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Internet/Virus protection recommendations


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I have been using Norton now for more years than i care to remember, it has always done the job correctly with no issues on my p.c. In recent years i have used norton 360, however when i was reminded that my agreement needed renewing i was put in a position that left a taste in my mouth. My renewal for 3 p.c's would cost €79, ok on the face of it not terribly expensive for the protection it gives , but i can buy the same product from Amazon for €26, now thats a big difference.

 

They appear to have adopted the same tactics as insurance companies, rather than reward those that remain faithfull they penalise you

 

What antivirus/internet protection do other simmers here use? or recommend

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Malwarebytes for me, along with Microsoft Security Essentials. 

 

https://www.malwarebytes.org/

 

I use MSE but no anti-malware software. I have a dedicated FSX PC and don't use the Internet to download directly to that PC.  The only internet usage is for install validation and weather download through recognized dedicated software. 

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ESET NOD 32 for me, I never know it's there until it tells me there are nasty attachments to email etc.

It seems to update it's virus signature database about 3 times a day. Very happy with it.

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today online services block any virus from reaching your inbox

if something does; its rare and 9 out of 10 is a false detection

id say that door is secured; especially if you use Gmail

protection is so advance these days;

that ISP routers filter/block pests at the network packet level; they get nowhere

their signature is well known; even new mutations can be easily spot and discarded at the low networking level

next door is your browser

i use few add-ons to block scripts and other rubbish from entering my PC when im online

its been few years now that i don’t run any AV; and my current setup is almost bulletproof

i run the latest Firefox with the following addons

AdBlock Plus

FlashBlock

No Google Analytics

Redirect Cleaner

ScriptBlock (highly recommended; but it annoyed me too much; I don’t run it anymore, its disabled)

i get blazing fast secured surfing with no ads(not on pages or during video clips)or delays

the down side is; video's doesn’t start playing automatically; you need to press play yourself,

i dont download torrents or any files from unknown publishers

this is enough to keep my pc clean and lets my sim run hassle free

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Interesting results guys thanks

Thanks Chris for your thoughts as well , I have always used adblock plus and turned off google analytics, however it is like driving a car without your belt done up, I feel a bit naked without some sort of protection.

I have been using norton 360 for some years but never took advantage of its backup facility as i back all my stuff up manually . I am loathe to put myself into the hands of M.S. and free AV as they get such a bad press, (whilst I accept that they do the biz for John)  I have in the past , on more than one occasion,been notified that Norton has blocked an attempt to enter my p.c. by the likes of the university of Tehran so a good firewall is a prerequisite

I use AVG on another of my p.c's here without any problems

However this ESET looks like it might just be the ticket

Thanks

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i hope we didn’t get you all confused there Nigel

i have to add that I’m not an average end user;
my approach is not traditional or recommended for novice users
i forgot to mention that i disable few services along the above settings
(server service, NetBIOS and other resource sharing services),
thus effectively disabling the elements these pests can exploit (locally)

NOD32 is what Norton used to be many many years ago
i trusted Norton since they started with their excellent AV in their early days (early 90's to early 2000)
afterwards for some reason they felt the bigger the application is the more value it conveys
they started adding on the their base; to the point the installer went from few tens of mb to over a gigabyte
adding firewall and other online detection prevention elements
along the way lost their focus from AV application that works without bogging you down
which is exactly what ESET delivers today

the other solutions our members are using are not far behind with their efficiency
there isn’t much competition these days; everyone knows all the secrets
developer’s moved from one company to the other

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I agree with Chris and Joe.

 

Been using Eset's Nod32 since approx 2000. Never had an infection but lots of warnings (Nod32) over the years. The internet is getting smarter. I don't see warnings anymore. Or maybe my browsing habits are improving?

 

I'm interested, though, in the AdBlock software. Ads are driving me into the poorhouse (bandwidth-wise). It seems you can't inspect any sites anymore without ads spoiling the experience. It's the streaming ads that start up without any input from me that are the worst. I have to pay big $ for my internet hookup at my floating home as I do not have a fixed address where I can purchase less expensive alternatives. I'm having to pay about $80/month for 5GB. At that price I'm somewhat less than thrilled to see streaming ads.

 

@Chris - I'm assuming AdBlock Plus and Flashblock, from your list, are the two I should be looking into. Already opted out of any Google stuff.

