Shark Bait

Knowledge Centers

Operating Systems

Networking & Internet

Mobile & Wireless

Security

Storage

Business Intelligence

Servers & Data Center

Computerworld Reports

Industry

See your link here

Douglas Schweitzer

The Security Sector

It certainly won't protect you if it's not up to date!

6 comments

TAGS:anti-virus
IT TOPICS:Macintosh & Apple, Security, Windows & Microsoft

Ever see all the software that vendors load up on new PCs? Right after Vista goes through setup and registration you can watch the system tray fill up with icons as program after program loads. While most of that stuff can be removed to help speed up the operating system, some of it is useful security software that needs to be up and running at all times.

For the first 60 - 90 days, that "trial" software keeps you relatively safe from malware. But then it happens, the software expires and the user fails to purchase the one-year renewal subscription. There are many reasons for this. Sometimes it's laziness, sometimes there are monetary issues but whatever the reason, running bare is a dangerous endeavor.

I was at a birthday party last week and noticed a Windows laptop running iTunes for the musical entertainment. The laptop was only four months old and I quickly saw the warning balloon in the tray showing that the Internet Security suite had expired and that a renewal had not been purchased. I asked the owner if she was aware and she said yes but did not want to spend the steep renewal fee. I told her that there are a few free AV software programs for home use that she could quickly download that would work about as well as the "pre-installed" software that was no longer up to date. She was shocked that it was that easy. I think under current economic conditions, more people would take advantage of free security software if they just knew it existed!

Email this

Digg this

What People Are Saying

Add new comment

Thanks for making a point that all too often goes unmade

Submitted by Bill Fallon on September 11, 2009 - 1:50 P.M.

That there are plenty of very viable, no cost PC Security solutions. We could think of computers going without PC Security in the same way as people going without health insurance. Sooner or later they're going to get sick, and will probably infect other people once they do.

My company, Comodo offers a complete, technologically advanced security suite for free that is installed by tens of thousands of people daily, many in countries where paying $50 for security software isn't a realistic option. However, there's still plenty of un/underprotected PC's right here in the good old USA. With special deals at big box stores offering new PC's now for as low as $300, PC ownership is becoming a reality for more and more segments of the population, some of which not much more economically able to foot the annual bill for virus signature updates as a citizen of a lesser-developed country. So they take their chances after the 90-day trial expires.

Un/underprotected computers affect potentially everybody on the Internet, not just the guy with the un/underprotected computer. For instance, they're the soft targets for botnet operators, they send the spam and phishing e-mails that clog up systems, aid in Identity theft and other cyber crime, etc.

Reply | Report this comment

Questions

Submitted by Anonymous on September 9, 2009 - 8:51 A.M.

1. Was the Windows firewall (or any firewall) turned on?

2. Was iTunes running in a limited or standard user account? (For Vista, I mean a *real* standard user account.)

3. Was Windows and iTunes up-to-date?

These three items trump anti-malware in Windows.

Reply | Report this comment

A security suite is part of the solution

Submitted by Richard Wang - SophosLabs on September 9, 2009 - 1:49 P.M.

You are entirely correct that good security practice includes keeping an active firewall, using accounts with limited rights and ensuring that the operating system and applications are patched. However, these measures should not be seen as a substitute for anti-malware software. There are always unpatched vulnerabilities, often in technologies that would be allowed through a firewall. For example a malicious Flash file in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. You would typically receive such a file by email so it would already be inside the firewall before it was activated.
No single piece of security software or behavior can make you invulnerable to hackers but going without anti-malware protection is extremely unwise. There are many ways to attack a computer, the more you can block the safer you will be.

Reply | Report this comment