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I’ve never felt the need. Apple’s always been so good about keeping devices free of problems. But apparent attacks twice this year on a relatively new ipad. Once I deleted all contents and reloaded with an older backup. Of course more recent content was lost. This time I subscribed to a Norton product. Curious if others pay for added protection?
We don't use smartphones or tablets. I maintain a "fleet" of five "late 2014" Mac Minis running El Capitan OS 10.11.6. For browser we use Firefox v78.15, with added extensions for Adblock and "Privacy Badger", which blocks almost all trackers. All of the Minis have identical operating systems, applications, and user-created files.
This setup has been very stable, with no noticeable infections. The actual operating system files are kept on a hard drive which is logically separate from all user-created files. If an operating system should be compromised it can be completely replaced without any effect on the user-created files (which are very extensive and go back for many years). To replace an operating system it's only necessary to copy from one of the other Minis. So far, so good. Fingers crossed... you never know for sure.
OJ
An add: In the last six months or so I've noticed a major series of potential attacks via email- with the common element of purporting to represent "invoices", "orders", "notices", "receipts" and so forth allegedly from outfits such as Paypal, Norton, and other well-known internet entities. This is particularly devious because I do have an account with Paypal, for instance. I find it very cynical that many of these phony messages purport to come from Norton.
I did not know that about Chrome. I'm on a MacBook Air. Using Chrome. Safari is just so clunky. I've tried other browsers, even "Brave." Anyone else even HEARD of it? But it, too, is just clunky. I scan with Malwarebytes, never found anything at all. I've tried a great many privacy and anti-tracking applications available for free at the Chrome web Store. (A "store" where you get FREE things? You can well understand my confusion!) But some of them are too muscular, and kill pages I want to see. Or else they don't work as advertised at all. So, I just delete the app.
As for antivirus, AVG was good to me 99% of the time. Until this whole "sync" thing started. I clicked the wrong button, and so it wanted to connect to a phone that does not exist, and so it stopped working.
If you're using Windows, beware: it's a shit-magnet. You're bound to get infected. And rootkits and spyware and all the rest of it.
Just at present, the other applications I employ are these: (nothing is PAID for, all gratis.)
AdBlock Plus AdBlocker Ultimate Adlock Autoplay stopper: stops those scuzzy videos from auto-starting.
Dark Reader. It's saving my eyes! Problematic on some webpages, though. There are other flavors to choose from.
Emsisoft Browser Security: "Blocks dangerous websites that distribute malware and prevents phishing attacks."
Random User Agent: deliberately spoofs and switches my IP address and signature to foil trackers. You can set just how often you want it to make the switch. I'm using a 10-minute thresshold.
SponsorBlock for YouTube. Kills the promos. Which are different from advertisements. (Oh, the games people play!) Well, it doesn't always work. ********************************* AVG free version is certainly worth having, I'd say. The Marketing geniuses have it hidden at the bottom of a list of PAID options these days, last I checked. And you must manually update its brains. But that's very easy to do.
Thanks to Old Joe, Carew, Crash + others that might still weigh in. Norton’s basic plan (3 devices) is $39 the first year, but jumps to $90 in subsequent years. So lots of time to deliberate before it comes up for renewal. Your posts were most informative. I use AD BLOCK, but occasionally switch it off in order to access some sites. Forgot to switch it back on couple nights ago - probably how the creepy stuff gained access.
Comments
This setup has been very stable, with no noticeable infections. The actual operating system files are kept on a hard drive which is logically separate from all user-created files. If an operating system should be compromised it can be completely replaced without any effect on the user-created files (which are very extensive and go back for many years). To replace an operating system it's only necessary to copy from one of the other Minis. So far, so good. Fingers crossed... you never know for sure.
OJ
An add: In the last six months or so I've noticed a major series of potential attacks via email- with the common element of purporting to represent "invoices", "orders", "notices", "receipts" and so forth allegedly from outfits such as Paypal, Norton, and other well-known internet entities. This is particularly devious because I do have an account with Paypal, for instance. I find it very cynical that many of these phony messages purport to come from Norton.
Be very careful on this stuff!
As for antivirus, AVG was good to me 99% of the time. Until this whole "sync" thing started. I clicked the wrong button, and so it wanted to connect to a phone that does not exist, and so it stopped working.
If you're using Windows, beware: it's a shit-magnet. You're bound to get infected. And rootkits and spyware and all the rest of it.
Just at present, the other applications I employ are these: (nothing is PAID for, all gratis.)
AdBlock Plus
AdBlocker Ultimate
Adlock
Autoplay stopper: stops those scuzzy videos from auto-starting.
Dark Reader. It's saving my eyes! Problematic on some webpages, though. There are other flavors to choose from.
Emsisoft Browser Security: "Blocks dangerous websites that distribute malware and prevents phishing attacks."
Random User Agent: deliberately spoofs and switches my IP address and signature to foil trackers. You can set just how often you want it to make the switch. I'm using a 10-minute thresshold.
SponsorBlock for YouTube. Kills the promos. Which are different from advertisements. (Oh, the games people play!) Well, it doesn't always work.
*********************************
AVG free version is certainly worth having, I'd say. The Marketing geniuses have it hidden at the bottom of a list of PAID options these days, last I checked. And you must manually update its brains. But that's very easy to do.
Thanks to Old Joe, Carew, Crash + others that might still weigh in. Norton’s basic plan (3 devices) is $39 the first year, but jumps to $90 in subsequent years. So lots of time to deliberate before it comes up for renewal. Your posts were most informative. I use AD BLOCK, but occasionally switch it off in order to access some sites. Forgot to switch it back on couple nights ago - probably how the creepy stuff gained access.
Regards