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@ 2010/11/24I have deeply mixed feelings about antivirus software, especially when it’s part of a big security suite that tries to protect you from every imaginable form of online threat. The companies that sell you that software have an interest in keeping you afraid, and so they publish countless studies proving how dangerous the online world is.
They also have a vested interest in proving that you haven’t wasted your subscription dollars on their product, so they need to occasionally (or continually) pop up messages and alerts and reminders to show you exactly which threats they’ve blocked. Even when those “threats” are trivial or nonexistent.
They also have a vested interest in proving that you haven’t wasted your subscription dollars on their product, so they need to occasionally (or continually) pop up messages and alerts and reminders to show you exactly which threats they’ve blocked. Even when those “threats” are trivial or nonexistent.
1. Use a modern operating system. Sorry, folks—Windows XP simply isn’t secure enough for ordinary people to use today. It was designed more than 10 years ago, and it lacks many of the core architectural changes that make later Windows versions more resistant to attacks. Address Space Layout Randomization and Data Execution Prevention are core features that block some classes of exploits completely. File and registry virtualization (a key part of the much-maligned and misunderstood User Account Control feature) prevents hostile programs from writing to system folders. Removable drive exploits, which have represented a very common vector for spreading malware recently, do not affect Windows 7.