So generally speaking, what's the consensus between you haxors?

[JMorton6]

Can you get good security on Win 7? I know "good" is subjective, but... well, let's rephrase the question then: what's the best you can do with Win 7? And aside from using VPN, what, generally are good practices to follow? Aside from the obvious "have updated firewall + antivirus running at all times and know how to set your policies properly," is what I mean. What can be thrown in for good measure on top of these basics I just mentioned? Thanks guys.

 

[SillyOReilly]

Log off the internet and never return.

 

[Pantlegz]

This question doesn't really make sense. What are you trying to secure and why/from what? Depending on what you're talking about good security isn't cheap...

 

[ConwayJim]

Tin foil hat FTW!

 

[Oil]

Get a Mac

 

[PottedMeat]

i like to run all programs that people suggest on the internet and make sure to say 'yes' whenever prompted.

OS and browser updates are scams.

 

[AMDZen]

i like to run all programs that people suggest on the internet and make sure to say 'yes' whenever prompted.

OS and browser updates are scams.

This.

On a serious note, Sandboxie

 

[slayernine]

If you have something so important that could be stolen don't keep it anywhere near the internet.

I suggest running an anti virus to protect you from yourself clicking on things you shouldn't and getting infected. Home computers get infected by visiting websites that use exploits for browsers or plugins such as adobe products or browser addons. They also get infected through infected downloads, usb keys and general stupidity. Worst case scenarios include key loggers and being part of a botnet because it is hard to tell if you have those issues. Viruses you can see/notice are usually not much more than annoying. Good AV products for home include Security Essentials by Microsoft and ESET AV.

HaXxors have no interest in going after personal computers but have every interest in going after mid to large sized corporations. A good firewall or two properly configured makes for a decent level of deterrence when used with monitoring tools and up-to-date antivirus.

The real question is what are you worried about? Windows 7 is pretty damn secure if it has a good anti virus and both are reasonably up to date. The best thing to do is to stick to places you know and practice your internet street smarts.

 

[slayernine]

Other helpful advice: Use strong passwords! Can't say it enough after seeing the dumb passwords my users try and use. Like using their name or a extremely common phrase or something like 123456789 or qwerty etc etc ......

Check out password management tools like keepass which help you remember your multitude of differentiated long passwords. Remember that with passwords they don't need to be stupidly complex like *(yDi&)d but rather something really long boblickshisdirtyfingersalldaylong which increases how many bits the passwords has increasing the time to brute force guess the password.

http://keepass.info/

 

[JMorton6]

Log off the internet and never return.

Am I that out of touch?

/runsoffcrying

 

[JMorton6]

i like to run all programs that people suggest on the internet and make sure to say 'yes' whenever prompted.

OS and browser updates are scams.

You're cold.

 

[JMorton6]

This question doesn't really make sense. What are you trying to secure and why/from what? Depending on what you're talking about good security isn't cheap...

Nothing specific, just if I have work documents or whatever on my laptop, I wanna make sure it's secure, you know?

 

[JMorton6]

This.

On a serious note, Sandboxie

Oh hey, this is interesting. Is it like the one from Avast? How will it affect performance when loading say Photoshop off an SSD?

 

[Pantlegz]

Nothing specific, just if I have work documents or whatever on my laptop, I wanna make sure it's secure, you know?

Encryption is your friend.

 

[JMorton6]

If you have something so important that could be stolen don't keep it anywhere near the internet.

I suggest running an anti virus to protect you from yourself clicking on things you shouldn't and getting infected. Home computers get infected by visiting websites that use exploits for browsers or plugins such as adobe products or browser addons. They also get infected through infected downloads, usb keys and general stupidity. Worst case scenarios include key loggers and being part of a botnet because it is hard to tell if you have those issues. Viruses you can see/notice are usually not much more than annoying. Good AV products for home include Security Essentials by Microsoft and ESET AV.

HaXxors have no interest in going after personal computers but have every interest in going after mid to large sized corporations. A good firewall or two properly configured makes for a decent level of deterrence when used with monitoring tools and up-to-date antivirus.

The real question is what are you worried about? Windows 7 is pretty damn secure if it has a good anti virus and both are reasonably up to date. The best thing to do is to stick to places you know and practice your internet street smarts.

Should I switch from COMODO and Avast to these?

Also, how safe is software from torrents, say for the top torrents on PirateBay - the ones from trusted uploaders and with the most seeders?

 

[purbeast0]

Other helpful advice: Use strong passwords! Can't say it enough after seeing the dumb passwords my users try and use. Like using their name or a extremely common phrase or something like 123456789 or qwerty etc etc ......

Check out password management tools like keepass which help you remember your multitude of differentiated long passwords. Remember that with passwords they don't need to be stupidly complex like *(yDi&)d but rather something really long boblickshisdirtyfingersalldaylong which increases how many bits the passwords has increasing the time to brute force guess the password.

http://keepass.info/

if you can actually see the raw passwords your users are entering/storing, then you have bigger issues to worry about.

 

[Imp]

Admin and User accounts are the best I've found. Worst case, make a new user. I haven't had one virus screw up my admin account from the user one yet.

 

[JMorton6]

Encryption is your friend.

True, true. Any specific recommendations on what to use?

 

[JMorton6]

if you can actually see the raw passwords your users are entering/storing, then you have bigger issues to worry about.

Yep I use LastPass.

 

[JMorton6]

Admin and User accounts are the best I've found. Worst case, make a new user. I haven't had one virus screw up my admin account from the user one yet.

I wish I knew what you were talking about.

 

[Pantlegz]

I wish I knew what you were talking.

Most user accounts don't have permissions to install programs and therefore viruses can't be installed/ran when you're on the user profile. It can make routine computer using more irritating but it's a good security measure. You can also set limits on which parts of the HDD those user accounts have access to. Again limiting the ability of anyone to poke around if they did somehow gain access to the machine.

 

[Pantlegz]

True, true. Any specific recommendations on what to use?

Not really, google it. I'm sure there are several options, last I checked AES was pretty secure but there are tons of options. I've used several different setups a 2 factor authentication system is more secure because it requies a certificate from a usb device or fingerprint +password. As far as who you get it from, that's up to you.

 

[FoBoT]

any OS can be relatively 'good', if you include other protections, router firewalls and the right browser and other measures

if you run a 'bad' OS in a VM and restart it every time you go internet browsing, then anything you pick up will go away anyway, so it is just a matter of how much work you want to take on

 

[JMorton6]

Most user accounts don't have permissions to install programs and therefore viruses can't be installed/ran when you're on the user profile. It can make routine computer using more irritating but it's a good security measure. You can also set limits on which parts of the HDD those user accounts have access to. Again limiting the ability of anyone to poke around if they did somehow gain access to the machine.

Oh shit, that's clever. This is precisely the kind of advice I came here for.

 

[JMorton6]

Not really, google it. I'm sure there are several options, last I checked AES was pretty secure but there are tons of options. I've used several different setups a 2 factor authentication system is more secure because it requies a certificate from a usb device or fingerprint +password. As far as who you get it from, that's up to you.

The 12-year old kid living inside my head loves this stuff even though in real life I have zero use for it.