I just read this thread and i loved it.
@Lockdown some of your posts are great fun to read and the one about CCleaner show's to everyone the meaning of the poll.
As for my self after 4 years here in MT i think i am Not Paranoid.
But before that i think i was a little paranoid about my security.
These days i am not concerned about my security because i am only using my wifes pc
my laptop is never connected to the internet
Yeah, the whole reaction to the CCleaner "compromise" was a joke.
I remember many years ago... in the XP days. Tzuk just came out with Sandboxie. I remember putting so many security apps on my systems I couldn't keep it alive for more than a day or two. Always clean installing XP and starting over again. That's back in the day when Windows CDs were shipped with a PC.
So, I DO know what I'm talking about when I discuss paranoia. At one time, everything I did online was fear-driven because I just didn't know. My natural reaction was to create - or at least I thought I could - create the impenetrable PC fortress.
There are always those that get upset when I make these paranoia threads. Well that's just too bad. It is important to bring light to the darkness... to expose the darkness for what it is - which is mostly superstitition and fear of a non-existent boogeyman.
Unfortunately, for a lot of people, Windows PCs and IT security are the fabled Baba Yaga and they behave accordingly. And unfortunately, there are those with a vested interest in promoting the Baba Yaga myth.
The worst group are the privacy Nazis. They needlessly spread fear.
Nowadays, I treat Windows security like mowing the grass... it is just something I do that has some useful purpose, but technically isn't a necessity.