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13 Responses to “McAfee targets p2pnet”

1. Reader's Write Says:
   May 28th, 2007 at 2:29 pm

   Some people consider “‘anything’ McAfee” to be pure and unadulterated crap, and for that “condition [of being "crap"]” to have been in existance since the middle 1990’s (at near minimum – in all probability, McAfee products lacked nothing abysmallity since the company was initially founded).

   Some people have long personal-experience with software from and by McAfee, and have always found McAfee to be lacking in quality. Some people.

2. Reader's Write Says:
   May 28th, 2007 at 2:39 pm

   I have been removing McAffee from client computers for about
   2 years now because it has been a MAJOR resource hog, and
   the source of extreme system slowdowns on many systems.

   I have been replacing it with AVGfree ( Grisoft ) and
   SuperAntiSpyware ( also free ). Both of those have shown
   excellent performance with little system slowdown.

   Just dump McAfee.
   A Company willing to label applications and sites as problems
   without the appropriate research needs to vanish.

   Hopefully, they won’t sue me for Libel ( the new american business model ).

   ” The above statement is my own personal opinion, and does
   not necessarily reflect the opinion of the site owners, operators
   or ANYONE ELSE associated with this site. “

3. Reader's Write Says:
   May 28th, 2007 at 3:24 pm

   If McAfee (or whoever pulls their brass nose ring) will travel back in time, and make their (McAfee’s) AV product just so easy to uninstall as the Norton AV product of the era (1996), then I will apologize for considering McAfee a piece-of-shit company.

   But since time-travel is impossible (at least on any truly meaningful level), then McAfee is, in my not-so-humble opinion, really, truly, and absolutely a piece-of-crap company. And short of an untimely demise, I cannot think of much to make me publicly denounce my opinion.

4. Reader's Write Says:
   May 28th, 2007 at 3:53 pm

   For most, looks like it is. Unlike Linux and its repositories, Windows software is distributed from all kinds of sites, and some of it contains nasty stuff. Also, Windows XP was not made secure by default, and people tend to run as admins all the time (try explain to your Aunt Tillie why she should not run as admin).

   In my case though, I do not have an antivirus installed. I do not run as admin, I do not download/install mega cool screensavers and the like just for the sake of it, and I do read reviews from users on Google Groups and the like sites before downloading software.

   On the other hand, a good firewall IS necessary for all users, because attacks on network services happen without user interaction. And the XP built-in firewall is more than enough, while for Windows 2000 there is WIPFW that is only 200 KB.

5. Reader's Write Says:
   May 28th, 2007 at 4:00 pm

   To add to the previous comment, I do on-demand scans for particular files, using virustotal.com and virus.org websites. The point of the previous post was that a _real-time monitor_ is not necessary in my case and I can enjoy the full performance of my hardware.

6. Reader's Write Says:
   May 28th, 2007 at 4:05 pm

   McAfee has followed in the steps of other corporate bloatware. If anyone remembers “back in the day” programs such as Norton Commander were must-have items. During the time that McAfee and Norton made names for themselves by commonly exceeding the expectations of computer users they were programmed by competent programmers who knew their stuff.

   On after the years of mergers, corporate interests are in the cash cow, not the product performance. By expanding their products to try to be all things to all people and losing focus on just what they are supposed to be about, bloat-ware has crept into the programs. Now they under-preform, never exceed users expectations, and are true resource hogs.

   While attempting to add yet more services to inform the user of bad sites, they have failed to do the one thing most needed to have the service actually be of worth; basic and through research into what is or is not malware. It is commendable that they are reaching for extra benefits to try and convince the buying public their product is still worth the increase in money to subscribe to their services but in the end the lack of value stares you right in the face when you read of these types of actions that according to their own information was glossed over without adequate research into what they are warning of. For a company reputed to be up on malware to support their product it shows just the opposite in that the parent corporate body views the application as the cash cow and not the value for the money that products with true worth always show.

   You now see another bloatware trying to come up with new ways to say, “Hey we’re still here, we’re a household name, and we’re worth the bucks”, when just the opposite holds true. You couldn’t give me this product at present as it is nothing but a ripoff to computer resources and users.

   I would add this is my opinion of the product. Short of being an old hand to using the computer and seeing over time what happens to many of the programs I used to love and use, there has been no research to back this opinion. This leaves a wide open field to those that would prove me wrong with their own opinion and facts.

7. Reader's Write Says:
   May 28th, 2007 at 4:09 pm

   Look at Norton Utilities bloatware, Norton Ghost re-branding (controversy at ghost.radified.com)

8. Reader's Write Says:
   May 28th, 2007 at 4:57 pm

   1. Ditch using the over-hyped and default antivirus and antispyware programs that come with major brand name computers. The reason behind thi advice is that the more installations, the higher probability that it will be targetted by malicious software. Most name brand computer suppliers like to ship trial versions of McAfee or Norton Antivurus. They do this because of “Partnership” arrangements with software vendors. In other words, they make money from software vendors by shipping computers with these programs installed.

