Are you concerned about computer viruses?

[yoda313]

So with the recent hype over the April Fools Day virus are you concerned about viruses?

I am moderately concerned. I have a wireless network and secure it with a wep password. I also have nav 2009 updated on both my pcs. So I take precautions. However I'm not overly anxious about threats. FYI I have Vista Premium on one and XP on the other. I will say this though - on a side of caution I left the computers off yesterday - better safe then sorry

So how about you?

[Number Six]

Virus....Nah - whenever I get a virus, I hit it with a big rock..........Break more monitors that way though

[MOVIEGEEK]

Not concerned,Conficker turned out to be a dud.

[gadgetguy]

Concerned enough to use AV software, but I don't lose any sleep over it.

[Number Six]

Not concerned,Conficker turned out to be a dud.

Not necessarily - the EXPERTS are thinking that it is doing something while it is waiting to be activated at a later date when all the scrutiny is over.

[victoriabears]

I have Avira, scotty watchdog winpatrol, spybot and adaware all loaded, never had a problem, only when I was stupid enough to override the security settings when trying software ! A lot of download sites have viruses/malaware.

[AlanHK]

Not very concerned. The only active protection I have is a firewall (Zonelarm). For the rest, I don't use IE or Outlook and think carefully before I download and install/run anything. In 15 years online, no infections. For a while my email attachments folder was accumulating "Blah.jpeg.exe", "stuff.scr", files and such crap; just deleted them.

[JohnnyMalaria]

I'm so nonchalant about them I hadn't even heard of an April's Fools Day virus until now...

I think the last virus I got was in 1989 or so.

[Dv8ted2]

Nope, but then again, my job is dealing with security threats, and neutralizing the risk.

[buzzqw]

voted Other

running Linux on all family pc (4 + NAS )

BHH

[AlanHK]

I have a wireless network and secure it with a wep password.

Does your router/PC only support 802.11b? If they support 802.11g, use WPA passwords. WEP can be cracked in minutes by anyone who can Google.

[redwudz]

Always concerned about viri, trojans and worms. But I have good protection and haven't had any problems in a year or two. But I keep everything updated and watch where I am going.

[surfmonkee]

i voted other.....

ubuntu on my machines means i dont have to worry about all that dirt online

[disturbed1]

i voted other.....

ubuntu on my machines means i dont have to worry about all that dirt online

^^ And that's exactly how Microsoft products became so open to infection Virus spy/malware infections are user created issues. Not Operating System created issues.

Hope you've disabled sudo, enabled the root account, and have a tough root password. Ubuntu leaves a timeout on sudo operations, once you've typed in your password, your system is wide open until that time expires. With the way Ubuntu has the default sudoers list setup, once something/one gains your password, your entire system is compromised. Security from obscurity is not secure at all.

[Dv8ted2]

Security from obscurity is not secure at all.

That is what I always preach.

[Seeker47]

Not concerned,Conficker turned out to be a dud.

Not really. Longtime industry columnist Larry Magid was interviewed on this by CBS radio. He pointed out that this particular threat stemmed not from pimply-faced hackers looking to burnish their reps, but from professional criminals setting things up for future financial gain. The heightened attention of 4/1 was the last thing they wanted. Rather, he said, they are poised to spring this at some time of their choosing, which will be a time when no one is expecting it.

A consultant I know spoke of a sleeping army of 5 million zombie computers that are infected with this, owned by clueless users all over the world, and careless businesses that haven't updated their A/V software for the last two years.

Security from obscurity is not secure at all.

That is what I always preach.

We've already gone a couple rounds on this, but I still strongly disagree. If you're one of those oddballs or iconoclasts still running BEOS or OS/2, you essentially do not exist to the universe of malware, and your risk factor is infinitesimal. Maybe not technically zero, but so close that you can forget about it as a practical matter. My personal experience since at least 1995 -- heavy computer use, doing a lot of risky things most Win users should not do -- continues to confirm this. It's just not worth the bad guys' time and trouble to bother with a negligible market. Not when there are abundant easy pickings to be had. The Mac and Linux / Unix people have much less to worry about than Win-kind also, though maybe not quite in the "Forget About It" class.

