As a target for malware, my main computer is ...
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DOS! (Score:5, Funny)
Seriously! Great for development and no one bothers writing DOS viruses any more.
Re: (Score:2)
Funny, the only two viruses I've witnessed first-hand were on DOS and NT. The DOS one was a clever graphics prank. The NT one spread via shared floppies in the office and could only be cleaned with a DOS boot disk (IIRC, it wrote to the MBR).
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Yeah, but the old viruses are still out there. I once downloaded a collection of classic DOS games, intending to run them in DOSbox. ClamAV found ancient viruses in some of them.
As for the poll, why the bullshit options? An unpatched Linux or OS X (or OpenBSD) running misconfigured services open to the net are less secure and more typical than a well maintained Windows system.
Re:DOS! (Score:4, Informative)
Target size. More people are looking for Windows exploits, and given the choice between exploiting Windows or exploiting OpenBSD, the average cybercriminal is going to go after Windows every time.
(Had this been asking about e.g. web servers rather than main personal computers, things would be different -- Linux is a very attractive target in that area and often exploited, and I bet OpenBSD is not immune or ignored either -- but that wasn't the question.)
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If you hacked the windows box good you should be able to clean it and install a (well configured) firewall and virusscanner. Then you can use it as a server without competing malware processes and it will have a better uptime.
So the virus would actually make the computer more secure? Hell, I'm gonna let my Windows server get pwned, just to get it configured and cleaned up. Then I only have to get rid of the ONE virus that was so efficient and optimizing and cleaning my server ;)
Just kidding. I run Linux
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As for the poll, why the bullshit options? An unpatched Linux or OS X (or OpenBSD) running misconfigured services open to the net are less secure and more typical than a well maintained Windows system.
If it has any services open at all, then it is not a "typical Linux or OS X" box.
Pretty much all services are turned off by default. Typical users don't even know that they exist, let alone know how to turn them on.
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Typical users install all sorts of crap on their computers. That's how Windows gets most of its malware, and that's how most security holes show up on the Mac and under Linux as well.
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The bullshit options are there because Slashtod it a Linux-centric, (F)OSS-ass-kissing wannabe community.
I've seen Linux administrators who worked on Windows most of the time and bathed in *nix flavors only when they HAD to. However, they all frowned at Windows while voluntarily using it all day.
My machine is "running scared", apparently, but in all honesty, I have not encountered any sort of danger since... probably since the dreaded RPC virus back in '03 or something (and MY machine wasn't affected at all
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Why does this myth persist? OpenBSD has only had 2 remote exploits *in its default install* in 10 years. However, for a *server* OS, it's default configuration is absolutely useless, as it doesn't provide any *services* apart from ssh (which is what has been exploited).
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
> OpenBSD hasn't had a remote exploit in like 10 years.
Why does this myth persist? OpenBSD has only had 2 remote exploits *in its default install* in 10 years. However, for a *server* OS, it's default configuration is absolutely useless, as it doesn't provide any *services* apart from ssh (which is what has been exploited).
Whoops! Seems like 100% vulnerable :) One service running, one exploit.
He said 2 exploits. That makes it 200% vulnerable. ;-)
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$26 isn't worth the time to package and post it, unless you're doing a whole .bat of them at once I guess.
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You know, that would be my feeling too. But people do strange things... A couple of months ago I bought a cable off ebay for $2.85. It arrived in the mail and to my amazement it had come from China.
Single unit, around the planet for $2.85! madness.
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Companies like to sell low value items on ebay to gain feedback that makes them look good when later selling high value items.
I recently saw a company that was selling watches and Nintendo DS styluses, which you wouldn't think were related, but are subject to this scam. I sniped a stylus (which was probably bid on for 1 cent by a shill) and it cost me 6 cents with free shipping from China. Still haven't gotten it yet... it would be amusing to provide bad feedback to these guys for not delivering the item
Pretty safe. (Score:2)
BeOS (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
The original BeOS? Is there special software for radio stations on it?
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Very likely; one of BeOS' strengths was excellent multimedia support.
Who's running scared? (Score:3, Interesting)
Patched Win7 with Palemoon+adblock+noscript. Updating my anti-virus just gives me something to do in between Stumbling.
If it's remotely questionable, simply fire up the VM or reboot to the other partition with whatever flavor I feel like running at the moment.
Who's scared?
Re: (Score:2)
I use (Firefox+NoScript+Adblock Plus (malware domains subscription) + Sandboxie + telling Firefox to erase user data)
for viewing porn on Windows. I think that's reasonably bulletproof.
