hosts files

Two of the best are Comodo Secure DNS and Norton DNS. Neither of them will slow down your connection. In fact, you may even notice an increase in speed. Each of these will block known dangerous sites, but at the moment Norton DNS is more effective and that’s what I use. Here’s a little tip, scorp, you can set up Norton to block Malware or Malware/ Porn. If you just set it up for just Malware, you can go to the porn sites and Only those with Malware get Blocked….. LMAO

2oG

 

Hello 2oldGeek,

"That’s about all I can handle for this session. I let you soak up some of that and have a chance for some questions before I go on to the final part of the equation like:"

Thank you. I am ready for the final part whenever you can find the time. Your explanations are very explicit and easy to understand. Hence, no questions so far! I have two computers.

(1)Laptop Acer 5250-BZ479: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit:
AMD C-50 Processor, 1000 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 2.00 GB
SATA HDD 320GB

(2) Desktop - Windows XP Professional 32 Bit
Main Board Asus P5LD2
Processor Intel 3412 Mhz
RAM 1GB
SATA HDD 500GB

Kind regards,

 

Hi floccinaucini,

The first 3 layers of protection are Mandatory i.e. Firewall, AntiVirus and Malware Scanner. Everything else is optional depending on how much protection you need. It is layered so that if one layer misses something, the next layer will pick it up. All depends on your browsing habits and what you expect from your computer.

I just don’t have the time to go over the individual add-ons at this time but will answer any questions you have to the best on my ability. Just lay it on me lol.

My wife has the exact same laptop she uses for all her recipes, e-mails and facebook.. She loves it.

What she uses and what I would recommend for both of your computers:

1. Connect to a Wireless Router that has DNS set for Norton secure DNS. Highly recommended and almost mandatory to secure your computer.

2. Firefox Browser – safer than IE and highly recommended.

3. Bitdefender Free AV. – Recommended for novice through Geek - Bitdefender was the winner of Product of the year Award 2012 by AV Comparatives.. <SEE HERE> Bit defender Free has the same engine and signatures as the pay version. It is very light--will not slow your browsing experience. It DOES have real-time protection!!!! My only gripe is if it finds a false positive, it puts it in quarantine and you can't untic and reinstall it and there’s no setting to ignore it —I can live with that little inconvenience because the FP’s it finds are very few, old and seldom used programs that are not likely to be on your computer anyway.

4. MBAM Pro – recommended if some of the other add-on’s are not used. The best real time, malware scanner IMHO. If you can’t get the Pro version, then get the free version and use it often.

5. Blue Coat K9 Web Protection with “Web categories to block” set to Moderate. – You can block any category you choose. Better than Hosts file blocks. Highly recommended.

6. Web of Trust (WOT): With this installed if you happen upon a potentially dangerous site WOT covers the screen with a warning and waits for you to decide whether to stay or leave. If you combine this with your own good sense then you will be protected from many online dangers. Ultra Highly recommended. In my last testing, in real time, using 35 Zero day malware URL’s, WOT missed 1 and Bitdeffender missed 3. BD caught the 1 that WOT missed and WOT caught the 3 that BD missed….. Hello layered malware protection!

7. Adblocker plus – stops ads, popups and drive-bys. Highly recommend.

I’ll guess… Asus P5LD2 mobo w/ intel processor @ 3.4Gh suggests a Single core, Pentium 4 650. How close did I get? Pentium’s are still good processors and 3.4G is a decent speed with menial multi tasking ability. Problem is, it’s choked down with only 1GB of ram. XP’s bare bone minimum is 1GB but needs at least 2GB of ram to be able to work efficiently. I suggest adding, at minimum, one more GB of ram and you should see much improvement in performance..


Best regards and awaiting your next post,
2oG

 

Hi floccinaucini,

Sorry that I didn’t go into any depth on explaining the WHY of using the things that I recommend but, I just didn’t have the time….. Please ask questions and I will answer one at a time. Like: Why choose Bitdefender over AVG or Microsoft? Or: Adblock Plus has a lot of filter lists, what should I use? That is so much easier to explain than to try and guess all of the information you really need…

2oG

 

Hello 2oldGeek,

First, to answer your question, "Asus P5LD2 mobo w/ intel processor @ 3.4Gh suggests a Single core, Pentium 4 650. How close did I get?"

