Re: Authentium AV and Security Suite

Hi Dale,

While I agree in principal with your comments relative to the
lack of out-bound control, I have a somewhat different take on
the implications. You indicated "most viruses and malware
are installed on PCs by direct action of the user" whereas to
me your use of "the user" is perhaps partly wrong. In fact it is
due to "the user running with admin" or as limited user but on
an unpatched or zero-day exposed system. In either case it is
because the malware is able to get admin or system context
that allows it to install so that is goes unexposed/unnoticed.
In that case, the malware does not have a problem with an
out-bound firewall restriction either. So again, we are back
to the case where there is a false sense of protection when
in fact there is none.

Roger

"Dale" <dale0973@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:034EE322-AE6C-4A60-A3E7-2F563610E8BA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I disagree about the value of the built-in firewalls in XP and Vista. They
monitor and block incoming requests only and do nothing to alert you of
otherwise-undetected malware running on your PC and making outbound
requests.
Thus, those firewalls are relatively useless because most viruses and
malware are installed on PCs by direct action of the user, such as
visiting a
website and requesting files that they trusted not to be infected.

Once those files are on your pc, until caught by anti-virus or other
malware
detection programs, can freely record your passwords and send them to
identity thieves or can use your PC for sending spam or can use your PC as
part of a bot network. A real firewall would prevent any of those
behaviors.

For the technically non-astute, I recommend Live OneCare's firewall. It
automatically allows most phone home features of Windows to get through
the
firewall so anything else requesting outbound should be examined closely.

Of course that automatic phone home permission is exactly why I do not
recommend OneCare for the technically astute. For those able and willing
to
learn a little about firewalls and to configure their own firewall, I
recommend Jetico 2.0.
--
Dale Preston
MCAD C#
MCSE, MCDBA


"Malke" wrote:

Valley_R wrote:
Anyone familiar with Authentium? Do they do a good job of protecting
against
viruses, threats, spam, etc?

Would you recommend them?

They provide a free security suite through my ISP and I'm not sure if
their
service is equal to Norton, McAfee, TrendMicro, etc.

I've seen that security suite and don't think much of it. In general, I
don't like security suites anyway. They tend to be really bloated and
bog down the computer. I like NOD32, Kaspersky, or Avast (free) for
antivirus protection. If you are running XP or Vista, the built-in
Windows Firewall is adequate for most people.

As for antispyware programs, I don't like them to run resident anyway
although Vista has Windows Defender running. I prefer regular
maintenance with good programs instead combined with the all-important
practice of "Safe Hex".

These links will help:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Safe Hex:
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=27971 - So How Did I Get
Infected Anyway?
http://www.getsafeonline.org/
http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Introduction
http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html
http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm - The Parasite Fight
http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldron/archive/2006/02/05/82584.aspx - MVP
Harry Waldron - The Family PC - How to stay safe on the Internet
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm - Eric Howes on
Rogue Antispyware Programs


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User



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