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Well, as long as we're comparing pr0n setups...
StumbleUpon + Chromefusk, and you never even have to load any of the non-image content at all most of the time.
Sure, I'll clean up cookies once in a while, but I otherwise don't like erasing my pr0n history, prefer setting up separate FF / Chrome profiles instead. [labnol.org]
Also, I just plain don't care about my Windows gaming rig, there's nothing of value there anyway that I can't re-download through Steam.
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I use (Firefox+NoScript+Adblock Plus (malware domains subscription) + Sandboxie + telling Firefox to erase user data)
for viewing porn on Windows. I think that's reasonably bulletproof.
It's way better than nothing but It's not bulletproof.
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Of course you are correct. But ideally the bar would be set extremely high by the system. Expecting the end user to jump through hoops is a lost cause.
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Expecting the end user to jump through hoops is a lost cause.
Which is why Trojan still sells condoms yet people still manage to contract STDs.
The reason we witness so many random Windows infections is because the current generation of Windows users are not as savvy as they need to be to prevent infection. Some of us are plenty savvy and avoid infection, and you're right, it's difficult to expect that of everyone.
In time, users will become more savvy and OSes will become more hardened and the cases of getting infected simply because of incompetence will drop dramati
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You mean, the focus will shift from user incompetence to programmer incompetence?
*duck*
Essentially immune (Score:3)
because it's well-run and I'm not an idiot. This goes for whatever operating system I'm running.
Re:Essentially immune (Score:4, Funny)
Let's put that to the test, shall we? [damnvulnerablelinux.org]
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A link to a placeholder page.
I am less than impressed.
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You have to hack the site to get an iso I presume..
What does Mac qualify as? (Score:2)
I'm running Ubuntu, so I know where I fall in the survey options... but why is Mac not listed?
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I'm guessing you don't actually use a Mac? It runs OS X which is under the Pretty Safe option.
[John]
Completely Immune (Score:3, Funny)
Ha!
Re: (Score:2)
Until someone gets MS' signing keys or similar.
Commodore 64 (Score:2)
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I think I'm pretty safe.
You've been swallowed by a giant, fast traveling whirlpool...
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Commodore 64: I think I'm pretty safe.
Not necessarily: Here's a list and a somewhat interesting read> [c02.at]
Debian/Linux, Mac OS X 10.5.8, and Windows XP Pro. (Score:2)
All with the latest updates, non-memory resident AVs (do scan often with them), firewalls (Outpost Firewall 2009, Guarddogs with iptables, and Mac OS X's internal firewall), Spybot's immunized hosts file, OpenDNS, etc.
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Tell us YOUR setup(s).
Windows 7 + VM + Not an Idiot (Score:2)
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You mean shady websites like mysql.com [net-security.org]?
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Sometimes the bad sites come to you. All it takes is an ad rotator to serve up malformed code for the browser or an add-on, and one's box is compromised, with no real way of telling how it got that way.
Windows 7's XP Mode is something good to have. However, I personally use VMWare Workstation because of the better snapshotting ability (although it takes a lot longer to roll back than it does for VirtualPC to just drop changes.) Both have the ability to run applications seamlessly, and for backing up book
Re: (Score:3)
99% of avoiding Malware is simple not being an idiot and not going to places you shouldn't or agreeing to install stuff you shouldn't.
That said, Windows 7 still does a pretty dang good job of blocking things compared to Windows XP (which is sort of like comparing the common cold to Ebola).
Written like someone who never ran XP as 'not being an idiot'. My family and extended family is still running XP, I locked it down easy (not allowing them to run stuff as admins and installing MSE) and guess what? Not one single virus. Every modern OS (including XP) that is configured properly can run very virus safe, for the moment. No malware writer bothers with local privilege escalation so not running as admin means you are safe. For now.
Re: (Score:3)
Not true. Modern viruses are able and willing to infect the local user profile via exploits. Since the user is always logged on and the attackers may be interested in banking or other login details or showing pop-ups, it's good enough for their purposes.
True, it makes it easier to clean because very few do privilege escalation, but the machine is still infected easily, even without admin righ
Re: (Score:3)
And in our office, 90% of infections come about due to malicious ad banners or regular old sites that have been hacked and now serve up hidden attack code along with their HTML. We're talking wholesome things like crafting sites (knitting, cooking, home decoration) or even sites like WSJ or NYT whose ad network served up malicious ads.
