Computer/Software Friendly Anti-Virus/Spyware Programs?

[Keith Loh]

Unlikely. Could be a hard drive error.

What you need to do is boot up with the Windows XP installer disc in your CD and use it to repair.

[Dan Euritt]

what i use is the avg virus scanner and sygate personal firewall, both of which are free.

barry, your "corrupted windows file" would probably have been an easy fix, if you had backed up your windows systems files... typically that gets done with a fresh install of windows, after you have installed all of your computing applications as well... that is also a good time to make up a bootable cd disk, customized to whatever is installed on your pc.

windows can back those system files up if you know how, but you can do it easier with spybot, which also does a decent job of cleaning out most of the spyware on your pc... it won't get the most sophisticated spyware and viruses, but neither will anything else... a combo of spyware apps is usually what's required to clean up a computer, along with booting the pc up in safe mode... i ended up having to isolate some polymorphic items with killbox, which deletes 'em when you first boot up.

less than 3% of the computers on the 'net are macs, which is why nobody bothers writing viruses for 'em... there's simply no r.o.i. in it.

[Jean-Francois Robichaud]

My editing PC is also used for video editing and, occasionally, (gasp!) gaming.

I used to turn off my antivirus software and firewall while editing, but I don't bother anymore. It just doesn't seem to make any difference, even when capturing video. Nowadays, I actually browse the web and even watch videos from DVinfo members while Premiere is batch-capturing DV, and I never got a dropped frame. I use 2.4GHz PC with 2GB RAM. So unless you PC is much older, I don't think it's an issue. The only time I'll turn everything off is when I do long renders in AE.

[Keith Loh]

Speak of the devil.

16 February 2006
World's first OS X virus hits Apple

http://www.techworld.com/security/ne...fm?NewsID=5392

By John E. Dunn, Techworld

Apple’s Mac OS X software has been hit by a mischievous instant messaging virus – the first ever to target the platform.

The virus, dubbed Leap-A by anti-virus company Sophos, is said to spread using Apple’s iChat IM service, forwarding itself as a file called “latestpics.tgz” to an infected user’s buddy contacts.

Clicking on the file allows the malware to install and disguise itself as a harmless-seeming Jpeg icon.

Leap-A is believed to have originally been posted on a website for Apple users, posing as a software update. Although the virus is benign, and is not believed to be spreading in large numbers, it still marks a minor landmark for a platform that has come to be seen in some quarters as immune to such mundane security issues.

“It’s probably been written for publicity or as a proof-of-concept,” said Graham Cluley of Sophos. "Some owners of Mac computers have held the belief that Mac OS X is incapable of harbouring computer viruses, but Leap-A will leave them shell-shocked, as it shows that the malware threat on Mac OS X is real," he said.
..

[Vic Owen]

Hmmmm......no wonder I don't do the IM thing!

That should knock us smug MAC-types down a few pegs....!

Macfixit has a pretty good write-up on this as well as how to avoid it.

http://www.macfixit.com/

[Keith Loh]

Actually, it is called rm-my-mac (if you are not a unix guy, look up "rm -r").

Winner mocks OS X hacking contest
Gaining root access to a Mac is "easy pickings," according to an individual who won an OS X hacking challenge last month by gaining root control of a machine using an unpublished security vulnerability.

... The hacker who won the challenge, who asked ZDNet Australia to identify him only as "Gwerdna," said he gained root control of the Mac in less than 30 minutes.

From Zdnet: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6046197.html

[Christopher Lefchik]

Lot's of good advice in this thread, the best of which is to avoid putting your editing computer on the Internet to begin with. Or you can do as I have done, which is partition the hard drive and dual boot. One Windows install is for editing, with the minimal apps necessary for that task, and no anti-malware apps to glut things up. The other Windows install is for office/e-mail, and is protected by the necessary anti-malware programs.

Originally Posted by Keith Loh

When I surf I use both IE and Firefox because I develop websites and need to see it on both browsers. Plus I find sometimes Firefox is a bit slow for certain things. Anyway, for the paranoid I recommend Firefox.

I personally recommend Netscape 8. It's based on Firefox, but one can switch to the IE engine inside of it if need be for a Web site without having to launch IE separate. Plus, it automatically adjusts security settings according to constantly updated blacklists/whitelists, and now with the new 8.1 release it scans downloads for spyware.

The net installer for Netscape offers to install third-party extras you likely don’t want. They are easy to skip, but I’ll give you a direct link to the full installer that won’t bother you with them in the first place. Get it here: ftp://ftp.netscape.com/pub/netscape8...nstall-8-1.exe

Originally Posted by Keith Loh

Finally, you definitely need some form of antivirus but I hesitate to endorse programs that run ALL the time and scan your drive constantly.

I don't. I wouldn't set foot on the Internet without antivirus running. It is too easy to get hit with a virus, especially with the new ones coming out so fast and thick now.

Originally Posted by Keith Loh

For that reason I've avoided using Norton since forever ( I heard they were getting out of home net security too).

I seriously doubt it, as I believe NAV is the top selling home antivirus program right now. In fact, Symantic is right now readying their own subscription based security service to take on Microsoft's Windows OneCare.

