web from working
I am not saying they are not useful but I just want things to work without
all the bother

I run Mamutu and Norton DNS only and use my head where I surf at
and do Virus scans from outside of windows and sometimes I use Dr Web
link scanner

If I decide do some "uncertain" web browsing I just re-Image the drive
when I am done, To date I have not seen anything get past the re-image

 

What do you use to re-image, and how quick is the process for you? Do you need to restrict access to personal documents when doing 'uncertain' activities?

Would browsing Sandboxie be a more useful tool? A quick setting change would block read access to personal folders.

 

Re-imaging just might be the ultimate in anti-malware. I have recently started adding images with Clonezilla. It is nice knowing that you can go back to another state for whatever reason.

 

I use Acronis but not in the way most people would think

I do not have Acronis installed on my computer I just created the recovery
disk and then installed Acronis Recovery Manager and Secure Zone

If you use the Secure Zone it runs fairly quick, I would say about 7 to 8 minutes
to do a image or a restore but that may also have something to do with how I protect
certain documents, my only internal hard drive is only 40GB
I keep all files, documents, ect on external drives that have a off on switch

If I do uncertain web activities I just turn off all external drives
and when I finish I re-image my system drive before I turn my external
drives back on

The most important part of this is making sure you have a clean image

 

The other point to make on this - when good sites are compromised most will actually link to external malware scripts, so NoScript is still effective.

It does show why a layered approach is necessary though, or at least to have an effective 'last line of defence'.

 

I'll take Norton's DNS over a web shield.

 

It's not exactly the same.