   2. Change the default password on your router, DSL modem, or (in some cases) cable modem. If you do not know how to do this, contact you Internet service provider’s tech support.

   3. Download and install Ad-Aware and AVG Antivirus from those company’s websites. Ad-Aware can be found at http://www.lavasoft.de AVG Antivirus (The Free Version) can be found at http://free.grisoft.com I recommend these products because I have used them with my clients and have stopped just about all problems with them.

   4. I also recommend periodically visiting http://housecall.trendmicro.com and doing an ONLINE virus and spyware scan. There will be prompts to get you to download their trialware, but you can ignore these prompts. Just do the scan.

   5. I HIGHLY recommend visiting http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/products/ and downloading and using both Firefox (for web surfing) and Thunderbird (for email). I also use Adblock Plus and NoScript extensions. I have found that these two programs to be HIGHLY secure compared with Internet Explorer and Outlook Express.

   6. I also recommend using ZoneAlarm as a personal firewall. This download can be found at http://www.zonelabs.com. This program will give you at least some say into what programs on your computer will be able to access the Internet.

   7. I you receive an email with an attachment, check out the sender to make sure the return address is familiar. Even if you know the person sending you the attachment, check with them to verify that they actually intended to send you the file. The reason behind this is the fact that malicious software can send attachments that look like they have come from trusted friends.

   8. I have heard good things about Spybot Search and Destroy as well as other brands of malware removal. Word of mouth from friends as well as geeks you know can generally be depended on.

   9. DO NOT download untrusted software. By untrusted software, I mean any software from “warez” sites, software that is not recommended by friends, geeks or family. Also check the user licensing agreement for ANY MENTION of the use of ad-generating software. If it contains adware, DON’T USE IT. Two website that I consider trustworthy for software downloads is http://www.sourceforge.net and http://www.freshmeat.net . I have yet to find any program there that contains adware or spyware.

   10. If you do download software, wait a couple of days before using it, update your antivirus and antispyware programs, scan the downloaded software, and then you may consider trying it.

   11. If you download movies and music, you may also want to take the following precautions: Avoid downloadind any codecs that your software prompts you to download until you check out that the codec contains no adware. Also avoid downloading any program that is reference in info files for the purpose of obtaining passwords for rar or zip archives.

   12. Try to NOT use a Windows account that has administrative privileges unless absolutely necessary. Also, password protect EACH AND EVERY Windows account even if everybody who has access to the computer is a trusted person. If they are trustworthy, you may give them the passwords. These passwords are used in order to keep malware from easily escalating their privileges.

   Clients of mine who have followed this advice have NOT run into problems with malware. Cyberscan

9. Reader's Write Says:
   May 28th, 2007 at 4:58 pm

   1. Ditch using the over-hyped and default antivirus and antispyware programs that come with major brand name computers. The reason behind thi advice is that the more installations, the higher probability that it will be targetted by malicious software. Most name brand computer suppliers like to ship trial versions of McAfee or Norton Antivurus. They do this because of “Partnership” arrangements with software vendors. In other words, they make money from software vendors by shipping computers with these programs installed.

   2. Change the default password on your router, DSL modem, or (in some cases) cable modem. If you do not know how to do this, contact you Internet service provider’s tech support.

   3. Download and install Ad-Aware and AVG Antivirus from those company’s websites. Ad-Aware can be found at http://www.lavasoft.de AVG Antivirus (The Free Version) can be found at http://free.grisoft.com I recommend these products because I have used them with my clients and have stopped just about all problems with them.

   4. I also recommend periodically visiting http://housecall.trendmicro.com and doing an ONLINE virus and spyware scan. There will be prompts to get you to download their trialware, but you can ignore these prompts. Just do the scan.

   5. I HIGHLY recommend visiting http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/products/ and downloading and using both Firefox (for web surfing) and Thunderbird (for email). I also use Adblock Plus and NoScript extensions. I have found that these two programs to be HIGHLY secure compared with Internet Explorer and Outlook Express.

   6. I also recommend using ZoneAlarm as a personal firewall. This download can be found at http://www.zonelabs.com. This program will give you at least some say into what programs on your computer will be able to access the Internet.

   7. I you receive an email with an attachment, check out the sender to make sure the return address is familiar. Even if you know the person sending you the attachment, check with them to verify that they actually intended to send you the file. The reason behind this is the fact that malicious software can send attachments that look like they have come from trusted friends.

   8. I have heard good things about Spybot Search and Destroy as well as other brands of malware removal. Word of mouth from friends as well as geeks you know can generally be depended on.

   9. DO NOT download untrusted software. By untrusted software, I mean any software from “warez” sites, software that is not recommended by friends, geeks or family. Also check the user licensing agreement for ANY MENTION of the use of ad-generating software. If it contains adware, DON’T USE IT. Two website that I consider trustworthy for software downloads is http://www.sourceforge.net and http://www.freshmeat.net . I have yet to find any program there that contains adware or spyware.