Originally Posted by Keith Loh

Instead I use a free antivirus program called AVG. I have it do a daily search every morning. I am on the west coast so by the time I go for work the viruses have already been out so AVG will have already updated its virus definitions. Do a search on that.

Until very recently I believed AVG was a decent free antivirus app, until I saw the results of the most recent PC World antivirus tests. According to the tests, AVG was dead last. Of the free antivirus programs, AntiVir was the best. Still, the free programs had rather disappointing performance compared with the best commercial products.

ZoneAlarm Antivirus was PC World's world-class winner in antivirus apps last year. However, PC World claimed it would take too long to evaluate it's behavior based detection for this test (it uses traditional signature based detection along with behavior based detection Zone Labs' has dubbed the "OSFirewall").

Antivirus is not a place to skimp. In fact, with all the baddies out there now antivirus alone is not enough anymore. One now needs antivirus, firewall, and antispyware software. The best and easiest solution an integrated security suite. Currently, the two best ones are probably the McAfee Internet Security Suite 2006, and ZoneAlarm Security Suite 6.0. The Norton Internet Security suite is good, too, except it has a tendency to bog the computer down.

[Keith Loh]

I didn't know about the AVG low ratings, Christopher. I'll be sure to check out some of the other programs recommended in your post.

[Spike Spiegel]

anyone here try nod32? if you run hardcore apps and can't afford system resources for antivirus programs, try out Nod32. takes up minimal system resources, performs way better than any other antivirus program and is very minimal. If you don't like minimalistic, non-userfriendly programs, then its not for you. Its a bit weird to understand, but boy does it work well. I highly highly recomend it. Set Nod32 on your rig and forget about viruses/trojans/spywares, etc

[George Ellis]

I will add to the pile. The recently announce Mac virus is the first OS X virus. There have been others, but they just don't get spread far and wide because of the population. There have been many vulnerabilities that are not viruses, just a way to attack or take control of part of the system, including inject spyware. I don't know of a current running OS that could not be compromised while network attached and poorly administered.

So, if you have a DSL or cable modem, get a hardware firewall between you and it. They can be purchased for less than $50usd. That will stop a majority of the network attacks. If you use a browser, e-mail, or instant messenger on the set, add a A-V/Anti-spyware package. The system drag is minimal. A local firewall on your computer should also be considered if you have wireless networking on your network or allow other folks to attach to your network (worms are usually stopped by a firewall, but if an infected computer can get behind it, it cannot stop it. - yes, I said usually - I know of proof of concept stuff that is designed to penetrate firewalls, but it is not targeted at home users, just poor corporate implementations of non-patched components by the hacker elite.)

Edit - just found this in my tech haunt today Mac OS X hack challenge - 30 minutes

[Christopher Lefchik]

Originally Posted by George Ellis

A local firewall on your computer should also be considered if you have wireless networking on your network or allow other folks to attach to your network

I also highly recommend a hardware firewall. But I also believe a software firewall is a very good idea as well, and not just if you are on a wireless network. The reason being a hardware firewall only filters incoming traffic. A good software firewall also filters outgoing traffic, essential for blocking Trojan horses and other malware that phones home from your computer.

[Daniel Manasia]

I have a Linksys router for my VoiP phone. Does this mean I don't need a firewall, or anti-virus software?? Could the person who implied that please explain. Also, should all antivirus and/or firewall software be disabled before capturing video?? Thanks...

[Christopher Lefchik]

[QUOTE=Daniel Manasia] I have a Linksys router for my VoiP phone. Does this mean I don't need a firewall, or anti-virus software?? Could the person who implied that please explain.
Both Linksys VoIP routers have SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) firewalls, so you don't absolutely have to have a software firewall. However, as I mentioned earlier, I still recommend a good software firewall, as it would monitor outgoing connections from your computer.

Also, a firewall, whether hardware based (as in your router) or software based, is no substitute for antivirus software. You need both. Nowadays you also need antispware software (though it sounds like McAfee antivirus does a decent job of detecting spyware).

Originally Posted by Daniel Manasia

Also, should all antivirus and/or firewall software be disabled before capturing video?? Thanks...

It's generally a good idea to do so, at least the antivirus. However, if you are not behind a hardware firewall, DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR SOFTWARE FIREWALL! I can't stress this enough. There are worms that are constantly scanning the Internet, looking to connect to and infect unprotected computers. I believe I read that successful infections of unprotected computers connected to the Internet is now under one minute. Disabling antivirus for the short time you're capturing is fine, as long as you are behind a firewall or disconnected from the Internet. Oh, yes, and as long as your e-mail program isn't checking for new e-mail.

[Christopher Lefchik]

By the way, I just wanted to let you all know about a couple great deals going on now for the ZoneAlarm Security Suite and McAfee Internet Security Suite. Microcenter has a special right now where you can get the ZoneAlarm Security Suite for $10 after rebates (normally it sells for $50-60). See it here: http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0226948. NOTE: One of the rebates requires a previous version of any McAfee or Norton program.

As for the McAfee security suite, Buy.com is currently running a special where you can get it for free after rebates (normally it sells for $60). See it here: http://www.buy.com/prod//q/loc/1871/201904185.html. NOTE: As with the ZoneAlarm suite, one of the rebates requires a previous version of any McAfee or Norton program.