(We have more and more users willi
Non-Networked Analog Computer Win! (Score:2)
It also uses stone tablets with a 4096-bit encryption scheme as media. It is the safest computer on the planet.
It also isn't very useful.
As the poll indicates, most sentient beings need some flavor of Linux/Win and a network connection.
Re: (Score:2)
Not really a linux desktop user, though I do have a box at home.
To be fair I am lumping a lot of stuff under "linux", including all distros, including business servers and the like, as well as lumping all OS X in there, and dumping even netbook, tablet, and phone linux in there... That would at least give a decent number...
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As the poll indicates, most sentient beings need some flavor of Linux/Win and a network connection.
Aw... it's always so cute when desktop Linux users act as if their market share is significant!
Flamebait definition: see above
None of the above (Score:2, Interesting)
Pretty safe. Well-maintained Windows.
Re: (Score:2)
Even though I use Windows, I have the best malware security on the planet.
I'm not an idiot who downloads files I don't trust.
Re: (Score:3)
My parents are pretty paranoid too. Yet my father had his computer hosed by a virus (required complete wipe of the hard disk to get rid of) after accidentally opening a junk mail that made it into his inbox.
The idea that just opening an e-mail can cause a malware infection continues to surprise me. Just viewing a document can kill your computer. And it's not always obvious to tell whether an e-mail is junk or not, and accidentally opening it while trying to select it for deletion is of course also easily d
Re: (Score:3)
I had worse a few years ago.
Someone on the local network got a virus via email. It started writing copies of itself in all network folders it could get write access to, including a few shared folders on my pc.
I got infected just by selecting the file when I was trying to delete it -- Outlook helpfully previewed the file and ran the executable inside, hosing my own installation and destroying a lot of files in the process.
I didn't even use Outlook and had actually tried to uninstall, and then delete it, only
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Windows isn't as bad as some think (Score:2)
If you're not following random links posted to Crackbook and other sites, or received in emails, then even XP is pretty safe. I have had one virus hit me in all the years I've been using Windows.
I do prefer Ubuntu, but I need to use Visual Studio for C# development a while longer. Once I finish porting things back to Java from C#, I'll be abandoning Windows again and going back to my Ubuntu partition.
Not because it's safer, but because it's far more stable for web services development.
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If you're not following random links posted to Crackbook and other sites, or received in emails, then even XP is pretty safe. I have had one virus hit me in all the years I've been using Windows.
All it takes is for a popular site to be compromised with an IE (or Firefox) 0-day and you'll get your virus. That's where windows users get their false sense of security... "I don't visit porn sites or warez sites so i'm safe" - it's when the popular websites get infected that you need to worry. I remember going to windows update only to find code red starting back at me (or a virus of that vintage at least)
Re: (Score:2)
AdBlock Plus takes care of that. Never surf without it.
Am I a target? (Score:2)
Not worried (Score:2)
My main computer is a Mac, which I consider safe. I'm not worried about my Windows box either, but I'll admit I do most of my pr0n-surfing on the Mac.
Sigh (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Since when did /. votes become a platform for trolling. Very disappointing folks.
Since forever. That's when.
Re:Sigh (Score:4, Interesting)
Dare to be different (Score:2)
One box I've played with is a Sun Ultra 5 workstation running Debian. It's not a Windows box, so it's immune to Windows attacks. It's not an x86 box, so it's immune to x86 attacks.
It's not a bad box for general web stuff and email (the general performance is like a fast Pentium II) but you want something else to play DVDs on.
...laura
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One box I've played with is a Sun Ultra 5 workstation running Debian. It's not a Windows box, so it's immune to Windows attacks. It's not an x86 box, so it's immune to x86 attacks.
It's not a bad box for general web stuff and email (the general performance is like a fast Pentium II) but you want something else to play DVDs on.
Unfortunately, I find it's that "general web stuff" which sucks performance. An oldish box may feel fast and responsive -- until you try to use Firefox.
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Pretty safe (typical Linux or OS X, say) (Score:2)
Using Debian Squeeze Stable
http://packages.debian.org/stable/ [debian.org]
Fairly safe (Score:2)
My router/home server runs netbsd. All the laptops run ubuntu or debian with the exception of my wife's macbook pro, There are two windows systems: one in a VM on the macbook and the other in a desktop computer. Both are for CAD work and I have done my best to persuade my wife to use them for nothing else.
We had a visitor from Malaysia recently and I gave him the password to connect his windows laptop to our LAN. Out of curiosity I tcpdump'ed his IP address and sure enough it was exchanging UDP packets wit
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah if I had seen TCP on port 25 going out I would have taken more extreme steps. That was why I traced his communications of course.
