What anti-spyware anti-adware combos do you use nowadays?

[mubs]

Tannin, I don't have any anti-spyware TSRs. I do have SpywareBlaster installed, but AFAIK, it's not a TSR, it makes changes to your hosts files, etc. to prevent one from going to sites known to be bad.

The TSR I was talking about was for AV. Like the opinions expressed here, I too was confident that being an IT guy, I knew what I was doing. Somehow, I got infected, and was embarassed to hell when I emailed my resume to a headhunter and got an immediate furious call from him that I had sent him a virus. Imagine my chagrin when I installed an AV product and found the allegation to be true. I've been running a TSR AV since that day (circa 1998).

I still use Netscape 4.78 for email. I cannot see any preferences for HTML, other than Preferences --> Mail & Newsgroups --> Formatting, where there is an option to compose and send using HTML. I don't think this is the one you mentioned.

In Preferences --> Advanced, there are options to enable Java and Javascript, and I have both disabled.

About three months ago, a friend wanted to forward an email from his Yahoo email account to me at my ISP email account. Yahoo checks all incoming and outgoing mail for viruses. When I got the email, my AV screeched and automatically deleted it, saying it was infected. I need the AV TSR mainly to secure me from email viruses. Internet browsing, I'm with you 100%; I'm pretty confident I won't get infected.

My general attitude to security has been what Fushigi described so well immediately above. I do run Ad-Aware, Spybot, and the MS tool from time to time, and mostly am pretty clean. But like the Gipper said, Trust, but verify.

 

[Santilli]

One thing that has REALLY worked to stop virus, and worms, is scsi drives, an SCAbox now, with lots of ram. I have very little noise from my SCA drives during normal operation. If I start seeing unreasonable, unusual, green lights flashing, the spyware, and Trendmicro are run on this machine.

However, with email on a laptop, much of that, about 99.98% has been elimenated.

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions...

s

 

[Buck]

Mubs and Buck, I am not suggesting that Joe User relies on safe practices and not have an A/V program. Let's face it, on average, Joe User (or Joe User's kids) ain't too bright.

I was under the impression that you were talking about AV TSRs.

I am saying that anyone here is perfetly capable of staying safe without a TSR scanner. - and is, in fact, probably safer without one. Merc's method has a great deal to recommend it.

That's a given; accidents occassionally happen but I'm sure that we're all intelligent enough to keep our machines quite safe.

I do not use Giant/Microsoft. It's buggy and annoying (invasive, someone else said) in my opinion.

I haven't seen any of this bugginess. As far as being invasive, my initial reaction was identical (maybe you go that exact impression from me). However, after realizing that I should heed the recommendations of the software about what I delete, ignore or quanantine, everything works fine. As a matter of fact I make the software a default install on all XP systems I install or repair.

 

[Santilli]

Good thread. I like Mercutio's running from safe mode trick.


Why does Firefox avoid the tracking cookies that I do get a few of, in
Internet Explorer?

The only problem I have with manual cookie handling are websites that try and load graphics, like logos, etc. onto your machine, so you either have to click block all cookies, or sit there, one by one, and block each one.
I think the problem is, after blocking the 15 from the website, you may miss the one coming in that's a tracking cookie.

s

 

[Mercutio]

Tracking cookies aren't anything to be worried about.

 

[Groltz]

Merc,

Peerguardian2 or Protowall? Opinion?


BTW, what is your technique for a portable Firefox install with all the plugins and settings configured. etc.?

Like this? Save the following (example):

C:\Program Files\Firefox
+
C:\Documents and Settings\*USERNAME*\Application Data\Mozilla
+
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla (exported to .reg)

And add/merge them onto the new machine?

 

[Mercutio]

I've been using Portable Firefox, actually.

I can't say I've ever used Peerguardian or Protowall.

 

[Santilli]

I'm getting to the point where I remove the Internet Explorer Icons from the desktop, and the launch menus, and replace them with Firefox.

I will say Firefox is better then it's been, and so far, all of my favorite sites work fine with it, and, I've even been able to download the plug-ins, and programs I'vve neede. No small feat, sometimes...

s

 

[Tannin]

We do the same, Greg. (Not always from the start mennu - depends on customer.) Also, we set the home page to Housecall - that's the only site they should be using IE for and it serves as another small reminder.

 

[Howell]

One thing that has REALLY worked to stop virus, and worms, is scsi drives, an SCAbox now, with lots of ram.

I'll have to start suggesting that to my customers.

 

[Howell]

I've been using Portable Firefox, actually.

I'm just giddy about this find.

 

[LOST6200]

One thing that has REALLY worked to stop virus, and worms, is scsi drives, an SCAbox now, with lots of ram.

I'll have to start suggesting that to my customers.

ROTFLMAO! SCSI is the cure for everthing, eh?

 

[Santilli]

One thing that has REALLY worked to stop virus, and worms, is scsi drives, an SCAbox now, with lots of ram.

I'll have to start suggesting that to my customers.

ROTFLMAO! SCSI is the cure for everthing, eh?

Just a little tongue and cheek, but, with drives with visible, and audible, though not right now over the darn 600 watt, noisy power supply, activity lights, you can tell when stuff is running that shouldn't be.

In the prior config, with 68 pin drives, and 4 boot drives (Raid 0) I could hear when some worm, or virus was working, because, doing normal tasks, and with 2 gig of ram, no hard drive access should happen, other then page file, maybe.

Couple times I heard stuff going, ran trendmicro, and, I was right, worm, or virus. However, since moving email to another machine, no problems.

s