Surfing with no AV and only windows firewall.. why is my pc not infected?

[omega3]

My norton 360 had run out so i uninstalled it with the norton removal tool and reactived the windows firewall in vista (yes, vista) as the removal tool said i should do that if no AV active.. have done some light surfing and youtube watching for couple of hours but no attack or virus or anything.. i just did a scan with malwarebytes and nothing found.. how is that possible.. i mean, can you surf the web without an antivirus and not get infected?

 

[balloonshark]

What browser and plugins (adblocker, noscript, etc.) if any do you use? Is your OS, browser, flash, java, etc. up to date? All those things make a big difference and can shield you from most malware. Sticking to normal sites also helps but the superbowl site, a popular anti-virus forum, etc. have been known to spread infections because they were exploited. In other words there are no safe sites. Some just are lower risk.

Edit: It also helps if you don't download and just any program or email attachment you come across. You should only download from reputable sites. I personally scan everything I download at virustotal.com and with my normal anti-virus, malwarebytes and hitman pro.

This may also help. http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/2520/how-did-i-get-infected/

 

[omega3]

What browser and plugins (adblocker, noscript, etc.) if any do you use? Is your OS, browser, flash, java, etc. up to date? All those things make a big difference and can shield you from most malware. Sticking to normal sites also helps but the superbowl site, a popular anti-virus forum, etc. have been known to spread infections because they were exploited. In other words there are no safe sites. Some just are lower risk.

Edit: It also helps if you don't download and just any program or email attachment you come across. You should only download from reputable sites. I personally scan everything I download at virustotal.com and with my normal anti-virus, malwarebytes and hitman pro.

This may also help. http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/2520/how-did-i-get-infected/

Thanks for the reply. I use chrome but no specific plugins against scripts or something.

So if you only surf to safe sites, can you really do without an AV? I always thought if you don't have an AV and simply connect to the internet, you would get infected in a couple of minutes but apparently not.

Regarding firewalls, is the one from microsoft good enough. Also, where can you install the latest version of this firewall since i don't have windows updates anymore since it's vista.

Finally, was there ever like a final big security update from vista users when support ended and can you still download that somewhere? Thanks again.

 

[balloonshark]

I haven't used chrome but running an adblocker can help prevent malware.

If you are running Vista and it no longer receives security updates you should be running some sort of security program/s for protection.

I'm also not familiar with Vista's firewall. If it's the same as Win 7 and up it should be ok. Most people are also using routers and they provide good inbound protection.

Someone else will have to chime in on you Vista questions.

The whole get infected when connecting to the internet was probably because older operating systems didn't have a firewall on by default. That changed with one of the windows xp updates.

 

[Spacehead]

Finally, was there ever like a final big security update from vista users when support ended and can you still download that somewhere? Thanks again.

Run Windows Update. Any updates for Vista not already installed should still be there.

There are some experts out there that say you don't need to run AV on your computer anymore if you're running an updated OS. Secure your OS as best you can & use common sense about surfing, downloading, etc. ... & have a good backup!
Seeing how you're running a non supported OS you might not want to do that but it's up to you.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

My norton 360 had run out so i uninstalled it with the norton removal tool and reactived the windows firewall in vista (yes, vista) as the removal tool said i should do that if no AV active.. have done some light surfing and youtube watching for couple of hours but no attack or virus or anything.. i just did a scan with malwarebytes and nothing found.. how is that possible.. i mean, can you surf the web without an antivirus and not get infected?

If that is your bible of measurement then be blissful.

 

[omega3]

If that is your bible of measurement then be blissful.

Which free apps would you recommend then? Read good about HitmanPro but that has a paid version only.

 

[balloonshark]

Which free apps would you recommend then? Read good about HitmanPro but that has a paid version only.

You can scan your computer and files with hitman pro for free but you have to pay to remove any malware it finds. That's not a big deal for me as I don't trust a computer once it's been infected and would wipe the drive and restore an image instead.

 

[John Connor]

I've been surfing the net since '04 without updates and no infections. Amazing! LOL

You CAN surf the net without getting a virus, yes. Common sense trumps protection. You could get by with Sandboxie and NoScrip. Scan all downloads at Virus Total.

I scan my computers with Malwarebytes, ADWcleaner, TDSSkiller, Freefixer, Herdprotect, Superantispyware, Hijackthis (use this link to analyze log.) and some government scanning crap like, detekt and RookMilano.

Despite all that, I find nothing. Little over kill, but I refuse to be a victim to BS. And to me, updates cuase more trouble than they're worth. Especially since I use Win 7. Hell if I want spying telemetry on here. I should use AutoPatcher and install just the criticals, but I've read even the "so-called" criticals are telemetry spying garbage updates.

 

[1sikbITCH]

I've been surfing the net since '04 without updates and no infections. Amazing! LOL

You CAN surf the net without getting a virus, yes. Common sense trumps protection. You could get by with Sandboxie and NoScrip. Scan all downloads at Virus Total.

I scan my computers with Malwarebytes, ADWcleaner, TDSSkiller, Freefixer, Herdprotect, Superantispyware, Hijackthis (use this link to analyze log.) and some government scanning crap like, detekt and RookMilano.

Despite all that, I find nothing. Little over kill, but I refuse to be a victim to BS. And to me, updates cuase more trouble than they're worth. Especially since I use Win 7. Hell if I want spying telemetry on here. I should use AutoPatcher and install just the criticals, but I've read even the "so-called" criticals are telemetry spying garbage updates.

Since the OP was answered I have a related question for JC. Why spend hours and hours of scanning if you are so paranoid about MS data collection? Just switch to any number of secure Linux installations that Microsoft has no part of. I've got Ubuntu boxes and Windows and gaming is about the only limitation I am noticing.
Is there a reason someone who is more security conscious would NOT use Linux?

