Good VirusProtection/RealTimeScanning?
By
Cold_X,
Posted on: 2011-07-27 06:51 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
Quote:
http://www.clamav.net/lang/en/about/win32/|
Originally Posted by Psychic Guardian
So my Mcafee subscription finally ended, one thing I know is I'm cancelling that renewal asap.
What do you guys trust for "live protection"? |
Quote:
| After Mcafee let a couple trojans onto my PC MalwareBytes was able to remove them, so I was thinking upgrading from the free version for their realtimescanning was a good idea. One thing MB doesn't seem to have is a firewall. With their superior malicious item database and realtime scanning would that be a problem? Or a problem small enough that Windows Firewall could help? |
Most malicious software attacks are initiated through trusted or legit connections. Very, and I mean very, few crackers are going to take the time to run an entire port-scan and figure out which ports you may or may not have open.
Basically, it's like this: If I'm at your software-firewall on any shipping version of Microsoft Windows, I've already compromised your networking stack and I'm only at your Firewall just to turn it off or open up a port.
If you want to protect yourself from port-scanners, get a router.
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Network Address Translation (N.A.T.) alone will prompt most malicious crackers to go find a different computer to look at, never-minding the control and options that Firmware's such as DD-WRT can give you.
Microsoft Security Essentials is surprisingly robust.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/secur...s/default.aspx
Without a NAT hardware firewall, none of these matter much. Make sure you have a router.
I use Avast, because I like it for the boot scan.
I also have the free version of Malwarebytes for a second opinion if I think I have a virus, but Avast comes up clean.
Cool. Yup I've had a wireless router since I started playing CoH. I just checked my current one's setting and see I have "NAT Filtering: Secured" set already, I didn't even know what it did lol.
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I just recently switched to Avast from AVG Free. It was ranked well by PCWorld, and unlike others I tried, it lets me schedule when I want it to check for updates and when I want it to scan my PC.
And it doesn't hog resources. 
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I used microsoft security essentials a lot. It worked great but it slowed my computer to a crawl and severely slowed my boot times.
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Originally Posted by Mephisto_Kur
Microsoft Security Essentials is surprisingly robust.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/secur...s/default.aspx Without a NAT hardware firewall, none of these matter much. Make sure you have a router. |
i use avast and ive never had a virus issue, i do use some other programs such as malwarebytes and spybot search and destroy to take care of adware, spyware, and other malware
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Here's the thing to remember - |
Originally Posted by Psychic Guardian
After Mcafee let a couple trojans onto my PC ...
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*Every* antivirus program will let something on at some point. There is *no* foolproof way (other than not being on any sort of network internet and not installing anything that hasn't been examined before it comes to the system, while disabling CD and USB drive access) to "never be infected."
Thing with Mcafee, Norton, etc. - the virus writers have them too. And test against them. And frequently have ways around them or ways to disable them.
Also, much of the "popular" malware these days - which you'll typically see as a fake antivirus/fake "window security" type window telling you you have a ton of viruses, etc. and that you have to send them your credit card # to be able to remove them... sometimes while hiding files, deleting shortcuts, and/or killing your network access - gets on by social engineering more than finding a mechanism to force itself onto your system. Hijacked ads, harvested email being used to send out offers and "warnings" and more - just to get you to click, helping get around your AV - are where a fair number of these come from.
Yeah. Don't have to go spelunking in the dark and questionable corners of the 'net any more. Though that's not any safer.
(FWIW, I haven't had a virus in years - can't think of the last one I had, though I had one try to sneak on about a year ago - but I'm exceptionally picky about what gets on my machines. At work though, I remove several daily. They can be real PITAs.)
I keep my machines immaculate. Sometimes i'll go to suspicious sites just to load up on viruses just so i can get rid of them.
I use Malwarebytes, a great free anti-virus called "removeit xt pro" and Avast. I alos have a few other cleaners that i use on a regular basis.
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The last sentence here is correct. The rest is not. I use ZoneAlarm. It can block port-scanning, malicious browser elements, and other stuff. Also, as noted, it will stop malware that's on your computer from communicating. When something does get through your other defense, like a trojan, a firewall can stop it from doing any harm (i.e. communicating back to the originator).|
Originally Posted by je_saist
Software firewalls do not work on Microsoft Windows Operating Systems. All a firewall does is "prevent" traffic from going in and out of ports. It does nothing to prevent legit traffic from entering or exiting.
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Originally Posted by Doc_Triumph
I use Avast, because I like it for the boot scan.
I also have the free version of Malwarebytes for a second opinion if I think I have a virus, but Avast comes up clean. |
And you definitely need a router, as multiple people have noted, if you don't already have one. That's your first line of defense.
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Currently use Kapersky on Windows and find no problems with it - small memory footprint and frequent signature updates. Costs me about £8 a year per copy + the cost of whatever hardware I'm upgrading to qualify for the OEM version so almost as cheap as MSE
Use AVG on my phone as well and its PC version has a good reputation as does Microsoft Security Essentials - can't fault the price of either.