I went into the BIOS and this is all it says under 'system':- "Intel (R) Pentium (R) 4 CPU 3.40GHz, Speed 3400 MGz, Count 1.

Does "Count 1" mean single core? If so, you hit the nail on the head!

I should have done this before. This is what I already have in both computers.

1. Firefox latest. (I also have IE and Chrome but hardly ever use them)
2. Microsoft Security Essentials
3. BetterPrivacy
4. Duck Duck Go Plus (for Firefox)
5. Ghostery
6. NoScript
7. Self-Destructing Cookies (New Firefox Add-on)
8. Web Of Trust

All are updated regularly.

9. I also keep Microsoft Silver Light and Adobe Flash Player Disabled unless really needed, when it is enabled and disabled afterwards.
10. Java Version 7, installed but disabled in the browser.

Questions:-

1. How good are these measures and the programmes that I already have? If you feel any of them don't serve much of a purpose I will remove them.
2. Is Tor Browser and Ixquick any good for secure browsing?
3. Why Bitdefender over MSE?
4. I am using "OPEN DNS". Is Norton DNS better?
5. MBAM Pro; Does it both scan and remove malicious content?
6. Other than by category, can sites also be blocked individually by name, in Blue Coat K9?
7. Is Adblock plus compatible with what I already have or should I uninstall some of them before installing Adblock plus?

Please reply as and when you are able to and one by one if it suits you better.

Kind regards

 

Hello floccinaucini,

Yes it does and yes I did! Yee Haaa

I will comment on these first and then go on to your questions later..

1. Firefox latest. (I also have IE and Chrome but hardly ever use them)
Firefox is my personal choice. I am not against using IE it’s just not my choice. The major problem I have with Chrome it is that it is made by Google. Google is well known for having problems respecting the privacy of others.

2. Microsoft Security Essentials
Not recommended, I will go in depth in your questions..

3. BetterPrivacy
I have not used it or tested it. It seems that it only handles (LSO’s). You would think Self-Destructing Cookies would handle them also but I see no problem with installing both.

4. Duck Duck Go Plus (for Firefox)
The best anonymous search engines I've found are StartPage and DuckDuckGo, either one is good.

5. Ghostery
I normally recommend DoNotTrackPlus Ghostery provides protection very similar, but I see no problems running both of them alongside each other.

6. NoScript
Recommended Only For the More Advanced Users
It’s just too much to keep up with for the average user.
* see no. 10 concerning Java script.

7. Self-Destructing Cookies (New Firefox Add-on)
I haven’t used this one but, am gonna try it. Looks good.

8. Web of Trust (WOT)
Highly recommended. With this installed if you happen upon a potentially dangerous site WOT covers the screen with a warning and waits for you to decide whether to stay or leave. If you combine this with your own good sense then you will be protected from many online dangers.

All are updated regularly.
Suggest Secunia PSI for updates on all your programs. XP with SP3 required.

9. I also keep Microsoft Silver Light and Adobe Flash Player Disabled unless really needed, when it is enabled and disabled afterwards.
Not really necessary, I have not seen any exploits directed at Silver Light or Adobe Flash…What do you know that I don’t?? Adobe Reader is a different story, it is exploited and I recommend using Foxit Reader, much safer.

10. Java Version 7, installed but disabled in the browser.
First, let’s not compare apples and oranges. That is; Java jre 7 and Java Scripts are 2 different animals.
Java jre is not used much anymore, some business sites, website games and calculators. Firefox users: open Firefox and click Tools | Addons. Click the Plugins tab, locate each of the Java plug-ins, and click the Disable button for each.
When you encounter a site that requires Java you can re-enable Java easily by following the same steps above, only this time choosing to enable instead of disable. Be sure to re-disable Java when done. I un-installed Java jre on all my computers a long time ago and have never needed it. It is highly exploited. The first 2 weeks of April there were 8 new Java exploits and 2 Java drive bys that hit the internet.

