Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Norton says…A recent attack on your computer was blocked…
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March 21, 2011 at 5:09 am #720730
KenParticipantI don’t have time for a long essay which will answer your question IW, but the short answer is no.
The most vicious malware uses social engineering to get you (or you grandma or your 13 year old) to click on either something they don’t read or something that sounds innocent or mildly confusing. It then installs a dropper and opens up avenues for other nasties to enter. This will bypass firewalls, routers, AV programs (both commercial and free with equal ease)
Turn off applications in facebook, scan with malwarebytes antimalware and super-antispyware regularly and be prepared to reload your computer OS from disk or recover partition and back up any music, pics, docs and PST files you don’t want to lose.
The big AV comnpanies, and os makers are losing the battle (to be fair, MS created the petri dish long before it started trying to fix it)and it is every computer user for himself these days.
I see infected machines with every AV version out there, updated and running. The commercial versions have no edge over the free except that they automatically update and run on schedule, which many users defeat by setting the run time to when the system is usually turned off.
Adobe has not released a version of reader or flash that was not immediately discovered to be vulnerable since 1997. adobe X has some interesting “sandbox” features but it is new.
BTW adobe reader 9 will not automatically (or through the “check for updates” menu) to adobe x.
http://download.cnet.com/Adobe-Reader-X/3000-10743_4-10000062.html
March 21, 2011 at 8:28 am #720731
chrismaParticipantthanks for weighing in, Ken. I learned a few things from what you wrote here.
March 21, 2011 at 3:32 pm #720732
I WonderMemberKen, thanks also for weighing in, and those pieces of advice are good common sense. A lot of people try to be good users (as I try too) but somewhere we get tripped up. I hope the Facebook’s out there also do a better job of securing their sites.
On a seperate note with regards to backups, do you find the Windows provided backup software sufficient when you want to reinstall the OS, or would you suggest another software tool? (We have the WD external drives and sw too.) Besides files, I have some older software applications I would hate to lose as I am not sure I still have the license authorizations floating around (MS programs we were given at college). I’d like to keep these somehow but not at the risk of OS performance, if possible.
thanks in advance, and for your other many helpful hints you post on WSB.
March 21, 2011 at 4:12 pm #720733
dhgParticipant1. You can’t have too many backups.
2. Having a backup file does not really mean it is fully readable and restorable.
3. Windows built in backup is not reliable and it depends on you first installing your OS, then restoring from backup.
Programs like Acronis Home and Farstone’s Total Recovery Pro will let you crate a bootable cd that can find the USB backup and restore to the C: drive.
But if the purpose of wiping your machine is to get rid of the virus then you don’t want that kind of backup.
If you restore the OS back to factory, you will have to re-install your programs. The backup will contain the programs but they won’t run without also restoring the system registry, which means you are also restoring the virus.
Despite what others may say, I have had very good success with replacing free a/v software with a 30 trial of Kaspersky and letting it run for a few days. Some bugs take awhile and sometimes those root kits are in deep but Kaspersky has come through for me.
Regarding routers: The cheap home routers do not filter out viruses and malware. There are routers that will do this. The most affordable that I know of is the Sonicwall Total Security, which for $500 comes with a 1 year subscription. It does a pretty good job but it makes more sense for a business than a home pc.
March 21, 2011 at 5:22 pm #720734
KenParticipantThere are free firewall solutions but they are not for everyone.
If you use unix/linux on a regular basis, converting your router to use DDWRT firmware on several models, will give you a full scale linux environment and a pre built SPI (statefull packet inspection) firewall… Which STILL will not protect you from what the firewall interprets as a user request for a file from a web page.
“DD-WRT has a packet filtering firewall, statefull firewall, NAT and proxy functionality.”
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Firewall
I use iptables and scripts to drop all packets from 110 countries. This keeps my mail server from falling over in times of intense spam activity and blocks response from non US based command and control servers in case a (10 year old) user on my network clicks on an ad or a popup for a game cheat code.
An expanded essay with links, of free windows firewall programs and what they will and won’t do.
March 23, 2011 at 12:27 pm #720735
ToddinWestwoodMemberI think it got me. It wont let my McAfee av run at all, saying it’s off line. Wont let me downlaod or even visit anti virus websites in Firefox or I.Ex. plus it keeps wanting to change my prefered browser to I.Ex. plus it has locked my system restore so I cannot use it.
Tried in safe mode too. Sad computer:(
March 23, 2011 at 2:25 pm #720736
KenParticipantYou have a serious one I suspect. If you cannot afford a commercial repair shop, I can either fix it for you or talk you through the basics. But you should backup all the docs, music and pic you have on it.
Even if you take it to a shop, you should have your own backup of important files and mail (unless you use an online mail provider)and setting/bookmarks for your preferred browser.
If you don’t have a backup drive or can’t afford one, I can loan you one or give you one depending on how big a drive you need and what’s currently in the “known good” pile.
call my google voice number : 8010fix or 206 801-0349
It rings all my phones so there might be some clicks and hesitation when I answer.
March 23, 2011 at 2:33 pm #720737
KenParticipantAlso: I am once again working on an essay on backup strategies in the current era. I have to do research and test a few things before I finish it. I could write a damn book on the history of backup methods and strategies (many of which were M$ smoke and mirrors)and their enormous cost, unreliability and usability.
The current era is still complex to figure out the best option to choose but there are several actual reliable and inexpensive options.
Just keeping a copy of your pics, music and docs on an external drive is a cheap, manual and reliable strategy for most users. It will not recover your system for you but it makes the reload from scratch or the replace computer with new much more painless.
March 23, 2011 at 6:21 pm #720738
ToddinWestwoodMemberThanks Ken. I was going to buy a back up drive anyway, as I plan on digitizing a bunch of record lps again. I was also told i could use a disc to load some brand of a.v. program. I’ll try that first.
thanks again for the offer,
Toddinwestwood
March 23, 2011 at 7:01 pm #720739
KenParticipant -
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