Can common sense replace security?

[Dieselman]

Think outside the box ghost. It does not take an experienced person to disable there av or uninstall a program. Thats like saying it takes experience to when to do not drink and drive. You can have NO pc knowledge or experience but if you use you head you will stay safe. If you stop and say "Should I be doing this?" you are more then half way there.

 

[ghost]

The moment you disable your protection (your client example) just to read a mail it got nothing to do with common sense, that person is just dumb..sorry for saying that.

 

[Dieselman]

Exactly.....................dumb and lacking common sense. Thats just one example. I have a million others. If she used her head which means common sense then she would have been fine. Safe Web already advised her that the site was malicious..........................But she ignored it. So her security worked but her lack of common sense is what got her into trouble.

 

[jamescv7]

Well that's how its became a useless that client is really no care off, the av flagged as malware but she way decide to ignore and open that mail how bad it is.

 

[bogdan]

I got it, even smart people tend to ignore everyday rules when it comes to computers and get into trouble. But I feel that even if common sense can do allot, it can't replace security on a Windows operating system. The question I sometimes ask myself is "How much security is enough?".

@ghost, nope Linux isn't just free, it is more secure - by design - while Windows is an insecure platform with security features added to it. There is an old, but still good article from The Register covering part of Linux advantages over Windows when it comes to security (Link).

 

[ghost]

Offtopic: Still you compared them like they would be in the same league in post 15! My concern is that we pay for a flawed OS and we could use a free and safer one.

 

[bogdan]

I wasn't comparing them. I was just saying that if we assume that common sense is all we need to stay safe while using Windows, than Windows is not worst than other OS-s when it comes to security (but Windows isn't as secure as Linux so the assumption that common sense is all we need must be false). Microsoft can't do much but add security features, re-designing the entire OS from scratch will probably cause every software not to work. Some users are tied to Windows: games, office documents (not every doc. looks alright in Open/Libre Office), ease of use, familiar applications.

 

[LoftedAphid86]

Offtopic: Still you compared them like they would be in the same league in post 15! My concern is that we pay for a flawed OS and we could use a free and safer one.

But the thing is, a lot of programs only run on this 'flawed' OS.

---

I don't believe that common sense can replace security software completely, since it is not completely unheard of for well know websites to be hacked and made to contain malware.

 

[Dieselman]

Like I have said many times................I went almost a year with NO real time protection and still never managed to get infected. Several of my friends did this also. If you follow the rules of safe surfing and use common sense the chances of getting infected are slim to none. An antivirus is used just encase but should never replace common sense. Some people think................Well I have a top av running so I can do whatever I want.

 

[LoftedAphid86]

Like I have said many times................I went almost a year with NO real time protection and still never managed to get infected. Several of my friends did this also.

But how did you know that you didn't get infected?
You may have had a keylogger sneak into your computer that was secretly transferring data into the hands of a third party, but you would never have known because nothing was there to tell you as such.

 

[Dieselman]

Elliot................The fact that you asked that means you have a lot to learn about malware removal. Did I say I used NO security? No. I said I used no REAL time security. Just once a week scans with MBAM,SAS and HMP. Nothing ever turned up. Also any advanced user should know how to spot malware using task manager or an alternative such as Process Hacker. Any good advanced user should have full and complete knowledge of every running process,service and start up item on there pc. If you do then you will automatically notice when something is out of the ordinary.

If I had a keylogger then my bank account and other vital information would have been stolen but it never was.

 

[LoftedAphid86]

Elliot................The fact that you asked that means you have a lot to learn about malware removal. Did I say I used NO security? No. I said I used no REAL time security. Just once a week scans with MBAM,SAS and HMP. Nothing ever turned up. Also any advanced user should know how to spot malware using task manager or an alternative such as Process Hacker. Any good advanced user should have full and complete knowledge of every running process,service and start up item on there pc. If you do then you will automatically notice when something is out of the ordinary.

Haven't you ever heard of bootkits and BIOS rootkits?
MBAM SAS and Hitman Pro aren't 100% accurate at any rate.
BTW Did you expect me to presume that you were scanning once a week without specifying so?

 

[Dieselman]

I specificity said..................NO REAL TIME SECURITY. And of course I heard about those infections. Most malware infections are caused by downloading some shady program or visiting some shady site. Again if you use common sense and don't go click happy and download happy the chances of getting infected are very slim. But since the average pc user is just the opposite companies like Symantec,McAfee,Avira and Avast will always be in business. Rarely do you hear about someone saying "I was on CNN reading the news and I got infected".

 

[LoftedAphid86]

I specificity said..................NO REAL TIME SECURITY. And of course I heard about those infections. Most malware infections are caused by downloading some shady program or visiting some shady site. Again if you use common sense and don't go click happy and download happy the chances of getting infected are very slim. But since the average pc user is just the opposite companies like Symantec,McAfee,Avira and Avast will always be in business.

Didn't you read part of my previous replies? Websites can be hacked into containing drive bys.

 

[Dieselman]

Of course legit web sites can be hacked.........................Very rarely. I see it everyday. This is how I know. I ask people what they were doing or what site they were on and believe me....................Its NOT CNN,MSN.Yahoo,Google,Gmail or any other legit site. I want you to look throughout history and tell me how many legit sites that are visited by the average user have been hacked? I bet about 2% if that. And if the site was hacked that has nothing to do with common sense. Its not even your fault.

 

[LoftedAphid86]

And if the site was hacked that has nothing to do with common sense. Its not even your fault.

Which is precisely why common sense cannot replace security software.

 

[Dieselman]

And your certain that your real time security can stop this? If so your sadly mistaken.

 

[ghost]

In this case the user is doomed in both cases.

 

[LoftedAphid86]

And your certain that your real time security can stop this? If so your sadly mistaken.

I am rather satisfied with the quality protection I get from GeSWall.
Also, you may get others using your computer that may not display the same level of common sense that you do.

 

[Dieselman]

LOL.......................No one else should EVER be using your computer under Admin rights. If someone needs to use the same pc then they should be under an LUA. Now your just grabbing for examples. Geswall is not realistic since 99% of the average pc users never heard of it nor does it support 64 bit OS's.

BTW.............Geswall is a HIPS and so is D+. Using both is a bad thing. Its called overlapping security.