Avoid being scammed (long)

Hey folks. I posted a couple of links on another thread but thought I might better make a whole new thread now. First things first, in NO WAY am I any sort of computer or internet guru!! I used to be fairly savvy but up until about a year ago, we had been completely without internet for over 15 years. Man has it changed!

Got my start back in the early days of Compaq Computers, when it was still called Gateway Technologies (different from Gateway Computers). My Dad was one of the first folks hired there, so computers just came natural for me then. I later worked in Test Engineering there, but got caught in their first huge layoff - over 1,500 people! Now not so savvy. Like with trucks, I tend to like things a bit more old-school. Unfortunately, some things just cannot remain old-school, and internet security is one of them.

There is a long-time program called Malwarebytes and they have helped countless people over the years with the fight against malicious software. There is a pay version that protects your system in real time, but there is also a free version that you can manually run any time. Their website is here:
https://www.malwarebytes.com/

When my Dad passed away, I didn't have a clue what kinds of security software was out there and I happened across this next one. I personally don't have any experience with it, but it has impressive reviews:
https://www.enigmasoftware.com/products/spyhunter/

I also have a Norton paid subscription and trust in it greatly - though not "completely" I'm one of those that believes there is no one perfect fit for every user in every situation for all time. But I am very happy with Norton so far. Just yesterday I have had notices popping up with a link to information about malware and ransomware and other such things. Haven't dove into it too far, but looks quite informative for anyone wanting or needing to learn more about internet and computer security. The direct link to this information page is:
https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity

And finally, most everyone knows that http:// is part of a web address (also called a URL). However, if it says https://, that means you are on a secure connection with that web page. The https:// uses encrypted communications between their servers and your PC/device and you will find that ALL(!!) banking sites and most all retail sites will use https://, at the very least, on their ordering page or any page where you have to input sensitive information; credit card #, SSN, name, address, etc. If it doesn't have the 's', that doesn't mean it isn't a safe site. Just means that you have to pay a little closer attention to what links you click on, just to make certain the site is not fraudulent, or that the site has not been hacked and a legitimate URL replaced with a deceptive one.

Ok, ok...one more thing - There are still people out there that don't know this, so I want to mention it as well. There are bad websites out there that "LOOK" like perfectly good sites. You may get a link for, say, Norton Antivirus only to see that there is an slight difference in the URL, like this: DO NOT CLICK ON THIS!!--> http://www.us.norton.ca/internetsecurity <-- I just made it up, but for all I know it might actually be a real URL. Changing the .com to .ca is only one way. Maybe they instead write it out as us.nortonantivirus.com or something like that. If you're ever in doubt, go to your favorite search engine and do a web search for the company or website that you're looking for.

By going to a disreputable website, you're basically making it possible for them to access your computer EVEN IF YOU DO NOT CLICK ON ANYTHING ELSE!! Many bad websites have bad code written into the homepage, and probably every page. So even with my Norton paid subscription and using Malwarebytes and other security things I use, I admit that I sometimes get complacent and do not pay the attention that I should. ...One day it will most likely come back to bite me in the rear!

Stay safe folks!!

Thanks KCM

While you are singing the praises of Norton, I will tell you of the experience I had with Norton.
A good friend of mine is an IT expert. He does it professionally, and is a network administrator at a fortune 500 company. He advised me to NOT get Norton. But, I already had it on my system. His advice was that Trend Micro was a much better product. So, I decided to let the Norton run out and replace it with Trend. When the Norton ran out, it basically trashed my registry. It tangled up my computer to the point that I quickly copied off my important data and reformatted the disk. Why? Because nothing I could do would eliminate the problems that Norton left behind.

At one time, when the company was owned by Peter Norton, they produced a fine product. This was before the whole virus hysteria. Norton published a fine set of utilities for DOS, then Windows. BUT, Peter sold the company and it was taken over by some big conglomerate like Symantic, I think. They also bought out Novell as far as I know.

Thus far, I have been totally satisfied by the service and the protection that I have received from Trend. Even the ransom ware has not been able to break through it.

jimg, I'm with you.

GOOGLE "is Norton a virus" and you will see issues that folks have had that are WORSE than a virus.

Thanks for the replies folks! As I said, I'd been away from the internet for a decade and a half. When I first got online (back in the good ol' days), there was a beta-version firewall that I had downloaded that allowed the user to make every setting individually. It was awesome! I used IRC back then and, with a dial-up connection, could stay connected against attacks that would knock T-1 connections offline. But those days are long behind us, and there is far too much to learn nowdays for the common person to be such an expert.

There's an old saying, "[i:9f7de9233d]Safety in numbers[/i:9f7de9233d]". Well, there's a heck of a lot more knowledge and experience on this forum alone than I will ever have. What little knowledge/experience I have I threw out there, hoping to help. So anyone else with other feedback, please chime in!

Will look into the Trend software. Have never heard of it before. Thanks!