TheGreatGuy Config

Ink

Administrator
Verified
Staff Member
Well-known
Jan 8, 2011
22,361
Welcome,

Before answering your Norton question a few questions.

What makes you think your Security Risk is High?

Is that Malwarebytes Pro?

What extensions do you use on Chrome?
 

TheGreatGuy

New Member
Thread author
Dec 3, 2011
4
Earth said:
Welcome,

Before answering your Norton question a few questions.

What makes you think your Security Risk is High?

Is that Malwarebytes Pro?

What extensions do you use on Chrome?

I often download the likes of cracks (not for anti-malware programs) and keygens, not gonna lie. I also surf the web on unfamiliar websites, but WOT has helped me avoid most of the bad apples. It is Malwarebytes Pro and the extensions i use are adblocker, xmarks, WOT, Edit this cookie, linkclump and lastpass.
 

Jack

Administrator
Verified
Staff Member
Well-known
Jan 24, 2011
9,378
TheGreatGuy said:
Norton subscription is almost up, should i renew it or replace Norton?
Real-time protection:
Norton360 is more expensive than NIS 2012 and it doesn't add anything valuable when in comes to protection so if you should buy a Symantec product then Norton Internet Security would be much more better deal.

What other suites have you tried in the past?
Do you know what a HIPS is?
How often do you open an security open user interface?
When was the last time you had a PC infection?



On-demand scanners
As you have a High risk of getting infected, you should always upload all your downloads on virustotal.com to be checked for malware!

VTUploader (Free) - link
To upload a file to VirusTotal, you can visit the main analysis site, click the Browse button to select a file from your hard drive, and then click the Send file button. You can make this process even easier with the free VirusTotal Uploader utility. After installing it, you can simply right-click any file under 20MB and choose "VirusTotal" from the Send To Windows menu. The scan results will display in your browser as usual.

Hitman Pro (Trial) - link
An on-demand scanner using multiple anti-malware engines and cloud technology. It offers unlimited free scanning but once you use it to remove detected malware it switches to a 30-day trial version. I recommend using it after you've scanned your hard-drive with the other products you have installed



TheGreatGuy said:
I often download the likes of cracks (not for anti-malware programs) and keygens, not gonna lie. I also surf the web on unfamiliar websites, but WOT has helped me avoid most of the bad apples.

Warez are the main cause of malware infection so you should try to avoid it as much as possible! Now , you know how most cyber attacks work right?
Basically you'll download a random-name.exe file and then you'll have to run it, to actually get infected..... so this is where you need to be extra careful.

Virtualization:
Even if you submitted a file to virustotal.com and it said that it's clean , you'll need to run it in virtual environment because sometimes infection can be so new that security vendors don't have signs for it.

Virtualization software will allow you to browse the web or run another application in a completely safe environment. This is especially useful when visiting high-risk web sites, whether accidentally or deliberately, as the Web browser will be completely contained within the virtual enviroment, preventing any damage to your computer.
A sandbox can also be used to run any other applications which you think may be suspect - you can run the program inside the sandbox to determine whether or not it is safe while remaining completely protected against any malicious actions that it may try to carry out.
I strongly advise you to install Sandboxie and use it for when you're browsing the Internet or running shady/unknown programs(not that you should do that but... :) ) . Alternately you can try BufferZone PRO (Free) , another great virtualization software.
Sandboxie (Free/Paid) - link
Sandboxie runs your programs in an isolated space which prevents them from making permanent changes to other programs and data in your computer.




Always run suspicious of freshly downloaded files in a Sandboxie to verify that he download isn't compromised!Sandboxie will replicate perfectly your operating system so all the files should run without any problems in it.

 
Last edited:

malbky

Level 1
Jun 23, 2011
1,011
If you want a set and forget solution renew Norton. But go for Norton Internet Security rather than 360 as pretty soon NIS2013 will be released while it may take some more months for the next version of Norton 360 based on NIS 2013 to be released. Instead of sandboxie i would recommend to try BufferZone pro. Then also forget using Warez. Beleive me I used cracks and keygens for media players and other software but some day or other they will harm your pc.
Instead You can buy Kaspersky Internet Security which has a sandboxed mode called Saferun for applications where you can try your cracks or simply use BufferZone pro.
McLovin norton 360 does have backup option.
 