I used to use Norton and never again will I let any of Symantec's junk anywhere near my PC - most viruses do less damage than their uninstaller did.
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My sister had Kaspersky, it was annoying. For some reason it couldn't connect to get updates, so every few mins it'd make her laptop play a blaring loud alertnotification saying it was out of date, their support had no ideas besides "call your ISP" who said....."call Kaspersky" lol.|
Originally Posted by Gaia
Currently use Kapersky on Windows and find no problems with it - small memory footprint and frequent signature updates. Costs me about £8 a year per copy + the cost of whatever hardware I'm upgrading to qualify for the OEM version so almost as cheap as MSE
Use AVG on my phone as well and its PC version has a good reputation as does Microsoft Security Essentials - can't fault the price of either. I used to use Norton and never again will I let any of Symantec's junk anywhere near my PC - most viruses do less damage than their uninstaller did. |
Yeah Symantec is an evil company. After her laptop had an OS reset done they put that trial on there, 1 week after the trial expired(and harassed her), right down to the hour, her PC was hit with a handful of trojans while she wasn't home. I actually posted here about virusremoval tools with that incident I think lol.
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Malware Bytes
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yup for scans/removal I use MB. Do you have their liveprotection? That's what I'm considering getting, or a couple different ones from this thread when I get around to it.
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Originally Posted by Cold_X
Malware Bytes
Spybot Search and Destroy AVG 2011 CCleaner All Free and I've never had a single virus on this comp. Malware bytes in particular is a close personal favorite of mine in terms of getting rid of nasty viruses. |
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I'm using the paid-for version of AVG. Barring a small issue with a false positive on CoH a few years ago, I've had nothing but good luck from it.
As to software firewalls. You can purchase different "suites" that perform this function. I dislike "suite" software though. Usually the various (invariably system resource intensive) programs are tied together in such a way that if one has an issue, it cripples everything on the system.
I've sworn off EVER using ZoneAlarm ever again. I've had way (WAY WAY) too many problems with ZA crashing and burning and taking my system with it (damaging the network stack so that even uninstalling ZA can't restore connectivity). When it works, it's a nice piece of software. But it's just too damned flaky to trust.
This can also be a problem with other software program controllers (software "firewalls") as well.
I prefer just to use the default Windows firewall. By itself, it's frigging useless. But I own a very nice pro-grade router/firewall that gives me very fine-grained control over what comes into and out of my internal network.
As has been noted above. Just about ANY AV will EVENTUALLY let something nasty through. Antivirus technology is a "reactive" response system. It has to KNOW about something before it can block it. AFAIK there's no "proactive" AV technology out there.
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Actually Je Saist is sort of right with the first sentence depending on what is expected - a Software firewall is very good at blocking malicious scans but if you know how to work with the network stack then it may as well not be there, however the majority of attacks rely on a port scan identifying vulnerable systems. A decent one such as ZoneAlarm will also filter outgoing traffic such as that originating from trojans on your system which if nothing else should alert you to a problem. As far as Microsoft's Windows Firewall is concerned - don't bother - it only filters incoming traffic.|
Originally Posted by Ironblade
The last sentence here is correct. The rest is not.
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NAT which is implemented on most routers will give better protection against external attack but can still be compromised if the router is badly configured - the first two things I'd recommend are change the default password and disable admin access via the internet port.
Also bear in mind if you are on a wireless network then the firewall on your router will not prevent any attack which targets the wireless card in your PC directly.
If I were looking to protect a corporate network I'd be looking at a dedicated firewall box rather than relying on NAT and software firewalls though - you can go down that route if you want without it being overly expensive - there are Linux distros available which are set up to act purely as a firewall and can run on just about any junk PC you have lying around collecting dust for the past 10 or 20 years. Incidently you want to ensure your firewall is not running the same OS as the systems it is protecting if you want to maximise security. However I would generally consider this overkill for a home network.
Bear in mind any system connected to a publicly accessible network can be hacked into if the person undertaking the attack is sufficiently dedicated - note this means more than just internet connectivity - WiFi, Bluetooth, IR Ports, Modem are all possible attack vectors and indeed the majority of attacks are undertaken from INSIDE a corporate network - so pay attention to what other people are doing on your network - for a home network that is probably spouses, partners, kids or friends
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So my Mcafee subscription finally ended, one thing I know is I'm cancelling that renewal asap.
What do you guys trust for "live protection"? After Mcafee let a couple trojans onto my PC MalwareBytes was able to remove them, so I was thinking upgrading from the free version for their realtimescanning was a good idea. One thing MB doesn't seem to have is a firewall. With their superior malicious item database and realtime scanning would that be a problem? Or a problem small enough that Windows Firewall could help?
10 50's To Date! Check out Titan Sentinel; it got my CoH presence synced online