   10. If you do download software, wait a couple of days before using it, update your antivirus and antispyware programs, scan the downloaded software, and then you may consider trying it.

   11. If you download movies and music, you may also want to take the following precautions: Avoid downloadind any codecs that your software prompts you to download until you check out that the codec contains no adware. Also avoid downloading any program that is reference in info files for the purpose of obtaining passwords for rar or zip archives.

   12. Try to NOT use a Windows account that has administrative privileges unless absolutely necessary. Also, password protect EACH AND EVERY Windows account even if everybody who has access to the computer is a trusted person. If they are trustworthy, you may give them the passwords. These passwords are used in order to keep malware from easily escalating their privileges.

   Clients of mine who have followed this advice have NOT run into problems with malware. Cyberscan

10. Reader's Write Says:
    May 28th, 2007 at 7:13 pm

    Very good advice in the above.

    Having a router helps a good bit. Routers protect groups of computers but not individual ones. For protecting the single computer a software firewall is a near necessity. It becomes your bells and whistles to let you know what is going on.

    Another no cost protection is the host file. The host file is included in Windows but comes blank with no data included in the file. You must add the data yourself. Do a search for host file and you will find the instructions on how to do it in addition to a list to paste into the file. The host file will redirect sent information back to itself rather than to the sites blocked. The host file can be used to block ads, spyware sites, some malware sites, and a lot of other pains in the butt to the average surfing.

    I never use bloatware, having found that dedicated softwares preform far better, quicker, and use less resources than the all-in-ones. Firefox is a must and I agree with the extensions the above writer mentions as the only two additional extensions I run.

    I never open attachments even from those I know unless I know ahead of time it is coming. If it is someone I don’t know in the email it is spam unless I initiated the contact. After 8 years of using the same nick and the same email address, I’ve yet to catch malware from that method. It’s rare I see any spam.

    Word of mouth is the absolute best way to find what works. Never go by site advertisement about it. Ad writers are paid good money to make it sound like the answer to all your problems and they will never mention the negative aspects of a program.

    Never ever download a special player or some codex that requires special programs to view a video. It’s one of the prime ways to acquire spyware and malware. Aways get what you do download from the original site and never from third party. One of the more favorite download sites became a malware site by not riding herd on the offers. It got so bad they changed their requirements as many third parties were taking Open Source applications and compiling them with their own spyware. It go where the sites name was synonymous with spyware and no one would accept their downloads except the noobs who didn’t know any better.

    Under normal operations during surfing it is not uncommon for me to refuse cookies and to delete cookies on a very regular basis. In addition I use PG2 as a method of blocking many sites. Even here, with cookies on, you will receive a cookie from paypal without your asking. While I understand that finances have to come from somewhere to keep a site open, I prevent that cookie from having a free ride by simply blocking its access so I don’t have to delete it every time I come to this site. It is only when I wish to post that I turn the cookies on to do so.

    There are good freewares out there for virus protection and spyware protection, among them AVG and spybot. Use them and they will save you a lot of problems.

11. Reader's Write Says:
    May 29th, 2007 at 1:02 am

    That is good advice. But i would point out that the majority of it only applies to windows, which is a mess when it comes to security.

    You only have to switch to a GNU/Linux or a GNU/BSD distribution to avoid these problems. Personally, i find windows becomes more and more obsolete with every day. The only reason i ever find myself accessing it, is to play the latest video games. As soon as gaming companies start porting to these FOSS operating systems, windows will disappear into obscurity. We have a tempory solution in wine, but we need more modern native ports.

12. Reader's Write Says:
    May 29th, 2007 at 11:27 am

    I am the author of the parent post. I agree with you that Linux is the way to go. I run Linux, Solaris, and BSD almost exclusively. I do run Windows on one computer for testing certain application. I have found that just about any Unix based operating system to be much more secure than Windows. This is because Unix and Windows were designed under two very different design philosophies. Windows (as well as the underlying DOS) was designed for ease of use as the primary factor. Unix was designed to allow multiple users to be able to use the same computer without interfering with one another. It was Microsoft based operating systems that brought personal computing to the masses. Now that has been done, Microsoft has been trying to play catchup in the process of security. The difficulty that Microsoft faces is the fact that it has had to implement a security layer on top of an unsecure system. It’s proprietary nature also makes it legally difficult for people to reverse engineer and improve it. This same thing also goes for just about any commercial, proprietary software.

    As far as having a secure computer goes, a Unix-based system is the way to go. However, years of trying to convince Windows users to take this path has been for the most part unsuccessful. The advice I offered is something that most Windows users are halfway willing to implement. Linux or Unix is the best as far as security goes, but recommending other approaches for Windows users is the most practical, since this type of advice will be more widely received.

    Cyberscan

13. Clailiems Says:
    December 17th, 2007 at 2:20 pm

    I’d prefer reading in my native language, because my knowledge of your languange is no so well. But it was interesting! Look for some my links:

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