McLovin

Level 76
Verified
Honorary Member
Malware Hunter
Apr 17, 2011
9,224
malbky said:
McLovin norton 360 does have backup option.

Ahh, right thought it did but wasn't sure if it did have one.
 

jamescv7

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Mar 15, 2011
13,070
Oh, well if you really want to use crack or warez then proceed somewhere beside on your Real PC, remember most of the application were working to blacklisted anything illegal and may cause trouble.

Note: For safer and better without any cracks/keygen then free/open-source program were good.
 

TheGreatGuy

New Member
Thread author
Dec 3, 2011
4
Thanks Mclovin, got all that stuff covered =]

Jack said:
TheGreatGuy said:
Norton subscription is almost up, should i renew it or replace Norton?
Real-time protection:
Norton360 is more expensive than NIS 2012 and it doesn't add anything valuable when in comes to protection so if you should buy a Symantec product then Norton Internet Security would be much more better deal.

What other suites have you tried in the past?
Do you know what a HIPS is?
How often do you open an security open user interface?
When was the last time you had a PC infection?



On-demand scanners
As you have a High risk of getting infected, you should always upload all your downloads on virustotal.com to be checked for malware!

VTUploader (Free) - link
To upload a file to VirusTotal, you can visit the main analysis site, click the Browse button to select a file from your hard drive, and then click the Send file button. You can make this process even easier with the free VirusTotal Uploader utility. After installing it, you can simply right-click any file under 20MB and choose "VirusTotal" from the Send To Windows menu. The scan results will display in your browser as usual.

Hitman Pro (Trial) - link
An on-demand scanner using multiple anti-malware engines and cloud technology. It offers unlimited free scanning but once you use it to remove detected malware it switches to a 30-day trial version. I recommend using it after you've scanned your hard-drive with the other products you have installed



TheGreatGuy said:
I often download the likes of cracks (not for anti-malware programs) and keygens, not gonna lie. I also surf the web on unfamiliar websites, but WOT has helped me avoid most of the bad apples.

Warez are the main cause of malware infection so you should try to avoid it as much as possible! Now , you know how most cyber attacks work right?
Basically you'll download a random-name.exe file and then you'll have to run it, to actually get infected..... so this is where you need to be extra careful.

Virtualization:
Even if you submitted a file to virustotal.com and it said that it's clean , you'll need to run it in virtual environment because sometimes infection can be so new that security vendors don't have signs for it.

Virtualization software will allow you to browse the web or run another application in a completely safe environment. This is especially useful when visiting high-risk web sites, whether accidentally or deliberately, as the Web browser will be completely contained within the virtual enviroment, preventing any damage to your computer.
A sandbox can also be used to run any other applications which you think may be suspect - you can run the program inside the sandbox to determine whether or not it is safe while remaining completely protected against any malicious actions that it may try to carry out.
I strongly advise you to install Sandboxie and use it for when you're browsing the Internet or running shady/unknown programs(not that you should do that but... :) ) . Alternately you can try BufferZone PRO (Free) , another great virtualization software.
Sandboxie (Free/Paid) - link
Sandboxie runs your programs in an isolated space which prevents them from making permanent changes to other programs and data in your computer.

Always run suspicious of freshly downloaded files in a Sandboxie to verify that he download isn't compromised!Sandboxie will replicate perfectly your operating system so all the files should run without any problems in it.







In the past, i have tried AVG, which didn't do a very good job (around 4 years ago).

I do know what HIPS is, I've been considering Comodo as a replacement for Norton for it, do you think that would be a bad idea?

I open my security panel quite often, but, Norton has been crashing a lot lately, especially when i configure my firewall settings. Its a problem other people have had for quite a while but Norton is yet to fix it (as far as i know).

A couple months ago, a piece of malware slipped through my real-time protection. I was suspicious and decided to scan with Malwarebytes. Needless to say, it found the infection =]

I downloaded the VirusTotal Uploader, and i will checkout the sandboxes.

Instead You can buy Kaspersky Internet Security which has a sandboxed mode called Saferun for applications where you can try your cracks or simply use BufferZone pro.
Thanks ill check it out!

