viruses on alternative operating systems

[mat777]

is it possible to catch viruses on alternative o.s.'s? windows viruese are obviously common, mac viruses less so. i also know that linux users hardly ever get viruses as most of them modify their software, and as for unbuntu i imagine the same thing applies.

i know it seems fairly obvious that the less common an o.s., the less viruses there are for it, so my question is, what are the relative chances of me getting a virus using the web browser on my ps3? this has no antivirus on it as i dont think such a thing exists, but i have surfed the web with no problems to date. by contrast, my laptop got a supervirus and now my pc has one too, both use norton 360 which is supposed to detect intrusions.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Using the PS3 to access the browser is like a mobile accessing a WAP page so there is no operating system involved.

 

Regarding Norton however the operative word is "supposed".

 

It may be beneficial for you to consider another security application.

[mat777]

i know that i should consider alternative antivirus, and i'm looking at avg free which my friend swears by. what would you recommend? also, would having 2 separate antivirus softwares cause any clash problems? i'm still a little cheesed off though that norton, which is quite expensive and promises the earth, has now twice failed to block an intrusion. i know it can work because i got a virus over live messenger and it found it and flushed it out. however, having said that, there are viruses and then there are viruses, and these 2 ones on my laptop and pc seem pretty much invincible - the laptop was redone and the pc is being redone.

 

as for the ps3, how does the browser work if it doesnt involve the ps3 operating system? it has all the functions of a proper browser including fave's and history

also, does not using an os mean it cant catch a virus at all even if the virus wasnt windows specific?

Edited June 17, 2009 by mat777

[Plastic Nev]

Hi mat, I know little about play stations so cannot answer that one however I can help with the malware problem.

 

Viruses are only a small part of the problem these days, there are many more and worse things around now, so a program like Norton can't possibly guard against them all, especially considering it is mainly anti-virus with little in it against other malware.

 

Norton has had a bad reputation for some time, however the latest edition has been greatly improved which you have on already. If you wish to keep it do not install another ant-virus, two anti-virus programs running will cause much greater problems because they will conflict with each other. If however you decide to get rid and try something else then make sure it is fully uninstalled first.

 

Next is protection against the other forms of malware, we reccomend several and in this case you can install more than one. Because they each work in different ways they dont cause conflicts in normal circumstances.

 

There are several, and some offer on line or real time protection and run in the background.

 

Have a look here at those we consider being amongst the better ones.

 

http://extremetechsupport.com/forum/malware-removal-av-firewalls-etc/3597-free-pc-help-recommended-security-products.html

 

To give you some idea, I chose all free stuff, and use Comodo Firewall, and Avast anti-virus.

Then for the other malware I installed Malwarebytes, and Superantispyware.

As the always on protection I also installed Spywareblaster.

 

Those are really all you should need to keep your system reasonably safe, but do remember most computer security is down to how you surf the net.

Don't use P2P, that is now the quickest way to get infected.

Stay away from known bad or dodgy websites, and to help with that you can get McAffee site advisor as a browser plug in or add on.

I hope that is of some help for you.

Nev.

[mat777]

thanks nev ill look into some of those. the problem i now have is whether or not to get rid of norton, as it was expensive after all.

as for dodgy websites, the day before the pc went down someone linked me to goat se (why is this word filtered?) and like a fool i clicked on it (id heard a lot about it but never been on it, now i wish i hadnt...), also before i could stop him my friend had accessed 4chan forum b. these are practically two of the dodgiest webistes around, could they have caused it? the problem this time seems to be that openeing internet explorer causes unlimited ie windows to open at the same time, jamming the pc.

 

as for p2p, i havent used that in ages and dont have any software for it anymore, now i buy cd's instead like a good boy :-)

[Plastic Nev]

Considering you paid for it, and as I say Norton has greatly improved as far as its firewall and virus defence are concerned, keep it on, at least till the present subscription runs out.

Just go for the other antimalware stuff and you should be fine.

 

We are a family forum so some word filtering is needed just in case, but sometimes being just another computer, it does filter out some odd ones. :D

[wellies]

I can't say about the PS3 but can comment on the latest Norton products. They are quite different to previous ones. Respectable virus detection rates, very light on the system and few false positives. The same is said of Norton AV 2009. However, I can't be sure the same applies to Norton 360 because I haven't tried it. I read it is perhaps not as highly rated as some other products when it comes to those all-important detection rates.

 

Worth bearing in mind though, is that no AV program will catch all viruses/malware. No matter which one is chosen, there will always be reports of the virus that got away. AV programs with higher detection rates can be those that suffer from higher instances of false positives.

 

It's best not to rely on a single program for security. One thing you could consider is running the browser sandboxed. Sandboxing is a good form of protection because any malware picked up on your travels won't get out of the sandbox (a protected/isolated area) to infect the system.

[mat777]

whats sandboxing and how does it work?

[Guest Wolfeymole]

This is the same thing Matt

 

Virtual machine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Have a look at this also.

 

Windows Virtual PC: Home Page

[wellies]

I use Sandboxie and wouldn't browse without it. Sandboxie can be used freely forever but has a nag screen that pops up every now and again after 30 days. Sandboxie FAQ