virus questions

[2972renfro]

I am on a Mac and have not used a PC in years. Someone said in another thread a while ago that the whole virus thing on PC's is overblown and that unless you do stupid things such as visit warez/porn sites, download software from untrusted sites and open zips or other attachments from unknown persons you should be just fine

Now here I am reading that just by visiting this site some people are getting the virus.

So what gives? If you are connected to the internet is it required that you have anti virus and malware software installed and running? Is there anyone on a PC that has nothing installed and works/surfs unprotected?

what a pain. Maybe in 10 years it will be different, but I am thankful that I don't have to deal with this

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

On one of my laptops I don't have any anti virus protection or maleware, and I haven't gotten a virus as of yet.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

On my laptop I don't run any protection software and I haven't gotten anything as of yet on it. I cover my bases with this computer though as it has files that I would rather not have to duplicate anytime soon. So I think of it as an insurance policy.

 

[Sticky Signs]

I put a condom on my PC. You know, just in case....
Never a problem with my mac but I'd hate to see what my pc would look like without antivirus protection.

 

[Bly]

On one of my laptops I don't have any anti virus protection or maleware, and I haven't gotten a virus as of yet.

How would you know if you haven't scanned it?

 

[visual800]

I wish I didnt need it but I do love to download music and these people are very creative about how to send you virus laden files these days. Im glad avast hasnt turned to bloatware and I also hit my comp with hijackthis and ccleaner all the time

I have all security shut off and all updates tunred off so far its been ok

 

[Joe Diaz]

I don't get why having virus protection is "such a pain". You download it. It installs. It automatically downloads updates. You're protected. Seems simple enough me. In addition to that we have remote backup software. Same deal. You download it. It installs. It backs-up in the background. You're protected. Easy Breezy. If our shop burns down, a tornado hits, some one breaks in... Our files aren't gone forever. It's about hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

If I used a Mac at work, I would do the same. Just because it's rare to have your mac infected, doesn't mean it is impossible to be attacked. God forbid if it does ever happen to any of you, you will feel pretty silly that you too didn't prepare for the worst.

For me not being able to run my favorite windows only software is much more of a "pain".

 

[genericname]

I have all security shut off and all updates tunred off so far its been ok

And updates? That's crazy. I'm willing to bet your computer's part of a bot-net, and you don't even know it.

 

[AnotherSignManiac]

I don't run anything on my lap top, its been fine for 4 years now. As far as the "oh noes you must have a virus and don't know!!!" that's not true, when a virus gets loaded (or something similar) your computer will run differently, and I know how much computer should run at all times... ergo no issues. Now on my work computer, yes I do have anti-virus, just to be safe.

 

[genericname]

Not necessarily. In most cases with a virus, yeah, you'll notice something, but if you've been infected with something that's designed to only use a certain number of resources, or only run while the computer is idle, you really have no way of knowing that your system is being used. With a bot-net, it's less about the damage it's doing to your computer, and more about the damage that your computer is doing to others, be it used for data-mining, or DDOS attacks.

 

[AnotherSignManiac]

Not necessarily. In most cases with a virus, yeah, you'll notice something, but if you've been infected with something that's designed to only use a certain number of resources, or only run while the computer is idle, you really have no way of knowing that your system is being used. With a bot-net, it's less about the damage it's doing to your computer, and more about the damage that your computer is doing to others, be it used for data-mining, or DDOS attacks.

That is very true... I guess you can just call me a geek, but I normally pull up the task manager daily to see what is running ... could be habit from my old programming days...

 

[WildWestDesigns]

That is very true... I guess you can just call me a geek, but I normally pull up the task manager daily to see what is running ... could be habit from my old programming days...

And I thought I was the only one that was still pulling up task manager and see what was going on on a regular basis. Not many do that though that's for sure.

 

[genericname]

That is very true... I guess you can just call me a geek, but I normally pull up the task manager daily to see what is running ... could be habit from my old programming days...

Naw, I do the same. I'm a particular fan of the network traffic monitor. When you see that sucker spike, and no programs you've installed are sending anything, you know something's up.