[Marvingj]

I giuve a sh*t about a virus, bring it on. ITS TIME TO RUMBLE>>>>>>>>

[MOVIEGEEK]

Not concerned,Conficker turned out to be a dud.

A consultant I know spoke of a sleeping army of 5 million zombie computers that are infected with this, owned by clueless users all over the world, and careless businesses that haven't updated their A/V software for the last two years.

That's the problem,too many clueless users who don't update their OS and AV software.
Businesses have lazy IT people(or none at all) and their employees are careless with their emails.
I always keep up to date and delete suspect emails so I'm not concerned.

[fritzi93]

I answered somewhat.

On the two computers and one HTPC here, each have:

AV: (Avast or ClamWin)
Firewall: (Outpost)
Antispyware: (SpywareBlaster, SuperAntispyware, MalwareBytes)
Firefox and Thunderbird
Router
Unnecessary services disabled
Startup items pared down


Have had nothing worse than tracking cookies for, oh, at least 5 years. I confess when someone asks what's a good AntiVirus or antibadware, I don't *really* know. I do suspect it's unwise to place all one's reliance on just one thing. All the above have been satisfactory, but I dunno how to assess how good each one is.

[Constant Gardener]

I answered "not concerned".

I have the usual security stuff and keep everything up-to-date. I have picked up the occasional unwanted guest from doubtful sites, but they were downright obvious and were immediately pounced upon by the antivirus.

I have one computer that is dedicated to radio recording - it's a rather slow machine and does not have continual antivirus scanning enabled. It has never picked up anything since I assembled it four years ago.

I am very careful about e-mail.

[lordsmurf]

The only time I see people with a virus is for the following reasons:

1. Downloading porn.
2. Downloading commercial software "for free" instead of buying it. (From torrents, rapidshare, etc.)
3. Downloading games from unknown "companies" or sites.
4. Allowing a website to install software.
5. Clicking on stuff in e-mails, be it from a stranger, or from an idiot they know.

I don't play games, I don't download porn, I buy my software, I use NoScript in Firefox, I disallow several extensions on the mail server, and I never run anything unknown. Why should I worry?

Any "unknown" freeware I test or run for the first time is done in an isolated environment, a throw-away install of Windows XP or Vista inside of a VMWare session.

[Bones]

Interesting this survey is listed... I use Norton Internet Security 2009 and it just idenfied the following virus in the download section of this website...

Threat Report
Total threats found: 3


Viruses (what's this?)
Threats found: 2
Here is a complete list:

Threat Name: Backdoor.Graybird
Location: http://download2.videohelp.com/download/AudioConverter1627.EXE



Threat Name: Backdoor.Graybird
File name: C:\Temp\AudioConverter1627[2].EXE
Location: http://download.videohelp.com/download/AudioConverter1627.EXE




Heuristic Viruses (what's this?)
Threats found: 1
Here is a complete list:

Threat Name: Suspicious.MH690
File name: C:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\W96RIBA9\AudioConverter1627[1].EXE
Signature (MD5): 83f62f0b51841c638dbed69e34b3c626
Location: http://download.videohelp.com/download/AudioConverter1627.EXE

[freebird73717]

Concerned enough to use AV software, but I don't lose any sleep over it.

Same here. I have good security software and keep it and windows up to date.

I have cleaned lots of virii from other peoples computers that hadn't updated their av in a couple of years.
I always get this response "You mean the subscription can expire?"

edit- I don't trust norton or mcafee at all.

[freebird73717]

The only time I see people with a virus is for the following reasons:

1. Downloading porn.
2. Downloading commercial software "for free" instead of buying it. (From torrents, rapidshare, etc.)
3. Downloading games from unknown "companies" or sites.
4. Allowing a website to install software.
5. Clicking on stuff in e-mails, be it from a stranger, or from an idiot they know.

I once cleaned a computer for someone who had antivirus2009 popup. Man that was a tough one to get rid of . She had downloaded hundreds of games. She also had downloaded hundreds of virii. It was over 200 something if I remember right.

