Ask HN: Do you still use Antivirus in 2017? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Do you still use Antivirus in 2017?

12 pointsrhlala25 comments

Do you still use Antivirus? Why? And witch OS are you using?

Yes and no. I technically have antivirus, but Windows Defender is a built-in OS component, so I'm not paying for it or installing any third party software. The OS pretty much maintains itself.

IMO, the classic antivirus solution stopped working years ago.

You can't just scan for known bad fingerprints anymore -- most malware these days is polymorphic and has already gone through a virus checking service run by other blackhats (kind of like VirusTotal).

You can't just analyze the code in a virtual environment -- it's too easy for a malware author to determine if they're running in some sort of VM and then choose not to activate.

Moreover, most antivirus software is poorly written and is a bigger security risk than not having it at all. Many malware authors will specifically attack antivirus software, because that's the easiest way to get maximum permissions.

I do use anti-malware programs on my Mac. But it's all based on looking for system activity signatures that are typical of malware attacks. Classic antivirus software just isn't that useful.

Little Flocker is a good start, but has recently been sold to F-Secure, and I'm not sure if it will remain good.

BlockBlock is good. So is KnockKnock. And OverSight. And RansomWhere. All by the same author. Lots of these things are also covered by Little Flocker, if you prefer that option.

Little Snitch is great, but takes a bit of work at first to train it for what kind of behavior is okay on your system.

I still have ClamAV on my machine, but it is far from the first line of defense. It may catch the dreckage that is still out there and hasn't been updated with more modern obfuscation methods, but that could still be a net positive.

Of course, I also have FileVault turned on for volume encryption, and the Sierra network/application firewall enabled, and GateKeeper to ensure that all apps have good crypto signatures or they can't be installed or run.

And then there might be some other things that I won't talk about publicly. ;)

I use Bitdefender on Windows. In 2017 more than ever, you definitely need protection. Sure, Windows is the most obvious target for viruses. But Microsoft is also the company that invest the most in security. If you know just a tiny bit about security, you know that MacOS is not more secure than Windows. It's just less attacked: http://www.ibtimes.com/nope-apple-computers-arent-more-secur... And then you got this kind of report (to be taken with a grain of salt: http://thehackernews.com/2015/02/vulnerable-operating-system...

Don't listen to hearsay... you need protection.

I use Windows Defender.. I am interested to know your opinion on it.

It's decent barebones protection but it doesn't play nicely with some software (games usually), with "antimalware service executable" gobbling up CPU as (I assume, at least) it scans stuff as it's being executed.

Windows Defender is OK. But you don't have the kind of protection you get from a product like Bitdefender Total Security or Kaspersky Total Security. I think it is wise to invest in a reputable product.

ClamAV [http://www.clamav.net] is my aid, I use it on macOS and OpenBSD.

- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/homebrew-core/mas...

- http://cvsweb.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/ports/security/clam...

It's unobtrusive, and I can fully control its behaviour (under usual circumstances a simple `freshclam && clamscan -i -r $PATH` is enough).

Thank you for your consideration. Remember, non-windows users, just because you're not the target, doesn't mean you're not an attack vector.

No. Why would you even use Windows in 2017?

Don't want to be a buzzkill but MacOS malware is growing faster then Windows malware ever was. 2016 MacOS malware up by ~750%[0].

2017 will be even bigger. The more users you have - the more malware you get.

[0] https://www.macrumors.com/2017/04/06/mac-malware-up-744-perc...

Percentage increases don't tell you the whole story.

For example suppose you have only "1" malware for your OS. Next year you have "2", a 100% growth rate.

Now suppose you have a shitty OS with 1000 malware. Next year it has 1200 malware, a 20% growth rate.

Someone without this knowledge would go about and claim the second OS is "safer", but the truth is both OS's are just experiencing an exponential growth rate, the first OS is just at the first stages of the curve.

I was not implying that. What I said is that MacOS malware grows like crazy.

At work for windows/Mac machines I use Webroot, after an infection though I will run superantispyware or malwarebytes from an external media device (they seem to have a higher detection rate). I usually run a software side firewall like tinywall on Windows or littlesnitch on Mac just to see what's making requests in the background. Interestingly enough at work Macs receive a lot more detections per machine then windows boxes these days.

I installed AV once on my android phone after doing something stupid, luckily I got away with it and uninstalled soon after due to irritating pop-up annoyances from the AV app.

Desktop-wise I've been on Linux for well over a decade, I've never used AV except to (rarely) clean out infected files I might share and infect others with, not necessarily for my own protection.

I gave it up a long, long time ago; it just isn't necessary. I use Linux (Ubuntu, in recent years) and Mac OS.

No, I don't. Currently, I use Linux Ubuntu and OS X El Capitan. Linux Ubuntu for my personal development and OS X for working in the office (it's my first time using it). I don't know about those two. I believe that virus on Linux are rarer than Windows.

I use Sophos on my Macbook. I'm on Sierra.

ESET has multi-platform support, that along with carbon black Defense seems to be legit.

on windows i used sophos.

on linux i mostly feel content with SELinux

No.

I'm a GNU/Linux user since 2000.

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