Anti Virus and Such
I think this is the longest I've gone since I started the blog without posting something.
In the time since my last post I have spent a good deal of time on the phone with a friend walking them manually removing certain pieces of Malware. I didn't even have a shared screen in front of me, so that was pretty cool. I also helped my Mother-In-Law work with a photo just enough to reduce its size using MS Paint of all things.
This has convinced me of two things: First, that I'm kind of a genius to even think of seeing Paint could resize a photo (who uses Paint anymore at all?) and second, Microsoft needs to do something about the malware issue.
Okay, honestly the best piece of free Virus Protection Software I've found has been Microsoft's own Windows Defender. It's light weight, small and doesn't eat through your process cycles when it's running. More importantly, it's effective. And lastly, it doesn't try to sell you upgrades to some better, newer version that scans your undergarments for possible computer infections every time you walk into the house.
While both AVG and Avast! are passable, free software options for Anti Virus, they have both started advertising campaigns to try and get you to upgrade their services. I don't like ad campaigns for the most part, and especially hate them on the computer. Trust me, if there was a magic wand that would make all advertising on all sites simply disappear, I would use it. I am aware of a few options that help to turn them off or stop Flash ads from playing, but I digress.
I think Microsoft did a wonderful thing creating and making Defender as easy to use and light weight as it is. They appeared to be saying "We have a virus issue, we want to try and help you with that." (Try reading that again WITHOUT thinking about a little paperclip talking to you).
People can say over and over that the only reason Apple doesn't have a virus problem is because they have such a small portion of the computer market. Well, maybe that's part of it, but that still doesn't explain why, as they gain more market share their virus count doesn't go up. In fact, they should have and insanely high rate of increase based on the last 13 years.
One of the biggest issues with getting a virus onto a Mac is the fact that it sits on top of a UNIX Kernel - FreeBSD to be exact. Anybody who knows anything about UNIX knows that it is an incredibly safe and secure OS.
So, without going into too much technical detail, the POSIX controls on a UNIX system don't allow random installs to occur without first asking for an Admin to approve the action. On top of that, depending on what they want to Virus to do, it maybe need to have the Admin password entered multiple times during the course of the virus install.
Windows has done some forward thinking along those lines starting with Vista. The implementation there was truly awful and any time the computer wanted to anything, it was asking for permission. I hated that with a passion when I was testing Vista. They've cleaned up a lot of that so that now, it feels cleaner and doesn't ask about everything all the time.
I think if Microsoft wanted to become as secure as Apple and make the virus writers work for their installs, Microsoft should seriously consider another major revision to their OS and move it to a UNIX kernel.
On the other hand, I also approve of MS trying to build something of their very own and something incredibly unique with Windows 8.
From somebody who has come from the Mac into the PC World, I once again find myself amazed that these posts aren't filled with venom and seething anger toward the product I chose to use and the OS I decided upon.
That not to say that I don't think Apple does some things better. The structure behind their OS is more solid than what's behind Windows, but that doesn't mean that Microsoft can't change or that Apple may soften that wall over time.
But, for a moment, let's go beyond the software side of things. Perhaps the biggest reason at this point that Apple has such a low number of viruses is likely because of their various App Stores and the quality control that goes into those stores. I don't agree with all the rules and regulations that Apple has about App Building, but I believe their QC checks are imperative to the smooth running and malware free experience that they have. I think Microsoft has realized that to a degree with their own App store.
And here's where Microsoft is once again winning, if the vast majority of people would stop fuming about the massive changes that came to the OS and just start using it. Their App store, while poorly designed in the humble opinion of this writer, holds true to the vision that they are pushing - ONE device, not two. A laptop AND a tablet.
It works. VERY well - again, the lowly opinion of a humble writer with under 500 page views for this blog - but at least somebody is reading it.
Again, I find myself up too late posting this so I, once again, apologize for any egregious errors you may find in my writing. I should probably wait and proof it tomorrow before posting, but part of this blog is to be as unfiltered in my thoughts as possible so people have a good understanding of my experience in my decision to switch.
