Any recommendations for internet security

[mattylad]

I have been chatting to 2 of my adult kids about getting a vpn.
Apparently if I use Albania as a country then they cannot be shown adverts on youtube so this to me says it's worth the <£3 a month.

 

[Wayners]

@mattylad
Just setup a family share and all chip in for YouTube including music.
£3.35 each

 

[opps]

What sort of problems? I used F-secure for a few years. Originally it came free with Virgin, but then Virgin started charging £25 py. I wondered why I was paying when there's built in protection nowadays, so I cancelled it. To be on the safe side I installed the free version of AVG. While I was with F-secure they never contacted me to say eg they'd found a threat and dealt with it, whereas AVG regularly make such a claim and are always pestering me to upgrade. Everything works fine so I ignore them.

Years ago my accountant contacted me. He had been to "adult" sites and didn't realise that he had signed up to MBS (Micro Bill Systems). MBS pretty much hijacked his PC. On day one, on booting the PC he had a splash screen which took 10 seconds to disappear. After each reboot the splash screen was displayed for longer. Eventually it hijacked the PC. From memory, he had McAfee (subscription version). McAfee, Norton et al refused to classify the hijackware as malicious because they were worried that MBS would sue them. IMO, software that renders the PC inoperable should be deemed as malicious.

In the end, I used PrevX (free) to remove it. I could have manually removed the registry entries to disable it but Prevx was faster.

There is a lot to be said for familiarising yourself with the processes running in the background. Not all AV packages will pick up malware.

Personally, I use the free windows defender. In the days of XP, I would have considered running in a non-admin mode but Win 7 and 10 are far more reliable. You are prompted to grant permissions.

 

[opps]

I have been chatting to 2 of my adult kids about getting a vpn.
Apparently if I use Albania as a country then they cannot be shown adverts on youtube so this to me says it's worth the <£3 a month.

Albanians do not see adverts on youtube?

Edit- yes you are correct- I googled it

 

[Nozzle]

Malware bytes or eset

 

[opps]

Malware bytes or eset

I used to rate Malware Bytes but it went from being a completely free product to one which constantly tries to get you to enter your bank
details. That said MBAM. EXE helped me on multiple occassions.

 

[Wayners]

I heard a interview Kleczynski who developed malware bytes when he was very young. He had a problem with his computer so got the college tech department to look at it. They run malware bytes while he watched on on without saying a word.

 

[flameport]

But then you would see two wifi networks with the same name.

People might, but in busy areas there are often dozens of different networks. Very few people will look at them all. Most will just look for what appears to be the name of the shop or whatever and connect to it.

Does having a VPN mean that DNS requests go through the VPN provider?

It certainly should. DNS requests should come from the VPN endpoint, same as all other traffic.

 

[Wayners]

I've used different DNS and it messes up the internet so you can't do things.
Last DNS I used was 1.1.1.1 and worked great for a few weeks then the trouble started.
Maybe the paid DNS servers are better

 

[mattylad]

VPN, anti virus, ant malware et cetera, all are good but non of them are any good if your an idiot, if you follow all links sent to you, if you read all emails sent to you from dodgy overseas ladies in hopes of seeing a bit of skin, if you click on all internet links without knowing where they go and from people you have never known before.

You would hope that some of the software can protect you but in essence you need to up your game and be aware that the internet is a quagmire, a cesspit and that's only the start of it.

If you use the same or similar passwords for lots of sites, if you use weak ones (like your pets name) for banking sites etc. Then your risking impersonation highly. Use a password manager so you have a long and very unlikely to be cracked password that is individual to each and every site. The managers can fill in the login fields for you so you only need to remember the one password (as long as it is a good one and not P@ssw0rd1$.

All these AV programs can be bypassed or got around - ALL of them.
They can all be turned off on certain sites (such as youtube) because they make it not work so you turn it off - that's when you are greatly at risk.

So stop asking "which software is best" and start thinking about your own actions.

Then when your nice and secure, start having a word with er indoors and tell her to stop using P@ssw0rd1$ etc.