For safer and better without any cracks/keygen then free/open-source program were good.
I try use open source when i can
 

jamescv7

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Mar 15, 2011
13,070
By TheGreatGuy said:
I do know what HIPS is, I've been considering Comodo as a replacement for Norton for it, do you think that would be a bad idea?

Well HIPS are really design for advance users so if you can deal for alerts then its not a bad idea.
 

Raul90

Level 14
Feb 5, 2012
658
This is a nice discussion going on here. Informative :)

I agree that Norton 360 is more expensive and if you wanna buy a Symantec product it's NIS 2012 hands down. Along the line I am using KIS 2012 now and I am finding it quite nice as compared to the 2011 version I tried last year. I do not know about the HIPS component of KIS on it's strength's but I have Comodo CIS version 5.10 in one of my pc's and D+ it's superb! Can't wait to install the version 6 which is in the works now. Blocking .exe from starting other applications and alerting you to unnatural phenomenon in your system great. The sandbox component needs some work still and the vulnerability to the Stuxnet/Blackday trojan will be worked out in version 6 so if you will use Comodo the workaround for the said trojans should be applied. It's in the Comodo forums the workaround. Comodo AV I cannot say it's okay for..well it's improved now but I still prefer Avira/Avast free instead of Comodo's. Firewall/D+ is a hands down favorite!

Emsisoft's Online Armor's HIPS is also great if you will consider it. The Stuxnet/Blackday trojan and it's variants issue with Comodo is peanuts to Emsisofts. Though it tends to be a bit noisy than Comodo's I mean the pop-ups.

Just be careful on the sites you visit. I have visited some relative sites that you visit but I do that inside SBIE always plus I have it set to clear everything when I close the sandbox. KIS SafeRun is okay too but when I print in pdf inside SafeRun for browser I cannot edit that pdf. Printing in a sandbox browser using SBIE is no problem so I prefer SBIE's than SafeRun but other than that it's okay.

I too also use VTUploader ver2 and I have the variant of Jotti's in hand for a second opinion. Freeware's like this I always use :)

Just my two cents here. Good luck!
 

TheGreatGuy

New Member
Thread author
Dec 3, 2011
4
jamescv7 said:
By TheGreatGuy said:
I do know what HIPS is, I've been considering Comodo as a replacement for Norton for it, do you think that would be a bad idea?

Well HIPS are really design for advance users so if you can deal for alerts then its not a bad idea.

Thanks a lot =]

The sandbox component needs some work still and the vulnerability to the Stuxnet/Blackday trojan will be worked out in version 6 so if you will use Comodo the workaround for the said trojans should be applied. It's in the Comodo forums the workaround. Comodo AV I cannot say it's okay for..well it's improved now but I still prefer Avira/Avast free instead of Comodo's. Firewall/D+ is a hands down favorite!

Emsisoft's Online Armor's HIPS is also great if you will consider it. The Stuxnet/Blackday trojan and it's variants issue with Comodo is peanuts to Emsisofts. Though it tends to be a bit noisy than Comodo's I mean the pop-ups.

Just be careful on the sites you visit. I have visited some relative sites that you visit but I do that inside SBIE always plus I have it set to clear everything when I close the sandbox. KIS SafeRun is okay too but when I print in pdf inside SafeRun for browser I cannot edit that pdf. Printing in a sandbox browser using SBIE is no problem so I prefer SBIE's than SafeRun but other than that it's okay.

I'll go checkout emisoft, thank you
 

Jack

Administrator
Verified
Staff Member
Well-known
Jan 24, 2011
9,378
Raul90 said:
This is a nice discussion going on here. Informative :)

I agree that Norton 360 is more expensive and if you wanna buy a Symantec product it's NIS 2012 hands down. Along the line I am using KIS 2012 now and I am finding it quite nice as compared to the 2011 version I tried last year. I do not know about the HIPS component of KIS on it's strength's but I have Comodo CIS version 5.10 in one of my pc's and D+ it's superb!

Kapersky's Application Control , is just awesome , basically you as a user can take measures even after a infection occurred... Open the UI and move the malicious program from the Low Restricted group(it's basically where Kaspersky will put most unknown programs , still trying to figure out why they aren't changing this behavior :shy:) to the Untrusted group... it will have no rights and basically will be inactive.
One problem that I have with KIS is that I can never seem to find how to clean the Safe Run environment......Their is a button for cleaning it but I've installed a rogue once and even after I've pressed the 'Clean' button the rogue was still there,well most likely I've did something wrong..
CIS is just awesome, don't have anything bad to say about this suite apart from the fact that requires a certain level of knowledge to actually use it at its full potential.
Both suites , along with Avast 7 are top-notch suites that should give you a high degree of protection.
 