Now for Java Scripts: Bad Java Scripts are usually taken care of with the heuristics (behavior) in your AntiVirus. Or, you can disable it if it makes you feel better.
In Firefox goto options > content tab > un-check – enable java script
If you see this message, “your web browser doesn't support JavaScript or JavaScript is disabled. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings so XXX.com can function correctly.” Then just go back to options and check – enable java script..


Well, it looks like you are privacy orientated so with the above you should be covered. You have listed some very good questions and I’ll do my best to answer all in my next post…

Best regards,
2oG

 

Hi floccinaucini,

Well, like I said, I haven’t had much time and I made a few mistakes in one of my posts.
I said my wife’s computer had MBAM Pro and it doesn’t. I also missed a couple of add-ons she has, DoNotTrackMe and HTTPs Everywhere. Oh well, that’s what I get for being in a hurry and not proof reading.

When installing security software about the only things I consider mandatory is a Firewall, AntiVirus, AntiSpyware and AntiMalware. There are so many different brands that one must be meticulous in choosing a combination of programs that will work together and be easy to understand and use. Everything else that you add to this base is to compliment your needs as to what the computer will be used for. Also, to enhance your browsing experience, maintain your privacy and keep you from bringing home any little viruses or Trojans in your pocket lol.

My first question: Do you have a Router with a SPI Firewall? If no, then do you have a software firewall? And which one?

Your
Questions:-

1. How good are these measures and the programmes that I already have? If you feel any of them don't serve much of a purpose I will remove them.

I have a couple of issues with what you have chosen: You really don’t have enough RAM to run very many memory hog programs and add-on’s too. I am also concerned that some of these add-on’s you have chosen overlap and cover the same thing. Choosing programs for a specific task is like going grocery shopping when you’re hungry. You always seem to come out of the store with more than you really need and have similar items just different brands. Lol
I’ll not suggest removing anything just yet because I’ll work up a plan that will use fewer programs and do a better job for you. I do need your input on what your primary use of the computer will be and if it will be possible to add, at minimum, one more GB of ram to your desktop??

2. Is Tor Browser and Ixquick any good for secure browsing?

Ixquick is just another private search engine. If you open the little search window to the right of the address line on firefox you can choose any search engine you wish to use and if it’s not there, you can add it. I prefer to use Google because it is a much more thorough search engine and I have DoNotTrackMe installed that keeps Google from tracking me, also WOT that shows the bad sites the search finds…

Tor - Using an anonymous server with a program like Tor is meant to hide your IP address and keep anything you do not request from getting into your computer. Problem is; most of the anonymous servers are really slow. The best alternative is to use a Router with a Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) Firewall. No computer on the Internet side can INITIATE communications with your computer. They can’t see you because your computer would not have an IP address on the Internet. Its address would be on the local home network (even if that network is nothing but one router and one computer). The WAN port of the router is the only thing that has exposure to the Internet and it will not let anything through that you did not request. Get a Router! Later on, if you don’t have a router, I will explain how to safely browse and keep from getting infected without sacrificing speed.

3. Why Bitdefender over MSE?

Actually, I would use ANY of the top free AV’s over MSE. Here’s why:
To compare AV’s I use AV Comparatives, an independent, non-profit organization that tests all AV products. They don’t review them or hype them, they TEST them and let the chips fall where they may.. In the tests of Dec. 2012, they used 136,610 known, in the wild, virus/malware variants for the file detection test and 422 Zero day exploits for the real world test.

MSE missed 8.8% file detection and missed 9.7% real world
MSE has 0 False Positives.. I have always said, if you don’t make a mistake, you’re not doing your job but if you make a lot of mistakes, you don’t know your job..

Avira missed .4% file detection and missed 1.5% real world with 8 FP’s (very few)
I used this for a long time. Extremely high detection rate, a little hard to navigate the settings and I have issues with it using the Ask Toolbar for the web scanner, also It’s not compatible with MalwareBytes AntiMalware. I don’t recommend it, but I don’t NOT Recommend it. If you can live with Ask, do it! Nuff said.

