System Security While Web Surfing

[Naperville]

Just wondered what everyone was doing to protect themselves online.

I'm using the Brave browser with NoScript, which deletes ads and prevents fingerprinting. I also use a VPN and use Norton's newest version of AV and everything is set to Aggressive for protection.

Last week I discovered the new operating system Cubes OS, and while it looks fantastic for security, I'm not too sure how to use it unless I replace Windows 10 (which I will not do) or buy a copy of VMware desktop client and run it hosted.

[Sharp Guy]

Just wondered what everyone was doing to protect themselves online.

I carry a .45 and a knife. Sometimes a 9mm and two knives. :)

[Doc Dan]

Just wondered what everyone was doing to protect themselves online.

I carry a .45 and a knife. Sometimes a 9mm and two knives. :)

Ha ha ha ha ! :D :D

[Evil D]

Trend Micro for so many years I don't remember how many. Last time I had a virus was on Windows 2k if that tells you anything.

[Naperville]

Trend Micro for so many years I don't remember how many. Last time I had a virus was on Windows 2k if that tells you anything.

OK. Glad that you got the pesky virus removed.

From time to time I run Norton's Power Eraser on folders that I download items too. I try never to download anything, yet once in a while I do. I do not download any images or short bodies of text, I take screen saves of them.

[Evil D]

Trend Micro for so many years I don't remember how many. Last time I had a virus was on Windows 2k if that tells you anything.

OK. Glad that you got the pesky virus removed.

From time to time I run Norton's Power Eraser on folders that I download items too. I try never to download anything, yet once in a while I do. I do not download any images or short bodies of text, I take screen saves of them.

I have actually downloaded things that Trend Micro catches and immediately deletes. Some things I know for certain aren't even a risk but are types of files/programs that are flagged as such. It's a pretty strict program.

[soc_monki]

I use windows security and common sense. I do check with other programs from time to time, but that's it really. No viruses, no Trojans, nothing for many years.

No vpns, nothing fancy. Just be safe and don't go to questionable places and you'll be fine. Watch your log on your modem/router to see if you have any unauthorized users, or just don't broadcast your signal.

[rangefinder]

I gave up on Windows many years ago, and have run Linux at home for the last 10+ years. I currently run Xubuntu because I find it's a good mix of a minimal but useful feature set and reasonably low system requirements, but I've used other distros in the past. I also have a Mac, but it only gets used maybe 10% of the time. (I do still use Windows at work, but that's a managed system where the IT group uses domain policies to enforce virus scanning is running and other security settings are set correctly -- and they also run a Barracuda firewall appliance which blocks most of that stuff before it gets into the corporate network.)

I use Firefox for most browsing (and Chromium, the open source version of Chrome, for some Google-specific sites) and have the browser security set up so there's a white list of sites that can set persistent cookies, and the rest get deleted when I exit the browser. And I turn off all the "helper" features (such as the "autofill forms" feature) in the browser settings. Another one I always disable is the "restore pages after crash" setting (which most browsers hide in some kind of about:config hidden settings) -- if there's something on a page that makes my browser crash, I don't want the browser trying to reload the page when I start it again!

I also have the uBlock Origin plugin installed, and it does an excellent job of blocking stuff. uBlock Origin adds a "block element" option to the context menu (the one you get when you right-click on something) where you can selectively disable specific parts of a page. I don't have a FaceBook account, but I occasionally go to some vendor's page and use this to kill the annoying "login or create an account" pane that eats up 20% of the browser screen.

The first post mentioned using VMWare to try out CoreOS. If you just want basic VM hosting, use VirtualBox instead. It's free and made by Oracle, so it's actually quite capable. I've used VirtualBox a lot in the past, both at home and at work.

