virus NIGHTMARE!!!!!!

[kityuser]

was asked to do a "JUST" job a couple of nights ago.

"can you JUST have a quick look at my computer for me, it seems to do strange things every now-and-again.............."

well........ one XP home installation + broadband and 79 virus later............


yes, you read correctly 79!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tried for 6 hours to rescue the windows installation but sadly it was completely smashed.

so a fresh install of windows, + norton internet security was the order of the day.

Broadband + windows WITHOUT a firewall...... just plain funny :?

I`m so glad I run SUSE(linux) with a dial up! and only touch windows when I HAVE TO.


steve
running XP *shudder* from a PCI card in his SUN station at work, however browsing the web from Firefox on the SUN

 

[wizer]

I didn't ever run virus protection. being 'techy' thought i was sensible enough never to be infected. Doh! about 2yrs ago I lost about 300GB of data AND 2 HDDs from a very nasty virus.

Mcaffee all the way now. Updated Daily.

 

[Anonymous]

Steve

I understand your shock and horror and sympathize mate. In my experience and opinion, XP virus problems and hacks etc. are all down to ill informed use. Linux and Unix are also attacked, it is just that less people use them and so less attacks are targetted at them

With a decent (second party) firewall and antivirus software and some common sense when opening email attachments etc., XP is fine and virus free - with Norton on the one you fixed, hopefully you won't be asked to 'look' at it again [-o<

I run 7 of my own on broadband (currently 2Meg/sec) and my lab has 24 on T1 - none have had viruses for years.

 

[Adam]

Been there, sorted a mates computer out - took three evenings to get everything sorted, virus protection - had to change the version they had which was only a 30-day trial and hadn't uploaded an update since the 30 day period ran out - installed for them by a so called "IT Admin".

Not only that but it didn't pick up the virus they had - I had to switch them to McAfee temporarily - god knows how many windows patches they were missing - I ended up created a broadband account on it so I could tie it in through my NTL just to get a decent download speed.

It was so old they were going to replace it, but now I've got it running "perfect" they are soldiering on with it.

As far as XP, it needs a good firewall, a good virus checker, broadband so it can upload all the updates fast, all autoconfigured to check for updates at login and I reckon you'll be fine.

Adam

He did get me 6 bottles of wine to say thankyou! Which is nice, as people don't seem to realise how much effort stuff like that takes! ccasion5: \/

 

[Steve Maskery]

He did get me 6 bottles of wine to say thankyou! Which is nice, as people don't seem to realise how much effort stuff like that takes! ccasion5: \/

I once did a mate a favour by making a pair of French Doors to go from his lounge to his new extension. The opening wasn't square or vertical, and perhaps the doors (plain rectangular frames for glazing) were not brilliantly made (this was 20 years ago, before I had a proper workshop) but when it was allin and painted it looked fine.

I spent 2 weekends and a week of evenings on the project. He paid for the materials.

He and his wife also gave me a little something to say thank-you.
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
A quarter-pound of Thornton's toffee.

I rarely see them now.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Charley]

Everytime I go to my cousins house I end up clearing out all the trojans,spyware and viruses. Even though I've installed a firewall, virus and spyware software the next time I go it's just as bad ](*,)

You still need to do a lot of things to secure Linux and a firewall is just one of the steps. I get hundreds of hack attempts on my linux servers every day.

 

[dedee]

Just out of curiosity. Has anyone ever heard of a virus attack, of any sort, affecting an Apple Mac?

A colleague here was assured by his local Apple agent that money spent on protecting his Apple was wasted as there had been no recorded instances of virus attacks on Apple Macs.



Andy

 

[Adam]

[He and his wife also gave me a little something to say thank-you. >>>>>>>>A quarter-pound of Thornton's toffee.

I rarely see them now. Cheers Steve

Interesting. I might start another thread on stuff like this.

Adam

 

[Chris Knight]

Steve,

I hoped you savoured that toffee - it was obviously a special vintage!

I have had the reverse experience a couple of times. I made a couple of small things for friends (just presents) who then overwhelmed me with so much generosity that I felt as though I had in some way ripped them off.

 

[kityuser]

arrr yes the linux security issue.

hopefully |`ve managed to tie up all of the loose ends 8)



people "not in the know" really don`t think there much to all this "computer lark".

Problem is that the peoples whoes computer I fixed has 3 lads who seem hell bent on frequenting peer-to-peer networks to collect mp3s and vids :roll:

I tried to talk them round, but I get the feeling that in a few weeks time I`m going to get another call

still, they have several guitars, so I was`nt completely bored while watching windows install and downloading SP2 :twisted:

*chuckle*

steve

 

[Anonymous]

Just out of curiosity. Has anyone ever heard of a virus attack, of any sort, affecting an Apple Mac?

A colleague here was assured by his local Apple agent that money spent on protecting his Apple was wasted as there had been no recorded instances of virus attacks on Apple Macs.

Andy

Yes Yes Yes Yes!!!!

