Community weekly poll: Has your online behavior changed in the past two years?
- 2/7/06 3:12 PM
Mac again, Tiger take it easy
by r061074s - 2/8/06 6:04 AM In reply to: What I did change... by ralphguay4 year ago i mooved to win bc of cheep prices & this easy way to do everything (bc nobody finish there program) half way it's allready finish on win so you get payed & ask to be payed to update(actualy finishing what you start
but about a year & half ago when i relesed that i spend more time fixing than actualy creating i start mooving back to OS X
the mac is a tool to do, Win is one of those do it again it's still working
So working or providing i guess the choise is done
try tiger you may discover the definition of personal PC
Response--Not At All
by swathingscientist - 2/7/06 8:44 PM In reply to: Has your online behavior changed in the past two years? by Marc Bennett
With Avast for my anti-virus,I am completely confident in this area.In conjunction,I use ZoneAlarm and Prevx Home.According to various sites that test your system,mine is completely invisible to surfers looking to hack into it.
Avast,to date,is the only AV that I know of that specifically protects all IM's as well;considering that Microsoft's own Firewall has to have exceptions allowed or IM's can't function.
Fact is,Avast has 7 different engines working for you but only 6 work on my system because I don't have Outlook.
So,over the past 4 years and being on line for 12-14 hours per day,I feel perfectly secure today as I did way back when 95 was the thing.Thx SS
Most people are idiots....
by caromi - 2/7/06 9:27 PM In reply to: Has your online behavior changed in the past two years? by Marc Bennett
..they jump online, sign up for things and give out personal information without reading ANYTHING that is smack in front of their faces. They think that bad things happen to other people. They think their kids are so unique that they'll follow instructions and never stray into dangerous internet waters even though most adults can't resist checking out the naughty net stuff themselves! That is if they bother to consider what their children do online at all of course.
I've seen people go online and sign up for all kinds of things, giving amazingly confidential information out without reading any of the site terms as they 'accept' and click along. A great example of this mindless clicking is Paypal which many people use for online payments now. Most people assume it's a bank or FDIC insured and it's not. The terms even tell you how they'll steal your funds if you do something they don't like and they tell you outright how many ways they will find to freeze your funds to keep for themselves. People run into a problem with sites like this or when they purchase from a bad online seller and suddenly they're crying like babies and asking for an Internet Police Force to be appointed to protect them from the 'bad guys'. It's amazing to think that these people are running the earth driving cars, breeding, etc. When did we stop taking responsibility for ourselves as grown adults?
If you think that the net is safe, you're a fool. Most people don't have a clue how much detailed personal information is out there for anyone with a keyboard and a brain to track down. It's frightening to realize how truly UNSAFE the net is, even for the most vigilant users. The frustrating part is that the scammers work so hard at finding new and different ways to cheat honest people that it's impossible to keep enough security in place to protect yourself.
The net is so new that people still don't realize how much information is being posted. "Years of service" award data is out there giving your place of employment, area you live/work, details about what you do, etc. If you make charitable contributions it often posts to the net and you can be putting your college, high school or similar information online or giving clues about your personal life depending on the type of donation(think about it). News articles are online and that includes your kids sports information from the local paper with photos and names. Churches usually post information about members online too. It's incredible what you can find if you do a few simple searches just with a person's name.
It pays to be careful, just as you would anywhere else. If you are lazy enough to ignore common sense and choose to just merrily click your way around the internet without considering security issues then PLEASE don't whine online to the rest of us when you get burned!!
Paypal
by Guido Muldoon - 2/8/06 12:51 PM In reply to: Most people are idiots.... by caromiI'm not sure what problems you've had with paypal but I use Paypal and I keep a seperate bank account (no minimum balance) just for paypal purchases. When I'm ready to buy I transfer just enough funds from checking or savings to the "Paypal" account to cover the purchase. That way the account never has more than a few dollars in it and Paypal has no access to any other source of funds from me. My bank simply refuses to release funds for ANY reason from this account unless those funds are available.
I've only had one problem using paypal. A merchant failed to ship an item after repeated inquiries. I finally used Paypal's online conflict resolution link. It was very simple and Paypal secured a full refund credited to my paypal account within 24 hours. So I can't find any fault in the 3 years or so I've been using this free service.
if you buy for fun maybe!
by caromi - 3/28/06 10:02 PM In reply to: Paypal by Guido MuldoonI run several online businesses. It's a pain in the neck to maintain balances like you're talking about when everyone from Amazon to Paypal is dipping their fingers in to take fees and funds.
One system favored
by otokichi - 2/7/06 9:39 PM In reply to: Has your online behavior changed in the past two years? by Marc Bennett
I'm a Wintel/Mac user, and the proliferation of online malware attacks has put the 3GHz Pentium 4 Tower on inactive status, with the Mac PowerBook the preferred internet cruiser. The obvious SPAM and virii are easy to spot, but "Phishers" are getting more sophisticated with their "come hither" emails. The last suspicious email suggested that I had an eBay buyer who wanted to discuss terms of sale. I hadn't been anywhere near eBay in a while, and the email address suggested eBay UK. This email was shredded immediately, though I should have informed eBay and PayPal about this enterprising fraudster. The internet is a dangerous place these days, and it's "trash ANY suspicious email first, ask questions of friends later."
