AVG Free Antivirus Software Anyone Else Using This?

Thank you skunkd0c,

I triple check everything before I download it, and do not hang out at porn sites. Seems, you are right, that if you pay attention, you should be safe. I guess I worry more about keystroke and other malware sent through docs, pdfs, etc. There are many thing I have to open from people that I f'in hate, but I have to open their docs. I open Malwarebytes about once week, update, and scan. Seems I should be fairly safe. Thank you, again.

Can someone explain to me why I would need pgp for any reason on TOR, other than emailing people? I run Spotflix, then open TOR. Does that sound ok, or am I doing it wrong? I want to be able to surf and go to onion sites, without anyone being able to track, especially my ISP.

when you send data over TOR it is encrypted, however the exit node, the last computer that the information is sent through will be able to
see all information, it is a smallish risk ,
anyone can basically become part of the Tor network, so it is possible that some unscrupulous folk could have access to unencrypted exit nodes, when you use something like PGP you are adding an extra layer of encryption
so that even the TOR exit node will not see what has been sent, only the recipient who can decrypt the PGP messages will be able to see the information
folk that are extra paranoid tend to do this sort of thing if they are sending out their home address etc

if you have to open files, then you are always at greater risk, since that is the easy way to get malware onto the computer
websites that are able to install malware without any user intervention (driveby attacks) are quite rare since internet explorer is much better than it was, activex was exploited so much in the past
chrome and firefox have also helped a fair bit

i think you would benefit from using a virtual machine, although it will take a little bit of reading up on if you haven't used one before
you can use the virtual machine to open anything you do not fully trust and keep it separate from any personal data you have on your real machine
the virtual machine will run a separate copy of windows as if it was a program, something like how an emulator mimics a games console on the pc

microsoft virtual pc runs well on windows 7 and below and is free
virtualbox is also free

another alternative is to download and burn a linux cd/dvd like ubuntu or linuxmint
this will load linux from disk, it will run from disk and not touch the hard drive at all
you can open pdf files and emails within the linux environment, any malware that they could contain would be separate from your windows installation

peace

What about the Spotflux VPN before TOR? Do you think I am doing enough to hide my online browsing from my ISP/snoops?

ClaytonBigsby said:

I do not hang out at porn sites.

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What the hell do you have a computer for then?

skunkd0c said:

antivirus software is aimed at folk who do not understand or want to understand how malware works they want a one click solution
so they get products that are next to useless
real time protection is a myth in principle , and in practice its a complete joke
most of these antivirus products cant even remove simple user mode browser hijackers that have been floating around for years

throw some kernel mode malware at them and these products are completely blinded and again useless
these programs do not protect themselves the kernel mode and user mode hooks they install to intercept system api calls, can be unhooked with simplicity

its a shame so many people feel they need to use this type of software, if anything it gives a false sense of security
which is a bad thing imho

good luck

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This is great advice IMO.

The only thing I would add is to have a system in place so that you can reformat at anytime.

I never use antivirus, as sometimes they are viruses and wanted software themselves. I merely keep my computer ready to be reformatted/wiped to a image with only the essentials installed (a baseline). By practicality, it is nearly impossible to escape the grasp of harmful sites 100% of the time (just use project-free-tv once and boom), so it is beneficial to comprehend that fact and be ready if shit does happen. And even if shit doesn't happen, it is beneficial to be able to quickly have your computer back to your custom OEM.

Lastly, another measure I take that most don't, is to run your computer as a standard account, and not an administrator account. Never use the admin except for to install software you cannot install to a standard account. This seems to seclude harm to a single user, instead of the entire drive or partition.

ClaytonBigsby said:

What about the Spotflux VPN before TOR? Do you think I am doing enough to hide my online browsing from my ISP/snoops?

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yep you are doing well , the authorities would not be able to justify the resources necessary unless you are some major criminal
to find you, using a vpn + tor would be overkill imo

peace

So, I updated my TOR, and now I cannot use it. I get this message: Firefox is configured to use a proxy server that is refusing connections. I have researched for a couple of hours and cannot figure out how to fix this. Anyone? As always, PLEASE, AND THANK YOU!

I used tread micro & malwarebytes.
I cant argue that its the best because im not an IT guy but I am very happy with tread micro. Instead of being all up in you computer slowing it down, it puts up a really strong wall to internet where almost all the virus come from. It runs in the background and is not power consuming at all.

I made the switch a while back when Norton and McAfee just pissed me off.

McAfee wont even let you download another antivirus because it's an attention whore.

Microsoft security essentials... from Microsoft.com

Also.... I use malwarebytes for the lulz. Freeware rocks. Google chrome ftw.

All I use are Spybot, MalwareBytes and Avast. None of em suck up a lot of CPU and they're all free.

DoctorGregHouse said:

All I use are Spybot, MalwareBytes and Avast. None of em suck up a lot of CPU and they're all free.

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This is all i use and all i would recommend for anyone with out a decent CPU. Layering security is the only way you are going to attempt to block malware. If all you are using is an Anti-Virus, odds are you mite be infected. Even if you have all the latest and greatest shit you can be infected. So its best to change user habits, that's the best anti-virus. Don't download shady software..etc