[R-pkg-devel] Internet security software?

[Bob Rudis]

As someone who is in cybersecurity as their $DAYJOB and who runs macOS as their primary OS (tho I pretty much run them all in one way, shape or form), I'd suggest:

- relying heavily on Gatekeeper/Xprotect (the built-in anti-malware solution that comes with macOS, provided you keep updating the OS)
- review the free tools at <https://objective-see.com/products.html> and consider installing them for "monitoring". Specifically, I'd suggest using:
  - LuLu <https://objective-see.com/products/lulu.html>
  - KnockKnowk <https://objective-see.com/products/knockknock.html>
  - ReiKey <https://objective-see.com/products/reikey.html>
  - BlockBlock <https://objective-see.com/products/blockblock.html>
  - RansomWhere? <https://objective-see.com/products/ransomwhere.html>
  - OverSight <https://objective-see.com/products/oversight.html>
  - Lockdown <https://objective-see.com/products/lockdown.html> (if you're stuck on seriously old macOS)
- use MalwareBytes free edition for periodic scans
- use Google Chrome Beta channel with uBlock Origin and the Disconnect extensions (and very few other extensions). 
  Go into uBlock Origin and enable all of the non-regional blocklists and then ones for your specific region.
  We're seeing regular increases in malicious advertisements across all ad networks.

The vast majority (if not all) of commercial or freemium macOS anti-malware solutions are mind-numbingly trivial to bypass. Unless you're in a regulatory environment that requires commercial, always-on anti-malware, I'd just run (as noted) the free version of Malwarebytes. If you are regulated, then it's one of the better ones from a commercial standpoint.

-boB


> On Feb 25, 2020, at 04:16, Joris Meys <Joris.Meys using ugent.be> wrote:
> 
> Hi Spencer,
> 
> I've abandoned Bitdefender for the reason you give: it gave me too much trouble with false positives and seemingly random blocking of all kinds of tools at one point. But the reason is not Bitdefender in itself. It worked perfectly fine until the updates came for the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities. Somehow these patches messed with the workings of Bitdefender, leading to the problems you describe. As Windows 7 is no longer maintained, these problems won't be solved.
> 
> So first of all, you should abandon Windows 7. Even if it would work fine, it's a huge security risk. No point in having an antivirus if you run an OS that's no longer maintained. Either move to Windows 10 or change for a Linux distro (Ubuntu is imho the one Windows users find most easy to adapt to. Your mileage may vary).
> 
> As for antivirus, I'm now using Kaspersky and am liking it so far (2 years now). I find it less intrusive than Bitdefender as well, even though I had no complaints in the past. 
> 
> Kind regards
> Joris
> 
> --
> Joris Meys
> Statistical consultant
> 
> Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling
> Ghent University
> Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Gent (Belgium)
> ------------------------------
> 
> Disclaimer : http://helpdesk.ugent.be/e-maildisclaimer.php
> 
> 
> ________________________________________
> From: R-package-devel <r-package-devel-bounces using r-project.org> on behalf of Spencer Graves <spencer.graves using effectivedefense.org>
> Sent: Monday, February 24, 2020 10:49 PM
> To: List r-package-devel
> Subject: [R-pkg-devel] Internet security software?
> 
> Hello, All:
> 
> 
>       What antivirus / internet security software do you use and
> recommend?
> 
> 
>       I've used Bitdefender for years.  However, I've been encountering
> an increasing number of problems with software I've used for years.
> Some of my problems disappear when I turn off parts of Bitdefender.
> However, I've been unable to use RStudio on my Windows 7 computer since
> early last November.  Also, when I turn off certain features of
> Bitdefender, "R CMD build sos" (with sos cloned from
> "https://github.com/sbgraves237/sos") completes in a few minutes.  With
> Bitdefender configured normally, "R CMD build sos" stops without warning
> on "* creating vignettes".  I've left it for days like that without it
> moving beyond that point.  No error message but also no progress.
> 
> 
>       Rather than doing a web search for alternative internet security
> software, I thought I'd ask you all:  If some of you have had similar
> problems with other antivirus / internet security software, I think I'd
> be more likely to hear it from you than from a web search.  Some of my
> problems may not be due to Bitdefender, but I know that some are, and
> Bitdefender tech support answers the phone but fails to fix these problems.
> 
> 
>       Thanks,
>       Spencer Graves
> 
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