Anti-Viruses are useless

[alfonzo1955]

I personally think that anti-viruses are useless. If someone wants to infect you, they would make it FUD and your anti-virus would be useless. I just run in sandbox to see what is going on and if it does not run in a sandbox then I just don't run it. Also, firewalls are also useless. All RAT's these days support injection so your firewall will not do anything. Please discuss/post opinions.

[Elektrisk]

I disagree with you entirely. Not all malware is well coded. Many people simply take malware that others have made and don't bother to edit it, usually because they don't know how. Such malware is usually outdated to a point where any decent AV will kill it, especially when you have technologies such as Norton's Sonar.

The same with firewalls. A firewall is not only useful for protecting against RATs. It can help intercept DDoS attacks, some keyloggers, and more. Also, like I said, not all RATs are so well coded that they have the features you mentioned.

I personally use neither an AV/Firewall, because common sense is the best defense. However, AVs/FWs are certainly not useful.

[Support]

It goes from person to person. I use neither an AV or Firewall like Elektrisk and I have the same opinion as him

[Crysis.]

Most files which are FUD normally only last for a good few days.

[alfonzo1955]

The problem with using an anti-virus is when it detects tools that you are using as a virus. It is a hassle to disable the anti-virus then re-downloading the program etc. As Elektrisk said, common sense is the best.

[Crysis.]

The problem with using an anti-virus is when it detects tools that you are using as a virus. It is a hassle to disable the anti-virus then re-downloading the program etc. As Elektrisk said, common sense is the best.

Agreed, common sense is the best way around being infected.

[alfonzo1955]

I have convinced most of my friends not to use anti-viruses. They provide users with a false sense of security. I rather get infected by my own carelessness than by a poor anti-virus. Also, by using sandboxes, you are able to understand how viruses run and where they usually drop the files.

[MySocksAreWet]

You realize there are anti-sandbox features out right? I disagree 100%.

[alfonzo1955]

You realize there are anti-sandbox features out right? I disagree 100%.

As I said, anti-sandbox means it will not run in a sandbox. If it does not run within a sandbox, it is most likely infected.

[--([-S7N-])--]

If someone wants to infect you, they would make it FUD and your anti-virus would be useless.

I personally disagree there. Not all malware are FUD, or coded to be so. Even if they are, they aren't for long as they WILL be sent to the AV's manufacturer upon discretion of the user, given he is knowledgeable on this field. And, if you are suspicious of the file, upload it to VirusTotal and the AV's will detect it in a matter of weeks. By that, you are doing a favor for the AV company, and the global community.

I just run in sandbox to see what is going on

You are aware that malware can bypass a sandbox and infect your main computer, right?

Also, firewalls are also useless. All RAT's these days support injection so your firewall will not do anything.

Firewalls are useless for people who don't know how to properly configure one.

I rather get infected by my own carelessness than by a poor anti-virus.

That is up to you.

Anti-viruses, alone, can't handle much TBH. They should be followed up with supplements like: MBAM, VMware, MVPS Hosts, WireShark and so on.

But, that doesn't mean one shouldn't use an Anti-virus.