Once again Microsoft has taken their flagship OS in a new direction in an attempt to chase down the pop culture of technology. As the world continues its perilous journey towards touch screen interfaces it is expected that the hardware and the software will experience some growing pains. From a technical standpoint it would appear that the engineers at Microsoft have done their homework and created a definite solid footing on which to build this new age platform. Unfortunately, the non-technical sales reps and managerial staff have decided that they know whats best for business and have thrown a...
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antivirus testing vs real world occurrences: How can you test what you can’t see?
AV Comparatives March 2012 used 300,000 known samples. Here testing relied mostly on definitions detection (DAT). When using known samples, “Brute Force” definition detection is very effective and nets you excellent ratings, with the average at 96% for the top 15 AV vendors. However, this type of testing does NOT mimic real world occurrences. Polymorphic code is the real problem. All Polymorphic code is unknown, rare, and cannot be analyzed by DAT detection until execution. http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/ondret/avc_fd_mar2012_intl_en.pdf AV Comparatives of August 2011 testing is based on static detection of new/unknown malicious software. The average here was just under 60% for...
How to clean an Infected Computer using “SCRAPE”
1)If you have been using avast!, this is most likely NOT a virus infection, but a spyware infection! The best antivirus programs in the world stop approximately 95% of virus’, and 70% of spyware. We have been relying on Microsoft Windows Defender for years now, but that program has become worthless, and all it does is slow your machine down. We actually remove Defender from all of our systems. We have found that some users will be re-infected until properly protected. The best protection that money can buy is avast! Pro and Malwarebytes Pro combined. Over 95% of systems,...
When all else fails, discovery and removal of antivirus leftovers!
edited 05-23-12 by J.R. Guthrie Antivirus software is the most invasive application we will ever install on our systems. Even when the products are properly removed by “Add/Remove Programs”, pieces of code are ALWAYS left behind, and these leftovers can and do conflict with the current antivirus products installed in your system. This situation has occurred throughout my entire career, and is effected by most antivirus vendors (Symantec, Norton, and McAfee just to tag a few.) These symptoms range from no Internet access, system errors, revolving “boot looping”, and the dreaded Microsoft BSOD (blue screen of death) Windows...
Risks of Online Banking as a Business Exposed
The banking laws/regulations have changed and are continuing to change. Federal banking regulations provide broad protections to consumers (personal bank accounts are liable for only $50 from online fraud). But consumers who are unaware of their rights might end up unnecessarily footing the bill. Banks are no longer required to carry insurance on business/corporate bank accounts, and they have not been informing their business customers of the change. This means if your business does any type of online banking, bill payment, online statements (which we all are being pushed to); you will most likely need to sue the bank...
Discovery and removal of previously installed antivirus leftovers! including avast’s special tool
Here is an Article I wrote about discovery and removal of leftovers from previous anti-virus products, my “when all else fails” procedure Antivirus software is the most invasive application we will ever use on our systems. Specifically here, we are addressing the upgrade of avast! 4.8 to newer avast! Pro or Business Protection. However, this situation also occurs with other antivirus vendors (Symantec, Norton, and McAfee just to tag a few.) What has really occurred here, is that there are left over pieces of previous antivirus software, and they are conflicting with the current antivirus software. And the classic symptom is...
MAC vs PC for browsing safely!
I believe that virtulizing one’s browser in a “SandBox” is really the only safe surfing technique. It’s certainly NOT the Mac. All browsers are vulnerable by nature. Here’s the last 3 months of vulerabilities: Win 7 @ 67 – Linux @ 59 – Mac @ 379. So why so many on the Mac side? It’s Karma! Too many “I have a MAC so I don’t get infected!” The ROI (I hate that term) is now very beneficial for Organized Crime and Terrorists to target Mac. They are playing catchup! SO, quality FREE antivirus for the MAC:
Last 3 months – MAC 379 VULNERABILITIES – Windows 7 @ 67 – linux @ 59
I believe that virtulizing one’s browser in a “SandBox” is really the only safe surfing technique. It’s certainly NOT the Mac. All browsers are vulnerable by nature. Here’s the last 3 months of vulnerabilities: Win 7 @ 67 – Linux @ 59 – Mac @ 379 (reTweet) So whay so many on the Mac? It’s Karma! The ROI (I hate that term) is now very beneficial for Organized Crime and Terrorists to target Mac. They are playing catchup! avast! is my primary tool in the battle against Cyber Crime!
