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/sigh (computer security question)

DromaroDromaro
edited June 2010 in Everything Else
Well, it's taken 31 years and 5 machines but I finally slipped up somewhere and managed to get my email compromised. My question, humbly, to the forum is what anti-virus/anti-malware do you guys use? Time to beef up my stable...

Thanks in advance for all the help!

Comments

  • AxelAxel
    I generally find that AVG Free will work well enough, if you decide you want protection. Ad-Aware might be useful as well.
  • DromaroDromaro
    I have Ad-Aware. I'll stick my toe into the AVG waters...
  • ProfPanglossProfPangloss
    edited June 2010
    Paranoia is the ultimate in digital security.
    Post edited by ProfPangloss on
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    I only use web mail.
  • DromaroDromaro
    Paranoia is the ultimate in digital security.
    I'm really paranoid, too! That's why it's taken as long as it has. If nothing else, I'm pissed at myself for letting it happen!

    I only use web mail.
    It was webmail. My hotmail account. At least now I have a good reason to scrub this machine and finally ditch hotmail... But I've got so many things tied to it......

    /annoyed
  • RymRym
    Well, it's taken 31 years and 5 machines but I finally slipped up somewhere and managed to get my email compromised. My question, humbly, to the forum is what anti-virus/anti-malware do you guys use? Time to beef up my stable...
    As a Senior Production Engineer in Financial IT, I personally use nothing.
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    It was webmail. My hotmail account. At least now I have a good reason to scrub this machine and finally ditch hotmail... But I've got so many things tied to it......
    So what exactly happened?
  • CremlianCremlian
    We use Trend here (not a fan), but if your running Windows 7 there is no reason not to use the new Microsoft anti-virus, I use it at home and it seems pretty good. My standby at work is Spybot, for cleaning non-64 bit systems I use Combofix. AVG free and a few others male-ware bytes and come other free ones are good... The best defense is to not be stupid (or use your computer drunk or on drugs :-p)
  • DromaroDromaro
    Well, it's taken 31 years and 5 machines but I finally slipped up somewhere and managed to get my email compromised. My question, humbly, to the forum is what anti-virus/anti-malware do you guys use? Time to beef up my stable...
    As a Senior Production Engineer in Financial IT, I personally use nothing.
    No safety nets at all? You are a bold man! Your stones are made of a denser stuff than mine.
    It was webmail. My hotmail account. At least now I have a good reason to scrub this machine and finally ditch hotmail... But I've got so many things tied to it......
    So what exactly happened?
    All I know is that I logged in to about 15 messages from people asking if I was working for a Chinese electronics manufacturer now. I also had a facebook message from my sister asking the same. The odd thing is that I checked the sent section of hotmail and nothing is showing as sent...

    After doing a little research, I don't think it was malware but perhaps a flash exploit. I hadn't updated it in a while but it looks like a major exploit was found recently. Silly me....
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    Staying away from free porn helps too.
  • DromaroDromaro
    I don't watch porn. I know it's an odd statement that probably bears repeating. I don't watch porn.
  • AprecheApreche
    edited June 2010
    Do not use any anti-virus or anti-malware software. It provides no real protection, and only slows your computer down and causes problems of its own. Backup your irreplaceable data to an external drive. That includes things like documents you created, movies you have made, etc. Completely wipe the machine and reinstall the OS. If you want, use a free scanner to scan that external drive. Then copy the files back over. Do not backup any software. You can always redownload clean copies software or reinstall it from a CD or whatever. In the future, backup all of your documents and other files to external drives (USB stick) and the cloud (Flickr, Picasa, Google Docs, Amazon S3, Carbonite).

    One more piece of advice. Once your computer is clean, don't just go installing things like crazy that you think you need or used to have installed. You want to install as little as possible. Install all updates and patches with Windows update and set it to auto-update. Then install a non-IE browser like Firefox or Chrome. Then just start using your computer. Whenever you come across something you want to do that doesn't work, then install the software you need. If you do this, you will end up only installing things you actually use. You will also get back to work right away instead of spending a day uselessly installing things.

    Last thing, don't install Acrobat Reader. It has been a security nightmare lately. Install evince instead. It's a better open source PDF reader.

