Anti Virus

[buksida]

Each to their own - I would never use a machine that took away my freedom of choice and ability to tinker, it would be like getting in a car that you could only refuel at Apple approved gas stations, not for me thanks.

We've had these debates before and nobody will win, each to their own.

Avast updates at least once a day and the process takes an entire 2.67 precious seconds (depending on your internet connection of course) so its still the AV of choice for me.

[Guess]

The problem with any anti virus software is that it is only as good as the virus definitions available, so there will always be a time lag between a new virus coming out and the protection for your PC, by which time it could be too late, especially if the virus definitions are not updated daily..........................
.................it would be like having to check your oil, tyres, brakes and water levels every time you want to drive your car! Not for me thanks.

That's very old information. AV has come on leaps and bounds now. They not only check definition files but also behavior. There are certain things viruses do that are unusual if not unique. This behavior can be monitored. The behavior is highly complex and needs a good sleuthing piece of software to detect it. One of the links I posted gives more detailed information. The Mac OSX maybe free of viruses now but that might not always be the case. It is more difficult to hack but not impossible. Where there's a will there's a way.

Not a good analogy with the car. You are supposed to do all those things before you drive a car.

The Mac may be suitable for many users but it would hamper me. Some of the software I use is very difficult to obtain for a Mac here in Thailand.

[Wanderlust]

Not a good analogy with the car. You are supposed to do all those things before you drive a car.

The Mac may be suitable for many users but it would hamper me. Some of the software I use is very difficult to obtain for a Mac here in Thailand.

As buksi says we don't want to derail this thread with the Mac vs PC discussion, but in defence of my analogy I did say 'every time you want to drive your car' meaning before every time you get in, however long it was before the last time. This would be tedious in the extreme, as well as actually being unnecessary with cars, but it is what happens with most people when they turn their Windows computer on.

As already stated by both buksi and myself, it is horses for courses, although I have no problem finding any software I require for anything at all for my Mac now, and I am sure other Mac users in Hua Hin and Thailand are the same - torrents aren't just useful for music and movies!

[Guess]

........... in defence of my analogy I did say 'every time you want to drive your car' meaning before every time you get in, however long it was before the last time.......................................................
As already stated by both buksi and myself, it is horses for courses, although I have no problem finding any software I require for anything at all for my Mac now, and I am sure other Mac users in Hua Hin and Thailand are the same - torrents aren't just useful for music and movies!

The analogy comment was TIC (tongue in cheek). It made me remember my earlier education which stated "The first things to do when making a journey by car is to check lights, tires oil, water etc etc.". Probably not relevant with modern cars anyway.

I agree and have said in the past that it's horses for courses with Linux being another available mount.

I appreciate that software can be obtained more easily for free here but still not as many products to choose from if you are doing anything out of the ordinary.

Keeping the PC running is not so bad if you are PC literate. Mine very rarely gets switched off. A reboot is done only when a software installation demands it. My internet connection has been up for 5 days.



I would like to hear your comments on the future of viruses on Macs. I understand some have been written already for OS X and other Apple systems such as iPhone.

Many of the virus access points are exploited TCP/IP holes rather than OS limitations. I am not aware of any differences between Mac's implementation of the TCP suite and other platform's.

Another thing I have seen is that the suitably name McAfee have used the marketing slogan "MAC OS & Linux ready" indicating they are prepared for a possible future market.

It's bizarre because at one time (maybe still today) McAfee was owned by MS.

[Wanderlust]

I really don't know how or why viruses get created, although I read once that it was by people hacked off with MS for a number of reasons. I believe some viruses have been deliberately created to test the existing OSX, and I believe that if real attacks started happening the bods at Apple would add something to it PDQ; however I believe the system already has enough checks and balances in place to alert the Mac user. What i and some other Mac users have done is to install a product called ClamXAV which scans the files quickly and unobtrusively, not because of any perceived threat to Macs, but so that we don't inadvertently pass on viruses designed for PCs through our email for example. This presumably would also pick up the remote chance of ones designed for Macs too, but it really isn't a big threat from reading various Mac user forums etc. If Apples market share continues to increase then the possibility would increase with it I would imagine.