[ricky1756]

i put my computer in an old condom, one of my old ones that was too small for me

[Seeker47]

The only time I see people with a virus is for the following reasons:

1. Downloading porn.
2. Downloading commercial software "for free" instead of buying it. (From torrents, rapidshare, etc.)
3. Downloading games from unknown "companies" or sites.
4. Allowing a website to install software.
5. Clicking on stuff in e-mails, be it from a stranger, or from an idiot they know.

1. You're disparaging one of my favorite hobbies !
2. Just about every keygen is going to set off virus scanners. Most (but not all) of these
will actually turn out to be infected, though.
4. Is just asking for trouble.
5. This should be "Security 101", but it's amazing how many people don't practice it. Items can
seem to come from people you know (who are not idiots), but only because their
address book has been filched by something. Even so, some ISPs actively strip out these things.
I sometimes get empty attachments, with a note from the ISP that it was deleted. Likewise, if I
send someone an attachment, it gets scanned (not at this end) before being accepted.

Any "unknown" freeware I test or run for the first time is done in an isolated environment, a throw-away install of Windows XP or Vista inside of a VMWare session.

I like that idea a lot also, and it has been on my To Do List for awhile now: to have a virtualized ISO of Win that can be blown away and replaced at will, should it be compromised.
Another option would be a plug-in drive tray with an "At Risk" extra Windows, just for testing
purposes.

She also had downloaded hundreds of virii. It was over 200 something if I remember right.

Wow. In that situation, one might imagine they would start attacking each other ! "It's MY turn !" "NO, it's MY turn. "

Interesting this survey is listed... I use Norton Internet Security 2009 and it just idenfied the following virus in the download section of this website...

(I'm working on the assumption that what you just said is not a belated A.F. joke.)
False positives are one of the frequent and curious side-effects of the anti-malware programs.
It could be a file for download that is flagged, or a website, or a whole domain -- and the
A/V programs may have little consensus. A recent example that I've seen:
http://www.toplessrobot.com/2009/01/10_clues_the_writers_of_lost_are_making_it_up_as_t.php?page=1
As far as I can see, this is just a blog article -- text plus links to YT video clips. Someone I know
who is a Mac user got strong warnings not to even load that page from her A/V program. None
of the two A/V or two anti-spyware programs I'm running in my Win partitions raise any objection
to it. So, this forum thread setting something off does not really strike me as that far-fetched.

[TBoneit]

Well I do worry about it somewhat.

I seem to spend my days fixing customers computers that are infected.

The Viruses seem to get through any brand of antivirus some of the time.

Not to mention all the infected computers that have expired Antivirus s/w or Limewire or other P2P s/w.

For some reason some computer owners seem to go to Google when they want to go to a major website even. IE for concert tickets. The way it was described to was was "When I decided the site didn't look quite right and didn't enter credit card and name info and went to exit, The computer went crazy installing stuff". I don't recall the name of the virus but it was one of those that infects every .exe, .scr, bat, .htm(l) file.

Now with ransomware out there, expected to get stroger encryption too.
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic213277.html
https://forums2.symantec.com/t5/blogs/blogarticlepage/blog-id/malicious_code/article-id/255
"first scrambles documents with common extensions, such as .pdf, .doc, .jpg, etc. and renders them inaccessible. The trojan then advertises a program called FileFix Pro 2009, which is able to decrypt the files, after a license is acquired"

SO yes I worry somewhat.

[lordsmurf]

Threat Name: Suspicious.MH690
File name: C:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\W96RIBA9\AudioConverter1627[1].EXE
Signature (MD5): 83f62f0b51841c638dbed69e34b3c626
Location: http://download.videohelp.com/download/AudioConverter1627.EXE

Not too farfetched. A lot of virus these days attack servers, not workstations. It's not uncommon for something to crawl the system and infect random EXE or other files. Baldrick just needs good a/v on the server.

[Seeker47]

Every version of
https://www.videohelp.com/tools/MPEG2Repair
I've downloaded has been flagged by one of the A/V programs. Ver. 1015, which seems to be
the most recent, was probably downloaded from the link here. I just ditched AVG in favor of
Avast, and it seems to i.d. a different set of suspects. These disagreements do not inspire a lot
of confidence.

[minidv2dvd]

me - i'm concerned about the mental health of the 19% who think they are online here and "don't have a pc/mac/linux machine to worry about".

just what do they think they are using?