Bitdefender missed .7% file detection and missed .25% real world with 9 FP’s (few)
I recommend this for computer USERS, like my wife, who want the computer to maintain itself and never ask a question in a popup like: “XXX.cmd is trying to install. Do you want to let it?? Y/N”. She wants the computer to defrag, clean, backup and maintain itself completely with NO interaction. It has the highest virus/malware detection rate of any AV and is great for that kind of installation. There are no options to configure, which makes it easy to use for novice users, but the complete lack of customization options or settings may not appeal to everyone. Also not compatible with MalwareBytes AntiMalware.

Panda Cloud missed .7% file detection and missed 2% real world with 28 FP’s (many)
Not recommending this one just yet, still testing but looks promising.

Avast missed 2.2% file detection and missed 0% real world with 14 FP’s (few)
Highly Recommended for all levels of computer users, out of the box (beginner) or fiddle with the settings (advanced). With an unobtrusive RAM footprint of only 82MB, in addition to real-time and scheduled scanning features, Avast Free Antivirus also includes an AutoSandbox feature that runs suspicious software in a virtualised environment. It’s configurable, so you can decide for yourself how paranoid you want the software to be. It has 8 real time scanners. Peer-to-peer downloads and IM attachments can be monitored as well as Scripts in browsers and PDF readers. It has a high rate of detection, real time scanners, a gamming mode, lots of configurable features and is probably the best AV I have ever used……

AVG is not one of my recommended AV’s but, I listed it here because it is so highly Hyped by the software reviewers (they make money from it’s downloads).
AVG missed 1.6% file detection and missed .5% real world with 21 FP’s (many)
The core features consist of only a virus scanner, an email scanner and a browser plugin. In other words, not only is AVG less effective than Avast - My recommended free antivirus tool - it’s also shorter on features and its 272MB memory footprint is more than three times as heavy.


4. I am using "OPEN DNS". Is Norton DNS better?

It’s 6 in one hand and a half dozen in the other. I use Norton in my Router and can over ride it with my computer anytime I wish to change to something else. Open DNS, Norton Secure or Comodo, they all perform better that the one from your ISP.

5. MBAM Pro; Does it both scan and remove malicious content?

Yes it does. And one of the best malware scanners around, IMHO, but some of the AV’s are now scanning for malware and are not able to run along side of it.. Check that before you purchase it.

6. Other than by category, can sites also be blocked individually by name, in Blue Coat K9?

Yes, but very limited. Not like the thousands you are able to load a Hosts file with. You can either always block or always allow some sites no matter what category they are in. Go to Website Exceptions in the menu on the left of K9 manager.

7. Is Adblock plus compatible with what I already have or should I uninstall some of them before installing Adblock plus?

I have not found anything so far that it’s not compatible with. I only use the Easy Privacy + EasyList and Fatboy’s Annoyance List. Too many lists can slow you down and you don’t have enough ram, remember.. lol


Here’s a tip on safer browsing you might consider and try since you are using XP. It comes from Gizmo at techsupportalert and it does work.
https://www.techsupportalert.com/safe-surfing.php#c


In your next post, please answer my questions about the router, your primary use and the ram shortage. Then we can start working up a good security plan for you.


Best regards,
2oG

 

Hello 2oldGeek,

Due to a prior commitment, I have to be away from home for a couple of months. I am leaving for Asia in a couple of days. Can I post here at the same thread to continue this, when I come back.

Thank you,

Best regards

 

Hi floccinaucini,

Enjoy your trip. I will go ahead and post some stuff while you are away and you can post back on this same thread anytime you can.
I'll do my best not to say anything that will cause it to be closed LOL...

Have a Happy,
2oG

 

This is great. I will be in touch during the trip. You are my MVM. If you are puzzled, it is Most Valuable Mentor!

My Very Best Regards

 

Thanks again for the flowers, floccinaucini,

Keep in touch, I have some plans to hit you with.....

Have a safe and delightful trip, we can keep in touch.

Best regards,
2oG

 

@floccinaucini

Are you back home from your trip?
Sorry I haven't posted anything but have been really tied up with my wife. She has been very ill and I haven't had much time for computing.
If you are around.....Give me a shout, always a pleasure, I love your British accent. lol

2oG