[Guess]

I really don't know how or why viruses get created, although .............

Interesting reply. Thanks.

The "who" and the "how" is unimportant but the opening of the ex Soviet Union and China has made the "who"s more available and very cheap. The die hard techies from those countries and their allies produce the "how".

The "why" can possibly be explained, to a small degree by what you have written but the opposite scenario is more likely.

All software publishers lose money from piracy. One way of tackling the issue is to infect the source of the pirated copies. This happens in the PC world of torrents all the time. The decent anti virus products like Avast and Antvir actually go as far as alerting the user to programs such as "keygen" so that the user is in no doubt he is using an illegal copy.

If you were to adopt that strategy for the operating system market then it would be feasible for Mac and MS to both fund the creation of damaging viruses on each other platforms and for Linux suppliers to manufacture viruses for both.

In reality I don't think companies of that size would lower themselves to that level and someone within the company would sell the story to the press for sure. However, it is possible.

Another "why", learned from convicted virus authors, is just power craze. The ex student can brag to his mates that he was the one who wrote "Doomsday" or whatever. Money is not the only motive.

As you say though, the "how" is much more difficult with Mac, and Linux.

[hhfarang]

These malicious pests have cost the world billions of dollars and cause us all a lot of grief by even having to worry about viruses and the software to stop them.

They should all be rounded up and shot!

[Guess]

These malicious pests have cost the world billions of dollars

And made shed loads of cash for the AV companies. They are suspects IMO.

Perhaps rounded up and forced to write AV software for free distribution. Poachers make the best gamekeepers.

Also you could give them the publicity they seek in a cyber rogues gallery. Mug shots with address and SS numbers published in every media form.

[KelpieKiss]

AVAST all the way!

It's free, you'll never have to pay, it updates every day and it's great.

Been using it for years and never had a virus.

In my experience Norton is terrible.

[redzonerocker]

These malicious pests have cost the world billions of dollars

And made shed loads of cash for the AV companies. They are suspects IMO.

very true

the questions are, would the avg users continue to use it if they had to pay for it??
or is it because it's free it's so great?

been using norton since 2001 & never had an issue, never mind a virus

[Randy Cornhole]

I was just wondering why anyone uses free antivirus software in Thailand. Surly you can get a good paid one for 200bht (like AVG full edition). Yes I know you have to turn off updates (for obvious reasons) but at that price you can buy a new one each year...

[Big Boy]

In this crazy world that we live in, annual updates are not sufficient. On some days, mine will update 3 or 4 times.

[Randy Cornhole]

Ah I get it...

[Guess]

the questions are, would the avg users continue to use it if they had to pay for it??
or is it because it's free it's so great?

buksida knows more about AVG. I was using the excellent CA until they pulled out of the race (for giving 12 month free trails) and then charging high license fees. I reckon that AVG along with Avast and Antvir are probably using the free licensing currently with a view to get people hooked and then charge money. Of course if the all do it at the same time it will work. I understand that AVG has been diluted which is why it's been overtaken by Avast and Antvir now.

been using norton since 2001 & never had an issue, never mind a virus

I know of one guy who has been running here using a dial up for over a year and he visits porn sites according to his browser's history (he denies it of course) and although he was riddle with spyware he had not caught anything serious.

AV is a bit like car insurance. If you take care you will probably never need to claim but if the worst happens you then realize the value of a decent insurance company. You can't really say "I haven't had an accident so my insurance is OK".

Exposure is important. Some of these things can lie dormant and connect via IP when the system is idle. They know you are not looking then. ADSL encourages people to stay logged on 24 x 7 which is increasing exposure.

You are probably not exposing yourself enough.

Sorry, but no full frontal emoticon available YET

[redzonerocker]

You are probably not exposing yourself enough.

are you suggesting i lead a sheltered life ?

my laptop is on most of the day & i do more than a fair share of downloading & surfing including some of the less reputable sites.
i have had the symantec red alert page flash up a few times

i just feel safe with norton especially as a lot of my friends & family have had problems with spyware, virus's & trojans infecting their machines, most often when using these free programs