[DB7]

Just what do people do to get viruses/hacked/spyware?

This spins from another topic I've posted in.

I don't run my anti-virus actively as I hate things that run automatically on my system, I only run my anti-virus once a week so if I do get infected I pick it up. But I have never had a virus infection.

I don't run a firewall and yet I have never been hacked.

I run Ad-Aware and Spybot but have never had any spyware beyond tracking cookies.

So just what do people get up to, to get infected, hacked, spywared?

 

[Coolsvilleman]

they go to pron sites

 

[CD]

They do what prolly 95% of this forum does. Let their stupidity do it for them.

 

[dukenukem]

Well if you see popups that say you need to download something most likely it is a virus/spyware,but there are those who would go ahead and download whatever it is thinking it helps there system.Also what people call warez sires are a big cause too since they do that voting crap among having to agree to install something before you can get the file.

 

[dpence]

Anymore you can get a Virus/Adware from ANY website...
But the most prevelent are the Porn/Warez sites...Oh and online gaming sites, like uproar, party poker, etc....

 

[RZetlin]

I deal with customers on a daily basis with their virus/spyware ridden computers.

How people get spyware/viruses:

-Clicking on pop-up windows. They think these windows are security features on their computer. (E.g. Your computer is infected click here to clean it up!)

-Opening up attachments from unknown e-mails.

-Installing spyware ridden P2P programs like Kazaa. I had a customer who wanted to buy Kazaa because he heard he could listen to music for free -- I'm not kidding.

-Porn sites. I had customer who asked whether or not it was a bad thing to go to porn sites after his computer was infected with a trojan...I told him to stick to "clean" sites. :lol:

-Kids installing whether software on the computer. Since parents don't know about computers kids have full reign on the PC. They bring viruses from friends and school.

-Not updating their antivirus/antispyware programs. Once the customer install their security program they think that it's done once and for all. They don't even bother updating when their software expires.

To sum it up it's pretty much ignorance on the part the customer which trashes their computers.

 

[Seta-San]

not to mention those 'Top "number here' 'category here' Sites"..

such as "Top 5000 Warez Sites" or "Top 100 Romz sites"

sites get onto that list by having you click on multiple ads and vote.. Most the sites you go to are made to exploit hole in IE.

 

[RF]

They do what prolly 95% of this forum does. Let their stupidity do it for them.

That pretty much sums it up. Ive seen customer computer infected from 'normal' stuff aswell. Like online games, real player and other bundled crap, and search bars. Online poker is a big one aswell.

Edit: ANOTHER thing is all thoes idiots out there who use email for 'jokes'. Thoes people are walking STD's that need to be shot ffs. Sure the joke could be funny, but its got 4000 extras riding its ass.

 

[masque]

I've had a lot of my friends and family download either hacked versions of Ad-aware/spybot or download "fake" anti-spyware programs that only download more spyware the longer you use it.

 

[Toshiro]

Everything mentioned above is very true. Although what is not mentioned is ppl sometimes forgetting to update windows (it happens, I have seen it before).

 

[Vanit]

I hate to say it... but Windows updates only fix the things you didn't notice were broken .

 

[culubalo]

they can do anything and BAM you got porno. Theres a story of a lil kid who was bout 5 years old got a porno add popup on the comp. fortunately mum was there to pound close on the popup and to yell and scream "ESCAPE YOU DIRTY MUTHA *****!".
THat was on zdnet I think.

 

[CD]

Congratulations, you are now the dumbest person I've ever met.

 

[Player-X]

I just treat any software I find on the internet as a treat until I do some serious research on it to check for spyware,I do the same for websites

 

[Aided Onslaught]

Before I say anything it's pr0n, you need the zero.

But yeah, I use spybot and adware, the only thing I get are cookies and maybe something small here and there that's anything more. My parents computer (which I don't use) always has a bunch of **** on it. I try to keep it down, and I don't know how it keeps getting on there...I tell them over and over "don't click on that...use firefox you seem to get lets **** from that (I do at least, keep using IE, not flaming you).

 

[Esturk]

I got a porn popup on www.ngemu.com the other day. I had cleared my cache and had logged out.

 

[Kraelis]

Aside from those already mentioned... Exploits. There are still a truckloads upon truckloads of vulnerable systems out there. The most common ones nowadays are the ActiveX/CHM/Javascript ones which autoinstall stuff on a system. Of course such exploits are normally hosted on questionable sistes to begin with...

There are also lots of apps that download spyware/adware themselves. It's just that people don't know that they do... Bonzi Buddy, the IstSvc family :cuss2: , "Internet optimizers", devious web search toolbars, etc. They think it's a harmless piece of software (oftentimes even bundled with other free apps. Supposedly, the ads support the free app).

I got a porn popup on www.ngemu.com the other day. I had cleared my cache and had logged out.

Hm... must've been poisoned somehow. A similar problem happened to me once. All attempts to go to Google went to Yahoo instead! :lol: Granted it's not critical, but still needed some DNS flushing.

 

[culubalo]

Congratulations, you are now the dumbest person I've ever met.

Wow what a loner, meeting people online and treating them as if they are in person. You really need to get out more.

It would be more accurate to say gullible because I read i off an article and it could have been wrong...

 

[CD]

Make ****ing sense you god damned jew.

 

[culubalo]

ah so you are from texas and have a southern accent and don't like blacks and jews?
I wonder if you would curse an aboriginal jew if you ever met one, online of course

Back on topic, honestly sometimes when I search for something through google I can end up on one of those unscrupulos sites, which often times look so darn authentic... anyway I keep the firewire/antivirus running when I'm browsing such sites, and I think its what everyone should be doing...