[Naperville]

I gave up on Windows many years ago, and have run Linux at home for the last 10+ years. I currently run Xubuntu because I find it's a good mix of a minimal but useful feature set and reasonably low system requirements, but I've used other distros in the past. I also have a Mac, but it only gets used maybe 10% of the time. (I do still use Windows at work, but that's a managed system where the IT group uses domain policies to enforce virus scanning is running and other security settings are set correctly -- and they also run a Barracuda firewall appliance which blocks most of that stuff before it gets into the corporate network.)

I use to run a separate Dell T-410 server at home with VMware vSphere and several OSes, Red Hat and CentOS being two. I always used the RedHat help desk for tough CentOS questions....their helpdesk is excellent.

I like the Barracuda Network devices. Nothing like corporate grade firewalls to keep security strong. When I get back to work, I'll probably buy Cisco Meraki MX with Snort for home defense at the boundary.

I use Firefox for most browsing (and Chromium, the open source version of Chrome, for some Google-specific sites) and have the browser security set up so there's a white list of sites that can set persistent cookies, and the rest get deleted when I exit the browser. And I turn off all the "helper" features (such as the "autofill forms" feature) in the browser settings. Another one I always disable is the "restore pages after crash" setting (which most browsers hide in some kind of about:config hidden settings) -- if there's something on a page that makes my browser crash, I don't want the browser trying to reload the page when I start it again!

Makes good sense. I don't like it when programs auto start.

I also have the uBlock Origin plugin installed, and it does an excellent job of blocking stuff. uBlock Origin adds a "block element" option to the context menu (the one you get when you right-click on something) where you can selectively disable specific parts of a page. I don't have a FaceBook account, but I occasionally go to some vendor's page and use this to kill the annoying "login or create an account" pane that eats up 20% of the browser screen.

I have uBlock Origin installed on my Firefox app too. If I open Facebook, I use Firefox. I have apps set up for certain websites to prevent and cross / hijacking scripts, in case I'm doing banking in Brave, nothing gets to the pages.

The first post mentioned using VMWare to try out CoreOS. If you just want basic VM hosting, use VirtualBox instead. It's free and made by Oracle, so it's actually quite capable. I've used VirtualBox a lot in the past, both at home and at work.

Take a look at that Cubes OS. I really like the ability to flatten PDFs that it has. I read a lot of PDFS and that alone almost makes it worth it.

[Naperville]

I use windows security and common sense. I do check with other programs from time to time, but that's it really. No viruses, no Trojans, nothing for many years.

No vpns, nothing fancy. Just be safe and don't go to questionable places and you'll be fine. Watch your log on your modem/router to see if you have any unauthorized users, or just don't broadcast your signal.

I just started using a VPN on my desktop at home, after having used one on my cell phone for years. If you use open hotspots (WiFi) I'd suggest one.

I download Tor and installed it too. Love the layer of security it gives me over a std VPN.

[Naperville]

I have actually downloaded things that Trend Micro catches and immediately deletes. Some things I know for certain aren't even a risk but are types of files/programs that are flagged as such. It's a pretty strict program.

Trend Micro has had one of the best AV apps for decades. I like it!

[soc_monki]

I use windows security and common sense. I do check with other programs from time to time, but that's it really. No viruses, no Trojans, nothing for many years.

No vpns, nothing fancy. Just be safe and don't go to questionable places and you'll be fine. Watch your log on your modem/router to see if you have any unauthorized users, or just don't broadcast your signal.

I just started using a VPN on my desktop at home, after having used one on my cell phone for years. If you use open hotspots (WiFi) I'd suggest one.

I download Tor and installed it too. Love the layer of security it gives me over a std VPN.

I don't, I don't broadcast my wifi signal. Something I learned a while back. Much easier than putting in a list of authorized devices! Besides my phone however, I never use it. My computers are wired.

[Naperville]

I don't, I don't broadcast my wifi signal. Something I learned a while back. Much easier than putting in a list of authorized devices! Besides my phone however, I never use it. My computers are wired.

My computer is nowhere near a router so I use WiFi for my home computer with a VPN, or with a VPN and Tor.