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Where can I find a good Virus/Malware software? My Mcafee expired yesterday, Thanks.

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Eddie,

In reply to your original question, I have an opinion, based on research I've done to keep my own computers secure... The answer: from what I've been able to gather, there isn't one - good security software, that is.

The reason: effective malicious code requires a lot of skill and resources to create. The folks who write this highly specialized code are sufficiently skilled and have the resources to create software that is not detectable by any existing anti-virus software, and can find it's way through firewalls. The programmers take the time to make certain their malicious code is "smarter" than any protection currently available.

Anti-virus programmers simply can't create software to protect us from malicious code they don't know exists. Once a new threat is identified, they get busy and create appropriate safe-guards, but the damage is already done.

A person who relies upon anti-virus software and firewalls is like that emperor with the new clothes - you feel appropriately covered, but really, you're naked and out in the cold.

The only real security available to us is provided by the user him/herself; know your software, and conduct yourself responsibly.
Linux requires that the user give permission to any software before it can interact with critical systems - Windows does not, which is why Linux is considered "safer". But even in Windows, the user decides what software is introduced into the computer. A person can research the software and it's sources, decide which is legitimate and responsibly managed, and allow only that into their computing environment.

Using a separate computer on the web, and erasing cookies, passwords, and temporary internet files after each session is a good idea. Keep that computer free of sensitive information, and at the least sign of trouble, wipe the hard-drive and re-install your operating system.

Those nice folk who use anti-virus software to avoid passing on malicious code to others have their heart in the right place, but the software they so generously install for this purpose is simply not capable of identifying a significant threat. Once again the emperor is feeling that breeze...

Based on this information, I choose to use no anti-virus software, even when using Windows (although there may be a firewall in my router). And in 10 years on the web, I've never experienced a problem attributable to malicious code - it has always boiled down to operator error...

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.


just looking for clues...
Oren.
http://www.masteringmatters.com