In the time since my last post I have spent a good deal of time on the phone with a friend walking them manually removing certain pieces of Malware. I didn't even have a shared screen in front of me, so that was pretty cool. I also helped my Mother-In-Law work with a photo just enough to reduce its size using MS Paint of all things.
This has convinced me of two things: First, that I'm kind of a genius to even think of seeing Paint could resize a photo (who uses Paint anymore at all?) and second, Microsoft needs to do something about the malware issue.
Okay, honestly the best piece of free Virus Protection Software I've found has been Microsoft's own Windows Defender. It's light weight, small and doesn't eat through your process cycles when it's running. More importantly, it's effective. And lastly, it doesn't try to sell you upgrades to some better, newer version that scans your undergarments for possible computer infections every time you walk into the house.
While both AVG and Avast! are passable, free software options for Anti Virus, they have both started advertising campaigns to try and get you to upgrade their services. I don't like ad campaigns for the most part, and especially hate them on the computer. Trust me, if there was a magic wand that would make all advertising on all sites simply disappear, I would use it. I am aware of a few options that help to turn them off or stop Flash ads from playing, but I digress.
I think Microsoft did a wonderful thing creating and making Defender as easy to use and light weight as it is. They appeared to be saying "We have a virus issue, we want to try and help you with that." (Try reading that again WITHOUT thinking about a little paperclip talking to you).
People can say over and over that the only reason Apple doesn't have a virus problem is because they have such a small portion of the computer market. Well, maybe that's part of it, but that still doesn't explain why, as they gain more market share their virus count doesn't go up. In fact, they should have and insanely high rate of increase based on the last 13 years.
One of the biggest issues with getting a virus onto a Mac is the fact that it sits on top of a UNIX Kernel - FreeBSD to be exact. Anybody who knows anything about UNIX knows that it is an incredibly safe and secure OS.
So, without going into too much technical detail, the POSIX controls on a UNIX system don't allow random installs to occur without first asking for an Admin to approve the action. On top of that, depending on what they want to Virus to do, it maybe need to have the Admin password entered multiple times during the course of the virus install.
Windows has done some forward thinking along those lines starting with Vista. The implementation there was truly awful and any time the computer wanted to anything, it was asking for permission. I hated that with a passion when I was testing Vista. They've cleaned up a lot of that so that now, it feels cleaner and doesn't ask about everything all the time.
I think if Microsoft wanted to become as secure as Apple and make the virus writers work for their installs, Microsoft should seriously consider another major revision to their OS and move it to a UNIX kernel.
On the other hand, I also approve of MS trying to build something of their very own and something incredibly unique with Windows 8.
From somebody who has come from the Mac into the PC World, I once again find myself amazed that these posts aren't filled with venom and seething anger toward the product I chose to use and the OS I decided upon.
That not to say that I don't think Apple does some things better. The structure behind their OS is more solid than what's behind Windows, but that doesn't mean that Microsoft can't change or that Apple may soften that wall over time.
But, for a moment, let's go beyond the software side of things. Perhaps the biggest reason at this point that Apple has such a low number of viruses is likely because of their various App Stores and the quality control that goes into those stores. I don't agree with all the rules and regulations that Apple has about App Building, but I believe their QC checks are imperative to the smooth running and malware free experience that they have. I think Microsoft has realized that to a degree with their own App store.
And here's where Microsoft is once again winning, if the vast majority of people would stop fuming about the massive changes that came to the OS and just start using it. Their App store, while poorly designed in the humble opinion of this writer, holds true to the vision that they are pushing - ONE device, not two. A laptop AND a tablet.
It works. VERY well - again, the lowly opinion of a humble writer with under 500 page views for this blog - but at least somebody is reading it.
Again, I find myself up too late posting this so I, once again, apologize for any egregious errors you may find in my writing. I should probably wait and proof it tomorrow before posting, but part of this blog is to be as unfiltered in my thoughts as possible so people have a good understanding of my experience in my decision to switch.
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