TRSDOS - networking is not an option (Score:2)
You can't get any more secure than an OS that doesn't support enough memory to hold a TCP/IP stack in the first place. 48k should be enough for anyone, right!
Re: (Score:2)
Aw c'mon, you could totally fit a TCP/IP stack in 48 KB. Pretty much nothing else, but as you say, there's your security for ya!
Pretty safe (Score:2)
I voted "Pretty safe" despite running Windows 7. Why? Because THE WORLD HAS CHANGED, Slashdot. A well-maintained modern version of Windows is actually quite safe, despite what the naysayers stuck in the last century think. Slashdot isn't the only place that smart geeks hang out, and there's plenty of people on less-biased sites who run Windows without problem. It's shit like this which has ruined Slashdot's reputation.
Pretty safe AND running Windows (Score:2)
Imagine that. This isn't 1995 anyomore. The idea that Windows is some wide-open virus magnet is a myth. Sure, if you run with no anti-virus, no firewall, visit questonable websites, and open every email attachment that comes your way, you'll probably get a virus. But anyone that ignorant has no business being connected to the internet.
What is this main computer you speak of? (Score:2)
My Computer is (Score:2)
Re:My Computer is (Score:4, Funny)
Nothing is safe (Score:2)
If the OS doesn't limit what an application accesses to the list of files you give it... it's not doing it's job.
If you've never even been given the option, your system isn't secure, no matter what layers you've added on top of it.
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PS your resume sucks, you need to tidy up your desktop, and good luck; I'm behind 7 proxies
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I'm behind 7 proxies
Paranoid?
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Not just Paranoid... Space Paranoids!
Re: (Score:2)
I'm behind 7 proxies
Paranoid?
He isn't that paranoid if he is using only 7.
Paranoid starts where? 10?
Re:Missing option (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Root runs embedded deep in the kernel, far away from the UI and such.
Root is a User ID like any other user ID. It just happens to bypass some security protections. Some persistent programs run as user root although it's often considered bad practise. Root is not 'deep in the kernel' any more than any other user ID.
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Maybe he was talking about malware that attacks networking cards?
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In that context, it means non networked OR HURD, or similar, little one.
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Right now, I see 35 responses for Non-networked, HURD. I don't think 35 people in the world have ever successfully installed HURD, let alone installed it, then wanted to share that ignoble fact in a survey vote.
I've installed it. Worked OK.
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Last time I checked VMS didn't support SSH out of the box so it was vulnerable to packet sniffing for remote logons.
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What are you taking about? I clicked that free iPod link and they say my iPod will be here in a few days! Won't you fell like an idiot when I have a coo
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If mostly geeks ran Windows I bet there'd be a lot less problems with it too. Geeks don't usually click on "GET YOUR FREE IPOD NOW" ads or download random toolbars.
I do, I like the thrill in comparison to my otherwise dull web browsing.
I wonder what would happen if you ran that special codec .exe you download to see those special videos under wine?
Re: (Score:2)
Something like http://blog.opensourcenerd.com/i-can-haz-virus [opensourcenerd.com] , I would imagine. From the link:
Wahahahahahahahaha!
Thanks.
Re: (Score:2)
This. My Cr-48 is so locked down that getting any infection is highly unlikely.
Given what it's for & its intended audience, I'm OK with that.
Re: (Score:2)
Oh geez man! You're making me flash back!
Back around 1999, I was charged with installing public windows web program for a client... the vendor actually have the nerve to recommend production deployment on a windows 98 machine, and was griping about us isolating the machine on a hardened NT 4 box in a DMZ. After a few of our complaints to them about the insecurity of their product, they came out with an updated manual that said, and I quote:
"Product X is as secure as YOU want it to be!"
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, yeah, if you think something is safe, then it's not.
That's why I never wear a seatbelt and jump out of the window rather than walking down stairs.
Re: (Score:3)
Physical security is part of security too.
That implies making it difficult for both people on the street and thunder gods to access your machine.
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I've never had that problem. Of course I'm plugged into my internal network with a firewall that blocks all externally initiated connections. Probably not the norm though for most folks.
[John]
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If worms are inside your network, then you have no fucking clue how to run a network. If you don't know how to run your network, I question whether you know how to run your computer.
Where did he say that it's his network? :-)
Re: (Score:2)
I got a redhead and found out that the ALU was broken.
Anyhow, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one here old enough to remember when "computer" was a profession, not a box with wires.