If you're looking for malicious processes though, you might do better to open up the Administrative Tools and use its process manager. There's a hell of a lot more running in the background than Task Manager will show you. Plus, it'll give you a good idea of what has been running, instead of just what's running at the moment.

 

[Si Allen]

Maybe this?

 

[Si Allen]

Instead of this?

 

[2972renfro]

I don't get why having virus protection is "such a pain". You download it. It installs. It automatically downloads updates. You're protected. Seems simple enough me. In addition to that we have remote backup software. Same deal. You download it. It installs. It backs-up in the background. You're protected. Easy Breezy. If our shop burns down, a tornado hits, some one breaks in... Our files aren't gone forever. It's about hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

If I used a Mac at work, I would do the same. Just because it's rare to have your mac infected, doesn't mean it is impossible to be attacked. God forbid if it does ever happen to any of you, you will feel pretty silly that you too didn't prepare for the worst.

For me not being able to run my favorite windows only software is much more of a "pain".

Every week i read about 3-4x on here that someone has a new virus, browser hijack, spyware, etc. You have to find the solution, download/purchase software to remove. And that does not always work. Maybe another program is needed to remove the offender. Settings need tweaked, Windows must restart in safe/protected mode, etc, etc, etc. And if there is any leftovers they must be removed manually or by using yet another program. I can find dozens of posts on here where the removal and repair was not a 1 step operation

This is all happening while you are trying to run a business. If it was so easy breezy then why is it happening so often? If all that is required is to download a virus scanner then why after 20+ years of warnings aren't windows users more protected?

Other threads talk about someone also running spyware/botware or whatever in the background as well. And then others mention how one does not work well or uses too many system resources

I am considering adding a Windows machine to the office but with all of these potential headaches, why bother. So yes to me this all seems like a big PITA and not easy. To some of you these are non issues but I can tell you that the average user does not know how to deal with of this and that is why viruses are so easy to get. The general public are not as wise

 

[WildWestDesigns]

As of right now, I have never had to go through such rhapsodies as you have described. But then again I haven't had a virus since the Windows ME days.

 

[2972renfro]

I deleted this message to avoid cross posting. Nevermind

 

[WildWestDesigns]

http://signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=87630#post929106

I am being serious. Why are 2 people in this thread and maybe more having virus problems and yet others are saying it is no big deal? Are they using inferior virus protection? Not updating? No virus protection at all?

It could be any one of those. Some virus protection programs are known for dealing with certain types of attacks better then others. There are a few that have really good broad coverage. Some used to be good, but now have gone to pot.

And why those with no virus protection don't have the signs101 virus or other viruses?

They could, but may not have noticed what damage it's done or if the virus just used the computer as a means of infecting another without really doing damage to their computer. Or they have really good protection in between the modem and their computer in the form of hardware/software.

 

[Locals Find!]

Every week i read about 3-4x on here that someone has a new virus, browser hijack, spyware, etc. You have to find the solution, download/purchase software to remove. And that does not always work. Maybe another program is needed to remove the offender. Settings need tweaked, Windows must restart in safe/protected mode, etc, etc, etc. And if there is any leftovers they must be removed manually or by using yet another program. I can find dozens of posts on here where the removal and repair was not a 1 step operation

This is all happening while you are trying to run a business. If it was so easy breezy then why is it happening so often? If all that is required is to download a virus scanner then why after 20+ years of warnings aren't windows users more protected?

Other threads talk about someone also running spyware/botware or whatever in the background as well. And then others mention how one does not work well or uses too many system resources

I am considering adding a Windows machine to the office but with all of these potential headaches, why bother. So yes to me this all seems like a big PITA and not easy. To some of you these are non issues but I can tell you that the average user does not know how to deal with of this and that is why viruses are so easy to get. The general public are not as wise

Whether you are running windows/mac/linux you still need to run anti-virus software. The guys that make these malicious programs spend a lot of time honing their skills and will always find a way around. No computer is ever 100% safe. You just do your best to stay as informed as possible and try to keep the best protection you can running. Also, helps if your not going to be fixing things yourself to have a reliable expert or two on speed dial or on the payroll.

The only 100% way to avoid having to deal with computer viruses is to not ever use a computer connected to the internet and never allow any outside resources near your computer.