Keeping hackers out!

[snowskater6996]

So sometime around yesterday my email got hacked into and sent everyone in my contacts stupid spam mail. What kind of anti virus protection is everyone using on there computers? This is the first time it has happened to me and I'm now paranoid and want to make sure it never happens again.

[okyankee]

get webroot. i talked to many people and they always said webroot. and these were computer fixer people. i got it and it works great.

[Fluid Power]

Kaspersky works awesome.

Darren

[Krazed]

I am a Network Engineer/Administrator by trade. But please, take everything I say with a grain of salt as this is still my opinion, albeit a professional one.

For our Corporate network, we use Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition. It's far different from your standard Symantec/Norton, neither of which I could recommend for consumer use.

For any field machines, or personal machines we tend to use Microsoft Security Essentials, and are working on setting up and installing their Corporate or Business version of the software. It runs great, also helps prevent Spyware as well as Virus attacks. There is no AntiVirus software, and anti-spyware that Prevents all spyware from loading on your computer. This includes Microsoft's software, however it is the best we have seen thus far at preventing. Microsoft may not be the most liked company out there, but they are very good at what they do.

So, my personal and professional opinion would be to download Microsoft Security Essentials directly from their site.

Hope this helps.

[Krazed]

I just want to clarify a few things regarding Spyware, Virus' and "Hackers".

Spyware is by definition software that is secretly collecting information on your computer. They seek to embed themselves on your computer for this purpose. However, the "secret" part isn't so secret anymore as they are embedding themselves as False Antivirus or AntiSpyware programs to attempt to collect credit card info and get you to pay them to remove it. Which never works. Or redirecting your web browser to other websites for similar purposes, also called "Browser Hijacking".

Virus' however seek to spread themselves throughout computers, hard drives, networks, etc. Their purpose is generally to harm, or ruin a computer.

These two very different things require very different software to prevent. Spyware is near impossible to stop in its current form as it can be loaded from just visiting any website and having an ad load on that web page, it automatically installs itself onto your computer and suddenly you have some fake Virus Alert software warning you of all the infected things it found, which is itself.

This is why I suggested two different pieces of software, but came with the final suggestion of Microsoft Security Essentials. It is an all in one AntiVirus and AntiSpyware program that so far has stopped most everything we've had it encounter.

That being said, none of this software will stop "Hackers" Unless you have firewalls, 100% Clean computers, or just aren't connected to the internet. Hackers can break through those things, find the flaws in the software, and exploit it to gain control of your computer. The VPN website and software you suggested can prevent that to a point. It gives your computer an alternate access point to the internet and stops direct connection to your computer. However, this will not prevent ANY form of spyware OR Virus' which are loaded onto computers via downloading, clicking, or just loading websites themselves.

Now, I'm not saying this is THE solution and you're wrong. I'm just trying to clarify my suggestion, and what it helps prevent.

Knowledge is Power after all.

[ateam]

i'm pretty sure you gave out your info somewhere while registering at a site. One time I registered at inboxdollars and this happened.

[wmhjr]

VPN only protects between the instantiaton of the encapsulated tunnel and the end point - which is NOT the end website. It provides zero protection during web surfing. It only protects you when connected to a private network, without using split tunneling. If split tunneling is enabled, it doesn't even protect then. I've been using VPN for more than 10 years.

[wmhjr]

Originally Posted by Sparky67

Which version of VPN are you using? I have been testing with L2TP/IPsec, which means IPsec provides a 256 bit secure channel. L2TP is Layer 2 Tunneling protocol. I can upgrade to OpenVPN which provides SSL/TLS. Most likely, you been using PPTP...

Hackers are not always hacking into your system, sometimes they employ social engineering techniques to gain access to your password. I suggest protect your personal information as well.

We/I have used every single form of VPN that exists using hundreds of different solutions. I haven't used pptp for at least 7 years. Actually longer, since w2k provided native IPSec functionality back in 1999. Pptp became obsolete by year 2000. You are missing the point. VPN provides security when accessing private networks and not when accessing public resources. VPN is not a security solution which helps when accessing the Internet in general. You can't VPN into pt.com for example. If you're on a VPN when you access pt.com, you're either going out via split tunnel, meaning you're still exposed from the network interface of your system right at the start or you're going out through your employers corporate gateway when connected through their VPN (again, unless they permit split tunneling). This holds true even when further encapsulating routing within the tunnel using GRE.

Simply, VPN is a great tool. However, it in no way is a solution which provides security for Internet browsing.

[wmhjr]

I should also mention that VPN is kind of falling out of favor. Because of some pretty significant negative aspects of VPN, other forms of access are gaining popularity. Examples are web service calls using secure APIs and RPC over HTTP. These solutions allow for access of data residing in protected private networks from the cloud without requiring VPN.