which of these COMPUTER SECURITY statements do you AGREE / DISAGREE with the most?

(not necessarily my opinions)

HIPS technology does not greatly increase computer security
Opera is as good as Firefox overall
windows firewall is as good as any free firewall
A free antivirus can as good as a paid one
Vista is safer than xp
the rootkit threat is overblown
tracking cookies should be illegal
spybot s & d has seen its day come and go
the more firewalls you have running the safer you are
most web surfers do not take computer security seriously

 

Agree
tracking cookies should be illegal
spybot s & d has seen its day come and go
most web surfers do not take computer security seriously

Disagree
HIPS technology does not greatly increase computer security
avira antivir is the best free anti virus program
windows firewall is as good as any free firewall
the more firewalls you have running the safer you are

 

tracking cookies should be illegal -- gotta disagree with that one

then again, "the more firewalls you have running the safer you are" is also pretty incorrect

those two are tied with "most wrong" for me

 

Spooony,

You do post a lot, don't you ?

There is some truth and unthruth in each of those statements.

What's the point ?

 

Agree

most web surfers do not take computer security seriously

Disagree
HIPS technology does not greatly increase computer security

50/50
1) the more firewalls you have running the safer you are - If they are Hardware based and NOT conflicting with each other (I run 2 Unangle Boxes 1 for Real time Packet Scanning AV and FW - 1 for IDS/NIDS + Instant block bad IPS (DDOS, port scans, etc.) and MVPHOSTS)

2) spybot s & d has seen its day come and go - Yes it doesn't work as well as it used to but it does a half decent job. I use it for immunization only which works well.

3)tracking cookies should be illegal - No but they should be Opt-in. Some people may use/like targeted advertising, making the illegal isn't any better than the way it is now.

4)the rootkit threat is overblown - For the person with "above average" computer knowledge no - For the average user a little - for the typical mom/dad type user NO. Those are the people who are mainly targeted and most likely to be infected.

5)Vista is safer than xp - Out of the box Yes. UAC on high yes. but if XP has SRP enabled + EMET. or even just SafeAdmin tweaks I would say no.

6)avira antivir is the best free anti virus program - I like Avast Free home. Avira is good but through my personal testing Avast stands up better.

7)Opera is as good as Firefox overall - For the most part yes. addons no. Speed wise I find Opera the best (even over chrome), and also feature wise.

[noparse][/noparse]windows firewall is as good as any free firewall - If configured right yes. If not NO NO NO. Default settings = fail.

Spoony I think you are a Wilders' Addict

 

Well, I'd like to make one point about Avira.

I used to consider it one of the best AVs for the home market.

However, given recent issues with Avira (Uniblue, Ask toolbar and more) I would no longer recommend it.

For a company it's easy to lose trust. Regaining it is a lot harder.
Speculation suggests that the Avira company is experiencing financial problems.

Also, product development seems to be 'frozen'.

I'm still using it on one of my machines.
But that will probably end sooner rather than later.

 

I most a agree with the following statements.

tracking cookies should be illegal
most web surfers do not take computer security seriously

 

Choosing which you agree and disagree with is easy enough. The most? For whatever purpose that type of question might serve,
Agree Most:
most web surfers do not take computer security seriously

Disagree Most:
Unable to pick just one without narrowing who the question would apply to. There's 3 in the list (1, 3, 5) that I completely disagree with. For my own use, I'd disagree with:
HIPS technology does not greatly increase computer security
Properly configured HIPS are among the strongest security tools available for Windows. I trust classic HIPS (and a 3rd party firewall) more than I trust Windows built in tools.

 

"tracking cookies should be illegal"

Partly. Session cookies that track movement within the site (Amazon tracking movement within Amazon) is fine. Cookies that track beyond their own sites should be banned - and I have no doubt they will be in the U.S. sooner rather than later.

 

Agree:
spybot s & d has seen its day come and go
most web surfers do not take computer security seriously
tracking cookies should be illegal
Vista is safer than xp
windows firewall is as good as any free firewall
Opera is as good as Firefox overall
HIPS technology does not greatly increase computer security

Disagree:
the more firewalls you have running the safer you are
avira antivir is the best free anti virus program




by the way, what do you mean by "the rootkit threat is overblown"?