I read about this very recently in an industry newsletter.

Proportionaly, Macs are no more secure than a PC. However, you will not get as many attacks on a purely numerical basis on a Mac as there are simply LESS Macs around and so most viruses are written to attack Windows platforms. Proportionaly, they have the same number of attacks/viruses.

The Mac agent was talking 'sales talk' or to use a more technical term 'utter garbage'

 

[dedee]

Tony,
I have passed on your comments. As for the salesman, it strikes me as odd that they would do their best not to make a sale!

Andy

 

[kityuser]

scary to think that some embedded stuff runs versions of windows.


imagine your car getting a virus :?

anything with windows CE on it I stary far away from

steve

 

[RogerS]

I agree with Tony but....up to a point. The actual fundamental design of the operating system (Unix) was designed from the ground up with security in mind.

All the services that Microsoft have running as a matter of course....just so that all their bells and whistles work...they are not switched on by default in the Mac (talking OSX). That blocks potential security holes.

The OS has been pored over for years and years and so security holes are to a lesser or greater extent plugged...although security updates do come out from time to time. A couple of times a year. Microsoft - well into double or is it triple figures now? I lost count ages ago.

Yes...the vast majority of hackers target Microsoft...partly because there are so many PCs and also partly because of the rubbish coding that Microsoft carried out....that could have been prevented had they the whit to have any sort of quality assurance/concern over security...such as buffer overruns..IMHO...a favourite exploit area for potential hackers. Buffer overruns can be avoided if the stuff is actually coded properly in the first place.

Yes - theoretically a Mac could get a virus...as could a Linux box...as could SUN....but the risk to the average user of this happening is microscopically minute...provided that they practice safe computing and don't download any dodgy programs.

I don't bother with anti-virus programs or anti-spyware programs on any of my Macs. My PCs have them loaded up to the hilt.

 

[dedee]

Roger, interesting comments thanks

Prompted by Tony's comments on the other thread I dug around on the net and found this quote attributed to Sophos PLC

"68 viruses have affected the Mac while 97,467 have affected Windows. Of those 68, most are a decade old or older and don’t directly affect OS X". Article date 4th/Apr/2005.
The article from digitmag.co.uk went on to point out the possible security issues with the Mac but still left me with the impressions that the likelihood of an attack on a Mac was a lot less than on a PC.

Although working for a large multinational computer company I have very little technical experience. I will have to buy a PC for home use later this year and the perceived reliability & security of the Apple is leaning me in their direction. Is this an illusion?

The IMac with everything built into the monitor approach is certainly a space saver (critical in our house at the moment).

Any IMac users wish to comment on the pros and cons vs the PC?

Andy

 

[kityuser]

software is stupidly expensive for a mac

just go and look at how much an office suite costs.


however you can get a "virtual pc" program for a mac that I have heard is very good.

so you could install XP on a disk partition and enjoy the best of both worlds...

worth thinking about.

however the lack of software available would worry me with a mac, ok not availablilty, more accessibility.

given an infinite budget I`d go for a powerPC mac, however on a bugdet I`d got for a x86 and buy some good security.

a better solution is linux..... but I`ll not start on about that.....


steve

 

[dedee]

Steve,
I would like to think that all I would need software wise is email, internet browser, simple spreadsheet for home accounting, word processing and picture editing - all of which come as standard with a Mac - I expect?

It is impossible, of course, to know what I would want or need tomorrow....If I ever find more time for woodwork than perhaps a design package of some sort but I would guess they are availlable for the Mac too.
As the children grow up they will probably need Windows compatability for school work etc but that is a few years away yet.

Andy

 

[kityuser]

also worth thinking about upgrade-ability

you can`t been an x86 system for cheapness (because everyone uses one).


The old saying of "you get what you pay for is very true still", buy the best you can afford would be my advice.


macs are very professional bits of kit IMO
however they are EXPENSIVE to upgrade.

worth thinking about printer/scanner compatibility as well.


steve

 

[RogerS]

Andy


Very simple question....Do you want to play games on your computer? If the answer is Yes and often...then sadly buy a PC.

If the answer is no or very occasionally and actually I'd far rather use my computer for something useful, thank you very much....then rejoice and buy an iMac or even consider a Mac Mini (but make sure that it's got RAM expanded when you buy it.)

If you want any advice re Macs then feel free to PM me.

I've had an iMac...amongst many others. Very quiet....unlike the PC and also some Apple desktop Macs like my dual processor G4.

And don't forget the totally integrated suite of software that you automatically get with the Mac...all fully integrated with each other...a point often overlooked IMHO.

Oh yes...MacDraft is a pretty good CAD package for the mac so you can do your drawings with that

:wink:

 

[RogerS]

Macs expensive? Once upon a time.

Mac Mini £325.

Who needs Office? How many people actually use more than 2% of the bloatware?

Macs come with an extensive and versatile suite of software. You can switch them on and go...without worrying about the next virus/security update/whatever.