Spyware, viruses, & security : Poll: If my computer was compromised...
- 8/31/07 12:15 PM
Poll: If my computer was compromised...
by Lee Koo (ADMIN) - 8/31/07 12:15 PM
If my computer was compromised physically or through the Internet, I would be:
-- In a world of hurt--my whole life is on it!
-- In pretty bad shape--I have a lot personal data on it.
-- OK. I would probably have to only cancel a few credit cards.
-- Just fine. I don't store any important or personal data on my computer.
-- I have no idea.
-- Other (How would you be?)
No problem...
by glenn30 - 8/31/07 1:22 PM In reply to: Poll: If my computer was compromised... by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I would be just fine. I don't store any important or personal data on my computer.
Glenn
(NT) (Other) - annoyed.
by Basil Hall - 8/31/07 2:33 PM In reply to: Poll: If my computer was compromised... by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If my computer was compromised I would....
by morninglory - 8/31/07 7:41 PM In reply to: Poll: If my computer was compromised... by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I would definitely cancel my Autofill with my name, address, etc.
I don't store credit info on-line so that's not a worry. I guess I would be pretty devastated. If you have ever been robbed, this is the same thing.
Other: Basically as Have No Important Data / Bank....
by tobeach - 8/31/07 10:11 PM In reply to: Poll: If my computer was compromised... by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
info BUT greatly inconvenienced if I had to reformat as I have over 600 hard to find links to various AV/AS/Anti-malware tests & solutions & for many repair files & advice/hints for problem solving. Have also several small apps like "deleted file restorer" which can't be re-downloaded (no longer online).
2nd worst case is trashing of my net connect ability preventing me from obtaining online help or complete destruction of HD. 
Man!
by thebug - 9/2/07 7:44 AM In reply to: Other: Basically as Have No Important Data / Bank.... by tobeachYou people ever heard of paper! I print off everything thats important and save the rest to another hard drive or burn it on dvd, it's just that easy!
Email, links,bookmarks,etc,etc,etc
Yes I would be detroyed
by rashidtem - 9/1/07 12:22 AM In reply to: Poll: If my computer was compromised... by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Ok yes i'm one of the few whose life depends on my computer. I've 64GB worth of over 6500 songs in my iTunes. I've over 15GB worth of over 5000 pictures in my iPhoto. I have my every bank account bookmarked password saved in my Safari. I've all my bills schedule in my iCal. I've over 1TB of Hard Drive in my Power Mac G4. I'm a full time DJ and video editor whose life revolve around his computer. I've over 200GB HD video. I've over 100 GB graphics files on it. Do I need to say more ??? BTW thanks to Apple I dont have to worry about Viruses or any other security threats. Its a 5 year old computer with only 1.25 GB RAM.
Your going to lose everything some day
by lucky76 - 9/1/07 1:26 PM In reply to: Yes I would be detroyed by rashidtemBuy a USB DVD RW drive and backup your files to DVD. Then get a Life.
You have to say something to get a response
by rashidtem - 9/2/07 3:50 PM In reply to: Your going to lose everything some day by lucky76So you said to me "get a life". Wow, is that how desperate you are for response that you can't just stop yourself saying something like that. If you haven't notice I do have a life. I'm a Pro DJ and believe me that really gets me a nice life. BTW your solution is as useless as your comment about me getting a life. I've everything back up on External Hard drive. I can't back up Hours of HD video, but what do you know about backing up Hours of HD video ? Each hour of HD video take almost 60 Gigs. I'll be wasting my life only backing up stuff and wont' be able to do really something productive. That's why I've Apple Computer. Its not indestructible but hey for 5 years it never gave up on me, never crashed and I never lost any data, never got any virus although I'm connected to online 24/7. I do back up whatever I can on my 1TB external HD but not everything can be back up.
My suggestion
by santuccie - 9/5/07 4:34 PM In reply to: You have to say something to get a response by rashidtemI think the "get a life" comment was uncalled for. But I'm questioning the 60 GB per hour of HD video. Blu-ray discs have a capacity of 30 GB, and HD DVD discs have less than that. HD DVD plays at a higher resolution than Blu-ray, but it still holds more than 60 minutes. I'm not saying this justifies the suggestion to backup your enormous library to optical disc, of course.
