Tempted to save on security? - Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums

pyan · 2nd July 2008, 03:02 AM

This is what happens if you do....

Quote:

Surfing the web unprotected will leave the average web user with 70 spam messages each day, according to an experiment by security firm McAfee.

It invited 50 people from around the world, including five from the UK, to surf without spam filters.

The experiment revealed that UK residents are most likely to be targeted by the infamous Nigerian e-mails and "adult" spam.

One UK participant received 5,414 spam e-mails during the month-long trial.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Spam experiment overloads inboxes

Commonmind · 2nd July 2008, 02:24 PM

First of all, I love the BBC. I wish us Americans spent more time doing interesting things with our media outlets (and here's to hoping they don't screw up Top Gear).

Very interesting read (and watch), Pyan, thanks.

Happy Joe · 2nd July 2008, 02:53 PM

There are free "protection" programs out there for the obsessively penurious...

Avast antivirus
avast! antivirus software download

comodo firewall
SSL Free Firewall Two Factor Authentication Products from Comodo

threatfire
ThreatFire AntiVirus - Behavioral Virus and Spyware Protection

spybot
The home of Spybot-S&D!

Are a few...

Enjoy!

Ice fyre · 2nd July 2008, 02:55 PM

I saw a trial they did a while back, they hooked up an unguarded PC and to slaved to a guarded machine, what they got was amazing how quickly it was infected by spy ware and viruses.

make you depair about human nature that eedjits are constantly trying to get into our machines, and wreck them or worse steal our data.

Ice fyre · 2nd July 2008, 02:58 PM

Thanks happy Joe was looking for a free anti virus programme for ages.

Cause I'm a tight wad

Happy Joe · 2nd July 2008, 03:30 PM

My home network was once hacked (destroyed a bit of stuff) I did some investigation and actually found some boards/online discussions on hacking and how to get through/bypass firewalls, write/send trojans, steal data etc...

It was discouraging... to say the least.

I still maintain a separate, dedicated, expendable, machine for surfing/web interaction as a result.

Enjoy!

Dave · 2nd July 2008, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Joe

I still maintain a separate, dedicated, expendable, machine for surfing/web interaction as a result.

Rather than buy a separate computer, this product uses the same idea: Yoggie Gatekeeper Pico

There is an even smaller version of the device now. I don't have one, but I was thinking about getting one. I hate how slow my computer works and how slow it starts up due to the anti-virus and anti-spam software.

Commonmind · 2nd July 2008, 05:09 PM

Home network security is and has always been an abject endeavor. If, on the very slim chance there were someone targeting you and your PC, they could very likely get into it without a hitch -- despite the protection you have in place. The knowledge required (and the places from which one acquires it) is something of an easy thing to come by.

I'm of the mind that preventative maintenance is the best kind -- in almost the same way your bodily health works in real life; keep yourself in good physical condition, make smart decisions about what you consume and use logic and reason in every situation and you'll likely not run into any major problems. This is unlike the method most of us use, which is wait until we get sick and throw a bunch of pills at the illness -- the fleshy equivalent to using a key-gen and then running AVG.

Save the occasional fluke, like malicious script embedded into perfectly reputable web-pages you may frequent on a daily basis, using a solid browser, limiting the amount of questionable software you download and using healthy browsing practices will lead to near trouble-free surfing. There are times where you will become the target of attack, as was the case with Happy Joe, but those instances are so rare. Real hackers simply don't target the every-day end-user as there is no benefit in doing so.

ktabic · 2nd July 2008, 08:10 PM

My first thought at reading that was *only* 70 a day? But then the spam countermeasures I put in place a couple of months ago have dragged it from 1400+ a week to 400 a week. Not bad for email accounts that have been kicking around for ten years or so.

As for firewalls/antivirus/spyware, I use linux (Slack FTW!) so am safe in my smug geeky superiority

(and behind two firewalls

)

PTeppic · 30th October 2008, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ktabic

My first thought at reading that was *only* 70 a day? But then the spam countermeasures I put in place a couple of months ago have dragged it from 1400+ a week to 400 a week. Not bad for email accounts that have been kicking around for ten years or so.

Quite - when my 12 year old email accounts hit the 400-500 mark, per day, I enabled the ISP's filtering solution.

2nd July 2008, 02:24 PM	#2 (permalink)
Commonmind Registered Lurker Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: North Carolina Posts: 1,303	Re: Tempted to save on security? First of all, I love the BBC. I wish us Americans spent more time doing interesting things with our media outlets (and here's to hoping they don't screw up Top Gear). Very interesting read (and watch), Pyan, thanks.

2nd July 2008, 02:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
Happy Joe Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 504	Re: Tempted to save on security? There are free "protection" programs out there for the obsessively penurious... Avast antivirus avast! antivirus software download comodo firewall SSL Free Firewall Two Factor Authentication Products from Comodo threatfire ThreatFire AntiVirus - Behavioral Virus and Spyware Protection spybot The home of Spybot-S&D! Are a few... Enjoy!

2nd July 2008, 02:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
Ice fyre Dark Lord Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Falkirk Posts: 687	Re: Tempted to save on security? I saw a trial they did a while back, they hooked up an unguarded PC and to slaved to a guarded machine, what they got was amazing how quickly it was infected by spy ware and viruses. make you depair about human nature that eedjits are constantly trying to get into our machines, and wreck them or worse steal our data.

2nd July 2008, 02:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
Ice fyre Dark Lord Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Falkirk Posts: 687	Re: Tempted to save on security? Thanks happy Joe was looking for a free anti virus programme for ages. Cause I'm a tight wad

2nd July 2008, 03:30 PM	#6 (permalink)
Happy Joe Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 504	Re: Tempted to save on security? My home network was once hacked (destroyed a bit of stuff) I did some investigation and actually found some boards/online discussions on hacking and how to get through/bypass firewalls, write/send trojans, steal data etc... It was discouraging... to say the least. I still maintain a separate, dedicated, expendable, machine for surfing/web interaction as a result. Enjoy!

2nd July 2008, 05:09 PM	#8 (permalink)
Commonmind Registered Lurker Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: North Carolina Posts: 1,303	Re: Tempted to save on security? Home network security is and has always been an abject endeavor. If, on the very slim chance there were someone targeting you and your PC, they could very likely get into it without a hitch -- despite the protection you have in place. The knowledge required (and the places from which one acquires it) is something of an easy thing to come by. I'm of the mind that preventative maintenance is the best kind -- in almost the same way your bodily health works in real life; keep yourself in good physical condition, make smart decisions about what you consume and use logic and reason in every situation and you'll likely not run into any major problems. This is unlike the method most of us use, which is wait until we get sick and throw a bunch of pills at the illness -- the fleshy equivalent to using a key-gen and then running AVG. Save the occasional fluke, like malicious script embedded into perfectly reputable web-pages you may frequent on a daily basis, using a solid browser, limiting the amount of questionable software you download and using healthy browsing practices will lead to near trouble-free surfing. There are times where you will become the target of attack, as was the case with Happy Joe, but those instances are so rare. Real hackers simply don't target the every-day end-user as there is no benefit in doing so.

2nd July 2008, 08:10 PM	#9 (permalink)
ktabic Save punctuation! Join Date: May 2008 Location: Cambridgeshire Posts: 737	Re: Tempted to save on security? My first thought at reading that was only 70 a day? But then the spam countermeasures I put in place a couple of months ago have dragged it from 1400+ a week to 400 a week. Not bad for email accounts that have been kicking around for ten years or so. As for firewalls/antivirus/spyware, I use linux (Slack FTW!) so am safe in my smug geeky superiority (and behind two firewalls )

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