No!
by marquesalan - 2/7/06 9:45 PM In reply to: Has your online behavior changed in the past two years? by Marc Bennett
Maybe it's dumb but I have had no virus software on any of my computers ever and I trust using on-line sites.
In case you didn't figure it out, I have a Mac!
changing behavior
by al bronstein - 2/7/06 9:46 PM In reply to: Has your online behavior changed in the past two years? by Marc Bennett
I no longer accept anything with an attachment even from a family member. I DO NOT open any title I am not sure of ar have any knowledge of. My use of E-Mail is much lower than a few years ago.
Not at All......I switched to a Mac!
by bjames - 2/7/06 10:55 PM In reply to: Has your online behavior changed in the past two years? by Marc Bennett
Now my troubles are over!
Yes... but
by lewist - 2/7/06 11:59 PM In reply to: Not at All......I switched to a Mac! by bjamesI use Macs in one of my workplaces and I have to say I prefer my Windows PC. The Mac is awkward to use and the Mac buzzword of 'intuitive' doesn't come into it. It just isn't. I wonder if the answer (apart from AVG, Adaware & Spybot) might not be to retain the PC but switch to a version of Linux.
No ithasn't
by GhostMjr - 2/8/06 12:04 AM In reply to: Has your online behavior changed in the past two years? by Marc Bennett
I have always been virus protected and have always used lavasoft antispyware. I use avg 7.1 free edition and am considering installing windows one care. I also have microsoft antispyware running too!
No Change
by smtcrisp - 2/8/06 12:08 AM In reply to: Has your online behavior changed in the past two years? by Marc Bennett
In 1998 when I was a PC novice my machine was hit by a virus. After that I read all I could, found CNet and learnt how to protect myself and PC from net attacks. I am very comfortable doing my finances on line, buy online etc.
I am amazed by the number of PC users who don't learn the basic safety rules. Time and again my husband rebuilds PCs belonging to people who have been careless.
My routine since 1998 is daily anti- virus updates, weekly full system scans for viruses spyware etc and regular complete removal of cookies thats all you need.
To me the biggest menance is all the hoax emails that start 'Microsoft has warned about ...' A quick on Symantec hoax index is all thats needed...
The answer to that is I suspect the same as everyone else .
by ellis feigenbaum - 2/8/06 1:32 AM In reply to: Has your online behavior changed in the past two years? by Marc Bennett
Yes and at the same time a resounding NO.
Yes I now have Router with a hardware firewall, something which I never had back in the days of dial up, yes I now have the security options in outlook express turned on- sometimes annoying but as a rule its just one extra click to veiw pages.
yes my homenetwork is encrypted and you cant get in unless i give you the code, and yes I use randomly generated numbers and letters for passwords.
However all that said I use the internet more and more eveyday for work and for personal banking and for purchases.
The computers get used more for eveyday stuff like making lists and Digital Photography and keeping in touch with family than they ever were in the past.
So yes im careful however being careful doesnt mean i use the internet any less I probably use it more.
As to trusting outside companies not to lose or abuse my personal information , No bank that i know of will not return your money if it has been taken illegally and no credit card company that i know of will not refund you if your card has been stolen(yes its annoying to have to make a police report in order to prove that your card has been stolen) and the truth be told wether you use online banking or not the banks still have all your information and if they lose it or abuse it is irellevant to wether you used the online services or not.
My Online behaviour has changed completely and forever
by mcls - 2/8/06 1:37 AM In reply to: Has your online behavior changed in the past two years? by Marc Bennett
I was going to set up online banking. That's off the radar now completely. I now have 3 computers - one for the 'normal' internet searching - places I regularly visit which is completely AVG'ed and Zone Alarmed. The laptop is purely for email, again AVG'ed and Zone Alarmed, and 'non software related information research, ebooks etc.' My oldest laptop a PIII 650 has been kept for research and development, Linux ISOs and trying out trials or complete packages of software I think I'll need, downloaded from the internet, so if anything goes awry I haven't endangered anything important. Basically, everything I value never goes near the internet, or if it does, there is a complete backup somewhere else. Can I recommend that before you throw out your old computer, make sure you have the recovery software, set it up for the internet, get all your valuable data off it, and enjoy your surfing in the knowledge that resurrection is merely a Format C:\ away. It may seem excessive having more than one computer, but who better than yourself to recycle your own equipment AND surf safely?
behaviour
by Savile Burdett - 2/8/06 2:08 AM In reply to: Has your online behavior changed in the past two years? by Marc Bennett
I am slightly more careful - if I disable Norton to load a programme I unplug the telephone (when I remember)
No one is perfect and by definition the virus men are ahead of the protectors - on one occasion Norton identified a virus when McAfee did not and I am sure the opposite is true some times
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