Internet Security!!!

[obcbobd]

Dialup doesn't buy you too much safety. I've been doing IT for 25 years and have rebuilt many a PC which got infected or other wise compromised through dialup.

[makersmarkambassador]

BobbyV...you nailed it!!! Use a Mac or Linux and you'll never have these issues. If you use Windows, your best bet is to clean your pc about every 6 months. I mean backup your info and wipe out your HDD and reload Windows. This also gets rid of files and other stuff that slow your pc down. I feel there's not really a good defense for Windows. A good virus scan is not 100%. I think a lot of problems come from other people you know, such as getting an email from a friend with an attachment that is a virus and they don't know it is infected.

[collectbaseball]

Originally Posted by makersmarkambassador

BobbyV...you nailed it!!! Use a Mac or Linux and you'll never have these issues. If you use Windows, your best bet is to clean your pc about every 6 months. I mean backup your info and wipe out your HDD and reload Windows. This also gets rid of files and other stuff that slow your pc down. I feel there's not really a good defense for Windows. A good virus scan is not 100%. I think a lot of problems come from other people you know, such as getting an email from a friend with an attachment that is a virus and they don't know it is infected.

Please don't spread misinformation about internet security. Systems running OSX or Linux may be less vulnerable but that doesn't by any stretch of the imagination mean that you "will never have these issues." Anything that you connect to the internet is susceptible. I think there have been enough explanations in this thread but if you don't understand something and want further explanation or additional examples/proof, please feel free to ask. I just don't want anyone to get in trouble because they had a false sense of security (better safe than sorry).

Disclaimer: I am not an internet security expert.

[BobbyVCP]

I have been on the internet since the very beginning back when Al invented it and always used a MAC and still to this day have never once had a problem.

[collectbaseball]

Originally Posted by BobbyVCP

I have been on the internet since the very beginning back when Al invented it and always used a MAC and still to this day have never once had a problem.

I too have been on the internet for quite some time (since somewhere between 1996 and 98?) and always had a fine time on a PC. I've had a Mac for a year now (which has both OSX and XP installed on it). My parents still use Windows systems. No one has ever had a problem. Based on that evidence, I suppose I could go around saying you will never have a problem, but that sample is far too small to be able to draw any conclusions from and it would be irresponsible do so. There are a million analogies one can make -- people die in car accidents while wearing seatbelts and others live while not wearing a seatbelt. In general, wearing a seatbelt is a good thing to do; it's certainly much safer. You can still get killed while doing it, though.

Mac OSX is less vulnerable to spyware and viruses and such because most of those are designed to install themselves and attack Windows. Why? A much larger percentage of people use Windows. Macs are immune to those malicious programs. That doesn't mean that a malicious program can't be designed to do the same on a Mac. It is harder and would effect fewer machines, which is why you don't see it happening.

Most importantly, a Mac is not going to protect you from your own stupidity. If you get an email that says it's from your bank, you click the link because "if you don't update/validate your information, your account will be closed," and you enter your information, guess what -- you've just emptied out that checking account to somewhere in the Caribbean. Say goodbye to the PSA 6 Green Cobb you were planning on picking up in the next REA auction. That's not to say that all bank emails are fake -- many are real. But, it is incredibly easy to send out an email that mimics the exact look and vocabulary of a typical email from your bank, and equally as easy to create a website that mirrors the look and feel of your bank's site. Accidentally surrendering your information is an easy and honest mistake to make, but easily avoided. Rather than accessing your account through a link in an email, go directly to the bank's website and log in there. Also, look for sites that should be secure to have https:// at the beginning of the URL rather than the normal http://

I hope I'm not coming across as too harsh, but my final exams just finished up yesterday and thus I am operating on ~7 hours of sleep in the past two and a half days, so I might be entirely incoherent. I just don't think it's a good idea to say "oh yeah just get a Mac and it'll be no problem," without any sort of further education when people's entire financial lives are at stake. Identity theft is serious business (in multiple senses), and people can be absolutely ruined by it and have to work for years to get everything sorted out. Additionally, after seeing some reactions to the implementation of the new message board, I don't want someone unsure about technology going out and dropping $2k on a new iMac thinking that they will be all set, safe and sound, only for them to be tricked into giving up their information anyway. I hope that's not demeaning to anyone here but after working at RadioShack through high school and having conversations such as these, I've begun to find that even extremely obvious things often need to be emphasized:
1) "Will this charge my phone?" "No, that headphone extension cable won't charge your phone, and, no, neither will the cable coupler. And that thing's for radar detectors and more expensive than the correct charger that you're refusing to buy anyway."
2) "I need a USB cable to hook up my DVD player to my TV" "Do you mean RCA?" "Nope, I need a USB." "That's not generally what USB cables are used for... but do you want the one with the three red white and yellow thingies?" "Yeah. A USB."
3) "Hi, I bought this cell phone here last month and need to return it. It's broken." "You need to press and hold the button that says POWER to turn it on." "Oh, great! You're wicked smart!"

In closing, if anyone ever has any questions or concerns regarding this type of security stuff or computers in general, please feel free to email or PM me. I've gotten some nasty viruses off of a friend's computer (the kind that that render a machine essentially useless, but aren't targeting personal information) that Norton was detecting but wasn't adequately quarantining. I'm no computer guru, but I've got a lot of free time. Whatever you do, don't bring your computer to the thieving Best Buy Geek Squad!


If anybody's up for some reading:

Anything can be broken into (notice the dates on these articles -- they do not refer to a single event):
MacBook/Safari Hacked in 10 Seconds
Hacker breaks into Mac at security conference
Mac OS X hacked under 30 minutes
Another Mac Virus Alert. Real This Time?
New MacOS X trojan/virus alert, mostly a non-event
Hijacking a Macbook in 60 Seconds or Less


Really, anything:
Investigators: Homeland Security computers hacked
More congressional computers hacked from China
Computer Spies Breach Fighter-Jet Project
Sarah Palin's E-Mail Hacked
Teen Pleads Guilty to Hacking Paris Hilton's Phone