    It's also a good idea to have separate drives, or at least separate partitions, on your computer. This way you can separate your operating system, your applications and your documents to separate places. This makes it really easy to, for example, completely wipe the OS without risking the drive that has your documents on it.
    Post edited by Apreche on
  • CremlianCremlian
    You do realize if you have windows 7 it comes with a virus scanner right?
  • RymRym
    Do not use any third-party anti-virus or anti-malware software.
    The Microsoft stuff is fine.
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    You do realize if you have windows 7 it comes with a virus scanner right?
    What are you talking about? The spyware scanner that does nothing but bog the computer down that I disable every time I install windows?
  • DromaroDromaro
    edited June 2010
    Last thing, don't install Acrobat Reader. It has been a security nightmare lately. Install evince instead. It's a better open source PDF reader.
    Above the quote, I knew but thank you for taking the time to reiterate it. The quoted text, however, is not surprising. I'll be sure to be all over evince.

    Also, in looking at what I use as my storage drive in preparation to back everything up there is about 550GB of data that looks like it was added by my roommate. Way to violate my machine roommate. Yet another unpleasant thing I need to do on, this, my day off.
    Post edited by Dromaro on
  • DromaroDromaro
    You do realize if you have windows 7 it comes with a virus scanner right?
    I do know this, but I'm using Vista.
  • CremlianCremlian
    What are you talking about? The spyware scanner that does nothing but bog the computer down that I disable every time I install windows?
    Microsoft Security Essentials, maybe you should get a less girly computer :-p
  • CremlianCremlian
    Also, in looking at what I use as my storage drive in preparation to back everything up there is about 550GB of data that looks like it was added by my roommate. Way to violate my machine roommate. Yet another unpleasant thing I need to do on, this, my day off.
    Oh even better advise, lock down your computer. You can make a guest account but give it very little access to anything.
  • NuriNuri
    edited June 2010
    Webmail compromises are not always a computer security issue with your own machine. Sometimes your accounts just get hacked, especially with hotmail (there are a lot of vulnerabilities there). You might have done something stupid, but you might not.
    Post edited by Nuri on
  • AprecheApreche
    You do realize if you have windows 7 it comes with a virus scanner right?
    No it does not. Are you talking about Windows Defender?
    Windows Defender is software that helps protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software by detecting and removing known spyware from your computer. Windows Defender features Real-Time Protection, a monitoring system that recommends actions against spyware when it's detected, minimizes interruptions, and helps you stay productive.
    You want to disable that and never activate it. Microsoft also offers, for free, Microsoft Security Essentials which is a free full-on virus scanner. If you must use one, it's a good choice. I tried it out once, then completely disabled it forever.
  • DromaroDromaro
    Also, in looking at what I use as my storage drive in preparation to back everything up there is about 550GB of data that looks like it was added by my roommate. Way to violate my machine roommate. Yet another unpleasant thing I need to do on, this, my day off.
    Oh even better advise, lock down your computer. You can make a guest account but give it very little access to anything.
    Oh, Crem! When I was setting up the network in the house I spoke with all my roommates about it. To make a long story short, we all agreed not to lock down each machine (given we have 11 in the house) in the name of trust and laziness. Trust has been violated and now locking up will commence. I don't care if he was responsible for this or not. He lied. It's a principle thing for me.
  • DromaroDromaro
    Webmail compromises are not always a computer security issue with your own machine. Sometimes your accounts just get hacked, especially with hotmail (there are a lot of vulnerabilities there). You might have done something stupid, but you might not.
    The more research I do, you may be correct. In fact, I hope you are. If nothing else, my ego refuses to accept I made a mistake of this magnitude.
  • DromaroDromaro
    You want to disable that and never activate it. Microsoft also offers, for free,Microsoft Security Essentialswhich is a free full-on virus scanner. If you must use one, it's a good choice. I tried it out once, then completely disabled it forever.
    Done the moment I upgraded to Vista. Praise be to Scott! Praise be to Common Sense!
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    Microsoft Security Essentials, maybe you should get a less girly computer :-p
    My computer is plenty powerful much like my car. My car can tow an anchor behind me while I drive too, doesn't mean I'm going to.
  • AprecheApreche
    Oh, Crem! When I was setting up the network in the house I spoke with all my roommates about it. To make a long story short, we all agreed not to lock down each machine (given we have 11 in the house) in the name of trust and laziness. Trust has been violated and now locking up will commence. I don't care if he was responsible for this or not. He lied. It's a principle thing for me.
    Advice to everybody. Do not trust any other human being with anything. Even if you have been married to someone for 30+ years, and you trust them with your life, do not trust them technologically. Do not tell them your password, to anything. Always have them on a separate account from you, if not a separate machine. Never tell any password to any other living soul. Whenever you get up from any terminal, lock it or shut it down. Even if you are both super technolgically competent, it doesn't matter. Rym and I always kept our technology separate. Think of it like a pandemic, you want to be the guy living on an island that closes all ports.
  • RymRym
    Think of it like a pandemic, you want to be the guy living on an island that closes all ports.
    image
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