Internet security - does it worry you?

Former_MSE_Andrea

Poll started 11 May: Are you worried about internet security? Which of the following is the closest fit to your view on shopping and banking on the net?

a. IT'S SAFER. You've more protection, guarantees and consumer rights
b. THE SAME. There are people out to defraud you whatever you do, the risks are similar
c. DON'T TRUST IT. It's too easy for people to hack into accounts, and techno-steal

Vote here or click reply to discuss.

We_Laugh_Indoors

i think this is going to be a subject with plenty of differing views.

personally i use the internet for anything i can, it makes things so much simpler.

i use antivirus and firewall software, and also products such as adaware and spybot to try and keep my pc clean.

i would never put any personal information such as bank details etc into a public computer.

i agree with answer b. there is always the chance of being defrauded, be in on the t'internet or at cash machines.

its sad that you can be as careful as possible and still run into problems.

andy88_2

I'm happy enough to order some items, and services like ferries and airfares on the internet. I believe that the credit card details are well protected during the transaction itself by being on a secure encrypted connection to the site in question. The risk that they can be hacked off the servers of the suppliers is absolutely minimal for reputable companies. I don't use eBay or PayPal, but if I did I think the problems there are more people-based than technological.

But I will not carry out online banking or other financial transactions, in case the computer is stolen, and some details stored in cookies. For the same reason, I delete visits to secure sites from the Temporary Internet Files cache, and don't have any other finances on here either. I may be incorrect in these assumptions, and maybe in future I'll need to worry, but I don't think my affairs are complicated enough to need to think about it for now.

gibby

the best thing I have seen for spyware protection is spy Dr

it sits on your machine just like a virus prog and kills it all off

we were getting 5 or so pcs a week totally disabled withthis junk but this prog
just stops it

its a free trial thing so if it dosent suit u then dont register for it

http://www.alternativesouls.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=8


Gibby

tugger

Not a problem if you have a Mac.

The OS is bombproof, the OS's firewall is the best in the business, and so is the built-in antispam.

No-One has written a virus for the mac, and for very good reason. XP is built up in layers, updates over updates over updates, leaving the original code looking like a teabag.. a virus can get in pretty much anywhere! The Mac OS is like a fortress, it was re-written in 1999-2000 from the bottom up.
If you still vulnerable, you can activate the file-vault, and this encrypts the OS (and your personal data) on the fly, with 128 bit encryption. There is no way a virus could penetrate this!

Microsoft should learn from this, instead of constantly updating. XP has 5 million lines of code that even microsoft has no idea when it was originally written and what it does!

Get a mac, and get smug.

nvv

I've found Micro$oft's own Spyware Beta to be very good. It sits and monitors everything in real time, scans, updates as well as alerts others as soon as it senses any form of spyware or trojans doing their rounds.

What's good about it is that it removes these nasties from the registry and even when disguised as a program or DLL file, where other software was not able to remove everything completely.

These are free downloads...

Otherwise, I used to use Lavasoft's Adaware which can be downloaded from:
http://www.lavasoft.com/support/download/#free

You can download Spyware Beta from the Micro$oft website at:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=321cd7a2-6a57-4c57-a8bd-dbf62eda9671&displaylang=en

Publicenemyno9681

Sorry to burst your bubble but.... your wrong!!!

Mac OS is LOVELY, But as i was saying...

The only way to protect your computer is too unplug it, ANY security code that is written can be beaten... The fewer people who use a program the less attention it gets from hackers beacuse its not worth there time beacuse... not many people use it.

There are Viruses for mac (ive seen them), just not very many beacuse the "l33t" (Elite) programers who write them tend to be more interested in rasing hell with microsoft (like the W32.Blaster worm that caused choas, fun!).

128 bit encryption is great but if you can access it then it can be accessed so its possible to break it (the os has to keep the de-crytption keys somewhere)

REMEMBER: you can make a computer do anything, if you can do it by clicking your mouse then you can write a program which does the same & when a program runs when your logged on IT HAS THE SAME RIGHTS AS YOU!

SO!!! the internet will never be "SAFE" to use, BUT , i feel safe using it beacuse i know that the chances of anyone attacking ME are remote (but possible) :eek:

thesealeyboy

I have to admit to agreeing with answer 'B'. Whatever methods people use for banking/finances, there will always be people wanting to exploit them. I have a saying I use in my job, if there's a system of any kind, then there is always a way round it, you just have to find it!

I have used Internet Banking for probably three years now, going back to the time when I was on 56K dialup, now on 1Mb Broadband. I've always run a good firewall, and AV. I've been using mcafee security centre now for about 6 months and so far has proved to be one of the most reliable , stable, and non disruptive bits of software i've seen in a long time.

As publicenemy says above, the Internet will never be totally safe, but how many times do you look around you before entering your PIN number in at the checkout in the supermarket or cash machine? How confident are you that the machine you just put your card into isnt tapped or wired to enable someone to clone your card and/or PIN? It doesn't matter where we are, what we're doing or what medium we're using, there will always be the possibility of someone somwhere doing the dirty on us.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Below are the results to our previous poll. Thanks to the 901 participants who took part in this poll.

Previous Poll Topic: Poll started 11 May: Are you worried about internet security? Which of the following is the closest fit to your view on shopping and banking on the net?

b. THE SAME. There are people out to defraud you whatever you do, the risks are similar 69.2% - (624 Votes)
c. DON'T TRUST IT. It's too easy for people to hack into accounts, and techno-steal 16.5% - (149 Votes)
a. IT'S SAFER. You've more protection, guarantees and consumer rights 14% - (127 Votes)

Total Votes: 901