 

Agree:
Most web surfers do not take computer security seriously
Windows firewall is as good as any free firewall (most people don't even know what it is and what it does/don't)
Opera is as good as Firefox overall

Disagree:
The more firewalls you have running the safer you are -[)
Avira antivir is the best free anti virus program -X)

Gerard

 

<most web surfers do not take computer security seriously>

I'm inclined to disagree.

Most people I know probably do take computer security seriously.

That doesn't mean they fully understand the threat or protect themselves adequately, but they are aware that using a computer exposes them to certain risks. Of course, my experience may be biased

The real issue is not that people are completely unaware, the issue is that they are not aware of all the risks and that they don't know how to protect themselves ... to some extent they don't care.

Fact is, security/privacy issues related to computer/network security/use are very complicated. Partly it's very technical, but it is also about values and behavior.

I dare to say: AVs cause more harm than good.
AVs give a false sense of security. Without AVs, what would people do ?
They would be forced to take responsibility.

AVs make sense as an additional security layer.

 

If they are made illegal, who will track the trackers ... ?

What's worse, having medium sized companies track you or being tracked by The State and large corporations that cooporate closely with The State ?

Such a thing cannot be stopped without laws, strong penalties and internet censorship.

There are so many ways to track someone online. Blocking ordinary tracking cookies is easy. But who or what will stop 'web beacons', internet surveillance, or even geolocation ?

 

"Windows firewall is as good as any free firewall": DISAGREE (Its very hard to trust microsoft these days)
"Vista is safer than xp": NOT AS FAR AS USER PRIVACY GOES
"Tracking cookies should be illegal": AGREE
"Most web surfers do not take computer security seriously": AGREE,they simply are unaware of things........

 

I didn't say it was a be all and end all for stopping state surveillance. Of course not. I said that marketing and tracking cookies that follow site movement should be banned. That was the question (cookies) so I answered. I agree there are many other nefarious ways for surveillance by the government, etc. But that doesn't preclude my being interested in laws being enacted to stop this other. Separate issues. And no, I don't buy that it would be "censorship." That would mean someone doesn't know what the word "censorship" means. Stopping unwanted tracking by third parties is "censoring" what exactly?

 

Some People may want those cookies for targeted ads and such. Not saying its smart but some people like that kind of thing. Where they can go to a website a see an ad for "frozen yogart" rather than "Viagra".

Personally this wouldn't affect me (I block adds and web bugs etc.) though.

 

Everyone got his own opinion.
Must I post less to have a point.
I have changed the Avira one. My appoligies

 

Agree with the most:
most web surfers do not take computer security seriously

Disagree with the most:
HIPS technology does not greatly increase computer security

 

The ordinary citizen has no say in what laws and regulations are being enacted.

Rich and powerful people, large corporations, NGOs (irony!), special interest groups, politicians and government bureaucrats do.

The more laws and regulations, the worse things get.

I have yet to see any effective attempt to ban Google's geolocation ...

I really don't like any kind of tracking. However, any solutions should come from private enterprise.

 

I agree

• A free antivirus can be as good as a paid one - I agree because in reality AV's are mostly smoke and mirrors generating their own "unique detections" and using other dubious marketing tactics.
• Vista is safer than xp - only because of UAC and ADV. Firewall
• Tracking cookies should be illegal - Additionally, have the inventor stand on their head and gargle peanut butter until a result becomes apparent, repeat with each group who employs tracking cookies until usage stops. In reality, you can't legislate goodness into the hearts of men.
• Spybot s & d has seen its day come and go - He's working hard but I don't hear much about his latest work, no buzz.
• Most web surfers do not take computer security seriously - Everyone thinks subconsciously that just having the internet makes them smarter, and so becomes oblivious to the threats. Internet threats are like Doodlebugs and surfers are like ants.

I disagree

• HIPS technology does not greatly increase computer security
• Opera is as good as Firefox overall - Disagree because FF has the add-ons.
• Windows Firewall is as good as any free firewall - Disagree because the Advanced Windows Firewall is only as good as any free firewall.
• The rootkit threat is overblown - Disagree because once installed, a rootkit prolongs the infection existence time.

Other

• The more firewalls you have running the safer you are - In a world of conflict, their is the problem.

 

Thank you. Very well put. Not that I agree nor disagree as I said hose views doesn't reflect mine. Everyone has his own take on security and I think its a good way to hear everyones outtake and point of view.