Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

I am not that up to date on what is available in computer security/protection and I have a very limited income for spending on security. Does anyone know what is free or low cost that is a good one to have? I recently downloaded Comodo, but find that my computer seems to be acting slower with it and with my poor eyesight, i am unable to read the security screens that pop up.
Thanks for the help

Greetings Sattva,

I have a PC and I use Avast as an anti-virus tool, Spybot Search & Destroy for managing spyware, and ZoneAlarm for firewall protection.

All are free in their basic configurations, indefinitely, and required actual purchase only if you wish to beef up your protection to "paranoid" levels, or if you've got some genuinely sensitive information you need to protect.

Metta,
Retro.

Getting a Mac or installing Linux (Ubuntu for example) is a solution, but only as long as the majority of people still uses Mircrosoft Windows. Neither Mac OS nor Linux are bombproof per se (they do, however, have a better security and user management policy), targetting them is just not as profitable (yet).

My setup: Mircosoft XP 64 bit on my desktop, Windows 7 Professional on my laptop. Use Windows Update for security updates, Mozilla Firefox (and get the adblock plus addon)/Thunderbird instead of Internet Explorer/Outlook or try Opera. Maybe disable Cookies except for the sites you really need them. Don't install stuff when you don't know or trust the source. If you are behind a router, a personal firewall software is not that important and often, they give you a false sense of absolute security. The same is true for AV (antivirus) software. However, I do use a-quared free to regularly check my computer for ad and spyware. Another good idea is to use Sandboxie (In computer security, a sandbox is a security mechanism for separating running programs. It is often used to execute untested code, or untrusted programs from unverified third-parties, suppliers and untrusted users.)

Be safe

Buddhist monks use (K)Ubuntu because it is dana-ware

gavesako wrote:Buddhist monks use (K)Ubuntu because it is dana-ware

(K)Ubuntu is a great development

I use linux and am not much troubled by malware. Its a dual boot installation so I can start off
with windows if I choose. Windows has the free AVG security software. Frankly I prefer
Linux for many reasons besides security. Its much faster on these little netbook computers.
Using an MSI Wind today.
-m

appicchato wrote:Get a Mac...

Macs are lovely to use, great interface and very stable operating system, and no-one bothers writing mal-ware that attacks them. Way to go!
Ubuntu would be my next choice, but Linux seems to need geek-type attention pretty often. Even people who are far more interested in computing than I am admit that that is a drawback. Better than Windows, though ...
But if you have an investment in Windows, follow earlier suggestions about protection.


Kim

Hmmm... this is a bigger question than it seems. Firstly, I'll categorise between OS's then by types of protection.

1. Windows
Unfortunately for Windows users (ie the vast majority out there) pretty much most viruses are targeted for this platform due to the mere fact that it has 95% of the desktop market. Too bad but here is a breakdown of the different types of threats with some solutions.
1.1 Firewall. Windows comes with its own firewall but is generally not considered very full featured. I think you can't go past ZoneAlarm as a firewall and it has a free version which has enough features for home use.
1.2 Anti-virus. I did hear that Windows was going to provide a free anti-virus package but I don't know if this is available as of Windows 7. In any case, even if they did, it would likely not be as good as freely available software. Avast is a free anti-virus product that seems to rate well in reviews.
1.3 Spyware, adware, malware, etc. This is the newest area of concern for Windows users and has no protection from Windows out of the box. Spyware collects information about you that you have on your computer and sends it back to a central point. Adware are applications that send advertisements to you without you agreeing or wanting them. Malware is basically software that acts in a manner that is detrimental to a users computer. In any case there is excellent software freely downloadable called Ad-Aware from Lavasoft which does an excellent job of catching these threats.
1.4 Hijacking. This is the worst form of threat that I have ever come across. I had my web browser hijacked once and basically whenever you open up your browser, it defaults to going to an insidious website such as a pornographic site or even worse a website which will download all sorts of other viruses. What was so bad about this is that I could not figure out how to fix it. In the end I just had to reinstall windows and be more careful with the software that I installed on my computer and the sorts of websites that I visited. Just hope you never get one of these.

