[ale] [OT] good FREE windisease anti-virus software (Thanx!)

[m-aaron-r]

Thanks for all the suggestions and information!   After explaining
the options to Lili, she is going to go with ClamAV -- she already
is good about doing weekly backup, so she didn't have a concern
about running the virus scanning as an off-line task.

I think the request sparked some interesting discussion, too, and
Mike Trausch's points about the critical anti-virus tool being an
informed user were especially thoughtful.  Jan Gannon's list
of six precautions was also pretty good, BUT... it seemed to
be playing into the fraudulent FUD practice of Mafia$oft using
the terror of their own windisease viruses to scare people
away from trying out Free, Freedom Friendly, Open Source
softwares.

I sent Lili a more GNU friendly version, and I'm including it
here in case others on the list might find useful to post or
distribute (-: with an adjusted introduction... :-).
========================

Effective computer security is mostly a matter of only
running software from sources you can trust.  Just
because you pay money for software doesn't mean
you can trust the source. [aka: caveat emptor]

And just as in the physical world, the best protections
against computer diseases involve the exercise of a little
forethought and common sense.  Taking up residence
in a hospital ward will obviously increase your exposure
to illnesses and up the likelyhood of getting a disease, so
the most common sense option for computer health is to
move to a secure, competently designed Operating
System. Very viable and fully functional options here
include any version of Linux (the Free, Freedom Friendly
Unix style OS that runs most of the internet) or Mac OSeX
or FreeBSD  (which is the Free, Freedom Friendly Unix
style OS that Mac OSeX is built on).  However,  even for
those who are shackled to Mafia$oft products, there are
a few general guidelines for using any computer on the
internet that are extremely helpful for avoiding viruses:

-- Never open an email attachment if you don’t know what
it is.  Even if you recognize the name of the sender, beware
of attachments.  It is possible for an infected computer can
send out email to everyone listed in an email address book
without the owner ever being aware.

-- If you get pop-ups when opening a web page don’t click
inside the pop-up to close it.  Always click the “x” close
button in the corner of the window frame. Any "cancel” or
“close” buttons inside the pop-up can be fakes and will
usually have unintended effects.

-- If you get a message on your computer screen warning
you that it is infected and telling you to download software
to remove a virus, DO NOT DO IT. At this point the system
is already infected. Downloading fake "repair' software will
only make it worse.

-- Only download or run software programs when you are
certain that the source for he programs is 100% known and
trustworthy.  Following this simple guideline can make it safe
to enjoy the cost savings and freedom of using thousands of
free, shareware and donation-ware programs.

-- The most trustworthy software choices will be those that
are  OPEN SOURCE, where the author(s) have publicly
published the source code for their products such that ANY
programmers, peers or users can readily see if there are any
serious errors, vulnerabilities or malicious components in
their programs.  An additional strong indicator that an Open
Source program is trustworthy is when it is distributed at no
cost (free) or with payment on the honor system at the user's
discretion (shareware) or with request that payment be
honored by donating to a charity (donation-ware).

-- The most trustworthy of the trustworthy Open Source
software choices are distributed under a version of the
reciprocal, freedom friendly, General Public Licenses
of the GNU Free Software Foundation (GPL). The GPL
protects the freedoms of any peer, programmer or user
to modify, improve and customize the software to suit
their needs and interests.
  (see <http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html>)

peace
aaron


On 2010/02/13, at 16:14 , Jan Gannon wrote:
> Good day,
> I've had a number of clients get infected while running AVG
> free, I don't recomend it further. Lately I have been running
> M$ Security Essentials on all the windows PCs I come into
> contact with, it seems to be doing a good job.

> Malwarebytes.org is a common install for me on client PCs
> to clean up their messes. Next I ask that they stay away from
> "the big blue E" and have them install and use Google chrome
> for all the day to day browsing, unless the site requires IE to
> function (mortgage banking sites...) Finally, I send them to my
> 6 practical tips for preventing infection http://www.aditservices.com
>
> Have a great weekend,
>
> Jan G.
> jan at aditservices.com
> http://www.aditservices.com
> 678-971-9699
>
>
> 2010/2/13 Björn Gustafsson <bg-ale at bjorng.net>
> Since we're on the subject, has anyone tried Vipre?  They claim it's
> very lightweight, which would be good in a netbook scenario.
> Non-free, in both senses of the term.
>
> http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/home-home-office/vipre/
>
> --
> Björn Gustafsson