 

[John Connor]

Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Ubuntu; Linux i686; rv:46.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/46.0



sudu apt-get awesomesauce

 

[Paperlantern]

Is there a reason someone who is more security conscious would NOT use Linux?

I love linux, I did install Linux Mint 17.3 xfce for many of the reasons stated in this thread. Used it for a while, even installed Steam and did some gaming (CSS and Left 4 Dead 2), but after a while I just couldn't take the extra time it takes to get certain things working. There was a few extra steps just to get chrome remote desktop to work. There is a craptastic bunch of "s" to go through every time Java updates. On top of all of that, my favorite game of all time... Quake Live, is not available anymore after they switched to Steam. Windows only.

A couple other minor issues were button support for fancy gaming mice, using the extra buttons needs acrobatics in the OS or using obscure applications, IF you can even get it to work. My wireless headset needs a bunch of manual configuration changes every time I want to toggle between it and my regular speakers. In Windows i simply unplug it and speakers just work and vise versa.

In the end the overall headache wasn't worth it, I have limited time to myself and when I do get that time, I like everything to just work so I can enjoy myself, rather than sitting there troubleshooting or googling only to figure it out 5 minutes before I need to go get my son from his nap, or go to work or something.

So I fresh installed Windows 7 (still on the fence to go to Windows 10, i have used 10 for a long time and like it, but still hemming and hawing), ran all the updates and patches, installed chrome with adblock plus, noscript, etc. Also am trying out Sophos Home, and it seems good so far. We use Sophos at the office and it has done very well for us for almost 5 years, so I trust the platform and company.

Windows is just a better match for me at least, in what I use my home computer for.

 

[Fardringle]

It is absolutely possible to surf the internet and not get viruses, depending on your browsing habits and which sites you visit. Some sites are quite secure and have no malware, other sites infest your computer as soon as you start thinking of typing the url..

 

[SAAA]

Even with AV this whole year I got 3, maybe 4 prevented infections. Most virus come from mail and a couple from programs you download.
Yet in my whole web life I'm still at 0 viruses by simply browsing. Keep os and browser/extensions updated, avoid cheesy sites and voilà, 99% safe.

 

[1sikbITCH]

My av never gets any hits either, but when I run Malwarebytes once in a while it'll find a few tracking cookies. At work lately a few co-workers including the owner have allowed ransomware on their pc's. I just can't teach these people to pay attention.

As long as there is no decent Blue Iris alternative for linux I'll alway need at least one Windows box. I use several linux machines as HTPCs around the house and am eventually going to test out linux on my daily driver.

 

[Captante]

AV is like wearing a seat-belt.

You can go your entire life driving and never get in an accident while conversely buckling up does not guarantee you'll come through unscathed if you do.

As JC mentioned above, Sandboxie, Noscript and an ad-blocker along with regular scans (and careful browsing!) do go a long way towards keeping you safe.

My personal preference however is to run up to date AV on a fully patched and updated OS.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

Same way I avoid regular viruses: I just don't stick my browser in any dirty URLs.

 

[John Connor]

 

[Zodiark1593]

Decided to do away with Avast on my laptop and just run Windows Defender (windows 10 on 5 year old lappy ftw). Avast seems somewhat gluttonous with battery runtime, so I await to see what results I will get with Defender.

I run NoScript on Firefox. I considered Sandboxie, but the free version (last I checked a few years ago) had that annoying waiting time before the browser even launched. With my SSD, I spent more time waiting for Sandboxie to load than waiting for boot.

I axed it as a result. As of now though, the only thing I came across was that really annoying adware packed so nicely in a piece of software.

 

[John Connor]

Yeah, Sandboxie will make you wait 5 seconds to launch the browser. It's a small price to pay for free, isn't it? Especially when it will guard against unknown and known ransomware.

Screw Avast! Try Bitdefender Free. Very small foot print, cloud-based and pretty good detection.

 

[omega3]

Yeah, Sandboxie will make you wait 5 seconds to launch the browser. It's a small price to pay for free, isn't it? Especially when it will guard against unknown and known ransomware.

Screw Avast! Try Bitdefender Free. Very small foot print, cloud-based and pretty good detection.

What's wrong with Avast? Is it perhaps too cpu intensive?

 

[John Connor]

For one it's bloated with useless crap. Last time I looked at AV Comparatives, Bitdefender had a higher detection rate.

When I used Avast many years ago it would slow down my connection speed. I uninstalled and used Avira. Then Avira started to suck and tried Avast again and it still slowed down my Internet connection. You can do a test. Turn on and off the Internet scanning engine and test your speed at speedtest.net.

 

[omega3]

For one it's bloated with useless crap. Last time I looked at AV Comparatives, Bitdefender had a higher detection rate.

When I used Avast many years ago it would slow down my connection speed. I uninstalled and used Avira. Then Avira started to suck and tried Avast again and it still slowed down my Internet connection. You can do a test. Turn on and off the Internet scanning engine and test your speed at speedtest.net.

Have you tried Norton? It got a bad rep in the past being cpu or mem intensive, but apparently is less of a hog now, not sure.

 

[John Connor]

No. I'm happy with Bitdefender Free.

 

[Captante]

Have you tried Norton? It got a bad rep in the past being cpu or mem intensive, but apparently is less of a hog now, not sure.

I use Norton Security too and agree its one of the better "paid AV" choices. Not only is it fairly light on resources but IME doesn't interfere with any game I play. (an all too common issue)

Also I paid for the full version of Sandboxie back when it was still a lifetime license so the 5-second pause is a none-issue for me.