2. Mac
Don't you love the Mac with its funky interface and so easy to use applications? Did you also know that it is based on BSD a Unix-like derivative? You didn't - well it is and that is what makes it so stable, reliable and secure. But I'm not recommending it. Why? Well, I used to tell people that if they wanted the best user interface ever, then they can't go past the Mac. I used to praise its usability and visually stunning front end. That was until my daughters bought iPod Touch's. From that moment on I realised that it's not the viruses that Mac users need to fear, it's the Apple organisation itself! I have never come across a more insidious organisation that digs its fingers into you and never wants to let you go. I could not set up an account for my daughters to download the FREE iPod software without giving Apple my credit card details. I could not connect them up without downloading and installing iTunes. I could not do anything without getting Apple involved somewhere in the process. It was truly Big Brother scary. I no longer recommend Apple as a solution to anyone even though it still has the best operating system and the most usable software. The personal cost is too great.

3. Linux (specifically Ubuntu at the moment)
Wow! This operating system is like a breath of fresh air compared to the alternatives! I use it on my desktop, my server and my netbook and it just works out of the box. I never install any virus protection software and have never had a problem with viruses. This is a great alternative for those that aren't afraid to install their own operating systems (and in fact has a better installation system than Windows). Graphically it can seem quite bland out of the box and it is - out of the box - but customise it even just a little bit and you can do things with it that even Mac and Windows can't. Check out some of the cool 3d effects you can have on your desktop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxfSwzhSn1c and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2-uKv6z ... re=related but there are lots of other examples. So for an operating system that is FREE, has a great graphical user interface and is VIRUS-FREE then you can't go past Ubuntu.

I'm guessing that section 1 will be of most use to you but I'm hoping that one day you might consider option 3 - especially if price is a factor for you.

Kind Regards,

Vangelis

Hey, it's Vangelis! Welcome to Dhamma Wheel.



I was hoping you would show up one day.

From that moment on I realised that it's not the viruses that Mac users need to fear, it's the Apple organisation itself! I have never come across a more insidious organisation that digs its fingers into you and never wants to let you go. I could not set up an account for my daughters to download the FREE iPod software without giving Apple my credit card details. I could not connect them up without downloading and installing iTunes. I could not do anything without getting Apple involved somewhere in the process. I was truly Big Brother scary

Indeed... they've out Microsoft'ed Microsoft.

I also found this article rather entertaining...

iPhone users suffering 'Stockholm Syndrome', analyst firm reckons
http://www.9to5mac.com/weird_science_30189" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Metta,
Retro.

Its hard not to like Ubuntu Linux. I had it installed as a dual boot setup on my new netbook alongside
Windows. I find myself using the Ubuntu all the time. It runs much faster and is quite secure, although
a little bit geeky. Bought the netbook from my local computer shop who installed it at no extra charge.
-m

retrofuturist wrote:Hey, it's Vangelis! Welcome to Dhamma Wheel.



I was hoping you would show up one day.

Hi Retro,

Hehe - it takes some of us a little longer to find our way around this intermanet thingamagiggy.

Metta,

Vangelis

Michael_S wrote:Its hard not to like Ubuntu Linux. I had it installed as a dual boot setup on my new netbook alongside
Windows. I find myself using the Ubuntu all the time. It runs much faster and is quite secure, although
a little bit geeky. Bought the netbook from my local computer shop who installed it at no extra charge.
-m

Yes, I think Netbooks have single-handedly been responsible for spreading Linux more than any other device. Possibly Android phones will take over from that - unfortunately it means more viruses for linux. In fact, there have already been some written for Android phones.

To fix browser hijacking, HijackThis can be used. A quick guide. To help interpreting the logfile, you can use this site: http://hijackthis.de/en" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Moggalana wrote:To fix browser hijacking, HijackThis can be used. A quick guide. To help interpreting the logfile, you can use this site: http://hijackthis.de/en" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oh yes, I remember that. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. And this software is very manual requiring quite a bit of computer knowledge to be able to operate it. Especially since the user has to modify registry entries. One false move and your windows installation is dead!