There are all kinds of compression algorithms: mpg, zip, tar, iso, etc. The basic idea is that when a series of bit is repeated over and over, you can predict those bits and remove them so you can replace those bits when you decompress them. You can also represent a bunch of bits with a smaller set of bits and use mathematical equations to recompile the longer set of bits.
Plus, OS auxiliary files aren't backed up.Leave out 'scam' and I agree. So many people I meet have no AV or PC safety concept ... - Security | DSLReports Forums.
In this day and age, as long as you use a computer, you'd be silly not to have some sort of security.
Websites are being hacked all the time (often, not for malicious reasons) and malicious ads appear on otherwise good websites.
Malicious websites are being pushed to the top of search results through Black Hat Search Engine Optimization techniques.
If you are careful, you can minimize the risk greatly but it is worse for the uninformed with social engineering taking place on social networking sites probably everyday and the other well known techniques (emails, USBs, etc).
Last edited by malexous; 04 Nov 2010 at 20:52.
For sure...I agree that the uninformed will be the first and maybe only to get burnt. As I said...I ran no AV for 5 years and never got crippled. That's a little more than dumb luck. And stats like that fly in the face of 'you'd be silly not to have some sort of security'. The reason I never ran an AV was because they were all so intrusive and with such an annoying footprint. What it means to me is that a PC can run without an AV as long as the user knows what he's doing. But if a user doesn't know what he's doing then no AV in the world will protect him. This is pretty much why I think AV's are scamola...still I use MSE just for a tiny bit of peace of mind. The rest of my peace of mind comes from my knowledge that I can surf the net without shooting myself repeatedly in the foot.
I don't know what the situation was like five years ago.
I'd be running without a real-time anti-virus right now but I currently have to share a laptop with my parents.
I wouldn't run without multiple on-demand scanners or other protection measures such as Applocker, though.
You never know which website is going to be hacked next or whether or not you will stumble upon it.
People, also, make mistakes.
Last edited by malexous; 04 Nov 2010 at 18:54.
In the last fifteen years the main aim of Malware has changed, What started as a set of "hackers" writing code to prove something to their peers, to today's multi-million dollar industry.
Whereas the payload of the early Malware was an annoyance, (screen melting, and the rest),which did escelate to software damaging payloads
The payload of the current crop of Malware is designed to create Botnets, steal identities, and properties / money. There is no user visible payload, and as has often been the case, only the errors in the code will make the average user aware that something is wrong.
Whereas it was possible to run a carefully managed system without AV in the past I would not recommend it in today's world, too much is at stake to chance the "perfect" Malware attack doing it's damage before even the most advanced user in the field can notice it.
I really like win7 and I can protect it but I find myself using Ubuntu because of all these security issues.
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