Personally, I keep my operating system and locally installed programs on one partition, and frequently changing data on a secondary partition. I keep extra copies of important files on an external drive, and backup my OS partition to a file on the secondary fixed partition whenever I make a major change. I also burn the image files to DVD+RW, so I can be prepared when my hard drive fails.
Due to obscurity, your risk of compromise on a Mac are considerably lesser than those of a Windows user like myself. Of course, I know more about security than most (even most other technicians), so I'm only speaking in terms of average risk. 
Anyway, hopefully you have at least an antivirus (Mac OS comes with a basic firewall), which would further reduce your risk factor.
I've never heard of a free antispyware for Mac, but I know there are free third-party firewalls and AV scanners as well. If you don't have one, free is not a bad price for a little extra protection. And if I may say so, extra security is hardly overkill for a pro DJ like yourself. Other than that, backing up to external HDD is the right thing for you to do. You're in good shape. Salute!
Corrections
by Ravendon - 8/31/08 12:46 AM In reply to: My suggestion by santuccieNot to get off the subject, but I offer some corrections.
HD DVD does NOT offer higher resolution than Blu-ray.
Blu-ray offers HDTV (720p, 1080i, 1080p), the same as HD DVD.
Blu-ray capacity is 25GB (single layer), 50GB (dual layer), 100GB (prototype quad layer). HD DVD is 15GB (single layer), 30GB (dual layer), 51GB (prototype triple layer).
Blu-ray offers SD: approximately 23 hours, HD: 8.5 or 5.6 hours, depending on encoding method. HD DVD offers SD: approximately 13 hours, HD: 5.1 or 3.3 hours, depending on encoding method.
HD DVD is inferior to Blu-ray in every regard and that is one huge reason it has died. The ONLY advantage HD DVD had was that it was much cheaper for manufacturers to produce HD DVDs, since they didn't need to retool. Whereas Blu-ray would force them to install totally new equipment, resulting in high cost to manufacture.
"Blu-ray discs have a capacity of 30 GB, and HD DVD discs have less than that. HD DVD plays at a higher resolution than Blu-ray, but it still holds more than 60 minutes."
Second Correction.
by Ravendon - 8/31/08 1:35 AM In reply to: My suggestion by santuccieMac OS X is the most secure operating system in the world. With 22+ million Macs in the world, I'm puzzled by PC users who state "security through obscurity" as if no hacker knows that Macs exist.
When it's a fact that most hackers use Mac OS X now instead of linux or unix. From Linus Torvalds and the entire staff of Slashdot, to Kevin Mitnick, etc. all use Macs now.
And since no Mac OS X system has been infected by any virus, you would think that a cracker would have tried by now to get cred for the first virus infection of Mac OS X. It hasn't happened now and it never will.
Like Linux or Unix, Mac OS X has multiple tiered authentication. Unlike Linux or Unix, it has no ROOT account enabled. It uses SUDO instead of SU. It encrypts every password into a password keychain encrypted with 256 bit Triple DES. The only OS that even comes close to it's security levels would be OpenBSD and a distant second on the Linux side would be Trustix. There is no Active-X. There is no Macro or Scripting language with ROOT access like VBA.
The only way you can compromise a Mac OS X system is to be physically at the machine and logged into a ROOT account, in addition to saying YES to every security prompt that pops up.
It comes with a built in firewall that is ENABLED by default and highly customizeable. It is based on IPFW, which is behind most server security efforts. IPFW is the most secure firewall known to mankind. IPFW is a packet filtering and accounting system which resides in the kernelmode, and has a user-land control utility, ipfw.
"Due to obscurity, your risk of compromise on a Mac are considerably lesser than those of a Windows user like myself. Of course, I know more about security than most (even most other technicians), so I'm only speaking in terms of average risk. Anyway, hopefully you have at least an antivirus (Mac OS comes with a basic firewall), which would further reduce your risk factor."
you sound like..
by 7aji88 - 9/1/07 8:48 PM In reply to: Yes I would be detroyed by rashidteman iMan....
I'm flattered
by rashidtem - 9/2/07 4:01 PM In reply to: you sound like.. by 7aji88I like that....iMan
lol
by winsoftwareman - 9/2/07 9:01 PM In reply to: you sound like.. by 7aji88lmfao good one. but i have 1230 photos and 76 songs and i dotn wanna loose it.
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