Raul90

Level 14
Feb 5, 2012
658
Jack said:
Raul90 said:
This is a nice discussion going on here. Informative :)

I agree that Norton 360 is more expensive and if you wanna buy a Symantec product it's NIS 2012 hands down. Along the line I am using KIS 2012 now and I am finding it quite nice as compared to the 2011 version I tried last year. I do not know about the HIPS component of KIS on it's strength's but I have Comodo CIS version 5.10 in one of my pc's and D+ it's superb!

Kapersky's Application Control , is just awesome , basically you as a user can take measures even after a infection occurred... Open the UI and move the malicious program from the Low Restricted group(it's basically where Kaspersky will put most unknown programs , still trying to figure out why they aren't changing this behavior :shy:) to the Untrusted group... it will have no rights and basically will be inactive.
One problem that I have with KIS is that I can never seem to find how to clean the Safe Run environment......Their is a button for cleaning it but I've installed a rogue once and even after I've pressed the 'Clean' button the rogue was still there,well most likely I've did something wrong..
CIS is just awesome, don't have anything bad to say about this suite apart from the fact that requires a certain level of knowledge to actually use it at its full potential.
Both suites , along with Avast 7 are top-notch suites that should give you a high degree of protection.

Oh wow, thanks for that explanation Jack! I'll check that out later when I boot to Windows 7. Have not tinkered with it yet as I was busy. I believe my kids have as they were asking me but zit..I can't answer them . Maybe I'll post those questions here when I can in a new post.

That info on SafeRun is scary. I think I'll disable it so the kids will not use it. I'll set SBIE instead. Can't wait to try out version 6 of CIS

Goodluck to you jamescv7!
 

jamescv7

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Mar 15, 2011
13,070
Raul90 said:
Goodluck to you jamescv7!

Hmm.. on what Good Luck are you referring? :D Caused I just replied on the post by TheGreatGuy about if using Comodo would be a bad idea.
 

House_maniac

Level 1
Sep 21, 2011
426
Raul90 said:
This is a nice discussion going on here. Informative :)

I agree that Norton 360 is more expensive and if you wanna buy a Symantec product it's NIS 2012 hands down. Along the line I am using KIS 2012 now and I am finding it quite nice as compared to the 2011 version I tried last year. I do not know about the HIPS component of KIS on it's strength's but I have Comodo CIS version 5.10 in one of my pc's and D+ it's superb! Can't wait to install the version 6 which is in the works now. Blocking .exe from starting other applications and alerting you to unnatural phenomenon in your system great. The sandbox component needs some work still and the vulnerability to the Stuxnet/Blackday trojan will be worked out in version 6 so if you will use Comodo the workaround for the said trojans should be applied. It's in the Comodo forums the workaround. Comodo AV I cannot say it's okay for..well it's improved now but I still prefer Avira/Avast free instead of Comodo's. Firewall/D+ is a hands down favorite!

Emsisoft's Online Armor's HIPS is also great if you will consider it. The Stuxnet/Blackday trojan and it's variants issue with Comodo is peanuts to Emsisofts. Though it tends to be a bit noisy than Comodo's I mean the pop-ups.

Just be careful on the sites you visit. I have visited some relative sites that you visit but I do that inside SBIE always plus I have it set to clear everything when I close the sandbox. KIS SafeRun is okay too but when I print in pdf inside SafeRun for browser I cannot edit that pdf. Printing in a sandbox browser using SBIE is no problem so I prefer SBIE's than SafeRun but other than that it's okay.

I too also use VTUploader ver2 and I have the variant of Jotti's in hand for a second opinion. Freeware's like this I always use :)

Just my two cents here. Good luck!

great post but i have to correct something that you think comodo av is not good i've mentioned it previously comodo av improved a lot since v 5.8 was released it has a better detection than avast due to its agressive heuristic which comes with some false positive so you can't say avast or avira is better may be in your opinion??
 

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