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Thanks Joe,

 

Been using Google Chrome (and GMail) for as long as it (they) has been around. I just don't subscribe to the Google internet stuff - don't ask because I don't pay any attention to the stuff, but every once in a while it asks me to (upgrade?) my Google account. I just close the window.

 

I managed to download and install the two Chrome plugins - AdBlocker and Flashblock. Got a little stopsign and a red ball on my address bar. Looks as though it's working a treat as the little stopsign has the number "3" beside it and I've only been online for a few hours (another "don't ask", suffice to say that it has taken me about eight hours to activate an AT&T sim card).

 

I'm in Anacortes Washington at the moment, heading down into Puget Sound for my annual American Beer taste testing trip.

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@Chris - I'm assuming AdBlock Plus and Flashblock, from your list, are the two I should be looking into. Already opted out of any Google stuff.

 

 

Most definitely John

Adblock alone will stop all ads, including the annoying ones that show up in the middle of a clip

since they can run ads  or clips in flash window; FlashBlock does the same thing with flash

there will be no animated clips on pages as you load them

the only down side is (and you can overwrite this in settings)

you can allow some site to run flash without your explicit permission (like YouTube)

all other will have a small play button; you can run the animation if you click it

 

The additional google filters are unrelated to opting out their privacy tracking

If you hover over any google search result link;

you will  notice that even regular results now have a redirecting URL

you don’t get to go directly to your search result when you hit it off the google page

you are first redirected to google proxy; after you hit that cache server

only then you are redirected to the original page

those google addons/filters prevents google from taking my search result session on their fun $$$ ride

my general page responce time and surfing speeds; significetly increased on top of the other tweaks

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Joe,

i respectfully disagree; putting Chrome on your pc is just wrong

it basically defeats the purpose of these privacy setting

after all, google is the one after statistics and habit forming

they are the ones behind all this internet crap

facilitating chrome gives them carte blanche

all it really is; a highly customize Mozilla build the google team build to fit their needs; and named it Chrome

many people out there build their own custom Mozilla browser interface

google the terms - Mozilla Nightly or Trunk Builds; you will see for yourself

this is why many Firefox addons work seamlessly with Chrome

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So - what is the (safest?) best browser to use?

 

I switched to Chrome when there was so much fuss about the safety of browsing with IE. That was a few years ago. Is IE a good way to go these days (or Firefox or Opera or whatever)?

 

My wife has had problems with the airline booking sites (mostly in S.America) forcing her to use IE because Chrome would not read the sites properly. 

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i would go Firefox. That's what i use, along with Avira (free edition). For me the main threat are the USB sticks, as i receive often pictures for retouching on flash sticks. 8 out of 10 has some kind of autostart malware on, but they always got busted by Avira.

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John, hands down Firefox!

the issues you described there are a thing of the past

Firefox is established today as an industry standard

once you have it on, go to the address bar and put

about:config

than hit enter (and thats only the tip of it)

you will see why it's hands down the best browser

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:stars:  about:config !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yikes! Good thing it comes with a warning not to play in there. I've no idea where to start. The defaults will more than likely keep this luddite happy for a long time.

 

Ok, I got Firefox and installed it (with AdBlocker). Couldn't find a reference to Flashblock for Firefox, but I'll work on it. So far, so good. Nice and fast.

 

Many thanks Chris and Eddie.

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with pleasure John

You have nothing you need to setup in about:config

The point was just to show you the main door

And Yes, you have full control

these are all the plugin's i run with my firefox

AdBlock Plus

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/?src=ss

Flash Block

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/flashblock/?src=ss

NO Google Analytics

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/no-google-analytics/?src=ss

Redirect Cleaner

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/redirect-cleaner/?src=ss

other addon I run (mainly for comfort and ease of use)

FireFox Tweak

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firefox-tweak/?src=ss

FlashGot (has nothing to do with flash; pass my DL to external download manager)

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/flashgot/?src=ss

Saved Password Editor

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/saved-password-editor/?src=ss

in the event you come across a pesky site

that insist on detecting you’re using AdBlock for blocking their ads (and you will)

you can simply add the site to AdBlock white list

or only allow the current page to be unblocked for the session

you can hide existing frames you don’t want do see or load (per page basis) for sites you frequently visit

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