"Malicious code" doing the rounds

[Paul]

The thing with Internet Banking kinda changed late last year... kinda. Some legal requirements changed a little. Baby steps guys.

I get worried seeing people here continually downloading a private build of chrome with 1-click "IE tab functionality"* without the need to download an extension. For banking reasons. The build's not malware, but this software (not going to name it lest I promote it) is just maintained by two people and infrequently updated thus leaving it without the latest security patches...

NEWS:
Microsoft actually launched a campaign this week to stamp out IE6 usage the world over. No, seriously, the site is here:
http://ie6countdown.com/

Problem? The site is useless because it comes in the following choices of languages:
English (US)

And IE6 holdouts mostly are from:
Korea (South)
China

Still, please do your bit guys! SHOW this site to anyone English speaking in your school when they have a free moment, ask them to spread the word in Korean too. And show them Google Chrome or Firefox too. Things don't change because people don't complain, and people don't complain because they don't know any different. It's in everybody's best interests, not just Microsoft's. Presently, Korea's biggest defense against banking security breaches is the language barrier but if the country is intent on opening up to the world, that safety blanket might start wearing thin...

* Yes, that's right. There is an extension to Chrome that lets you open an "IE tab" that I presume just has the signature and page loading quirks of IE7 or something to fool browser specific sites.

Re: Avast! vs AVG. At risk of igniting a Holy War, I'm going to recommend Avast! out of the two for anyone setting up a new machine. I used to use AVG, but back in... I think 2008? they silently cut some sort of greyware scan or something from the free product, made that feature pay only. Hazy memory so you'd have to web search. Whether Avast! has that today or not is another matter, but it made me switch at the time and never look back. The real freebie debate nowadays is MSE vs Avast! I feel. For pay products, IT gurus at previous jobs recommended ESAT NOD32 and TrendMicro, and both ranked very highly on the independent report I read a while back.

[#basedcowboyshirt]

Paul, you are nerd-sexy.

I've been a little dissatisfied with AVG lately. It still gets the job done, but maybe it's time I look into Avast. My computer at school really needs a reformat, though. It's one that used to be in a classroom, and as such is riddled with badness from kids mucking around on it.

[Paul]

For Korean work machines, I'd recommend Microsoft Security Essentials the highest. Why? Because its Microsoft and thus funded by OS sales, it will be free for the long haul. I doubt Avast! or AVG will be going under, but they do require an eye kept on them; specifically the annual free re subscription and new client install process which can get fiddly with permissions. Also, I know with 100% certainty that MSE comes in Korean as well as English.

[#basedcowboyshirt]

Doesn't MSE have issues with pirated copies of Windows, though? I'm pretty sure it does.

[Paul]

Undoubtedly, but you'd expect with the Kobaco anti-piracy campaign that public sector schools (which have regular Korean staff turnover, so info maintenance info can't be passed down so easily) wouldn't be resorting to piracy now, wouldn't you?

[#basedcowboyshirt]

Undoubtedly, but you'd expect with the Kobaco anti-piracy campaign that public sector schools (which have regular Korean staff turnover, so info maintenance info can't be passed down so easily) wouldn't be resorting to piracy now, wouldn't you?

Ideally. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure every shred of software in my school is pirated. Except maybe Glorious Ahnlab.

[The Zahir]

Of course, a LOT of the vulnerabilities with Korean computers would be resolved almost overnight if people here would just upgrade from IE6.1. For god's sake people, USE A MODERN BROWSER! I can't understand people's attachment to the ratty thing, though my co-teachers have said that one issue is legacy software and some other non-school related crap. No wonder Korea gets hit by a lot of cyber attacks- so many computers on the network here are running obsolete software with sketchy protection!
*end rant*

HAHAHAHA! Yes. I helped my co-teacher download chrome and she was in shock at how fast it is. I simply told her bluntly that Internet Explorer is very slow. She was surprised. And she frequently asks me to help her do the most basic things in powerpoint and she's not even old. It does surprise me considering the technologies that Korea spits out and how connected this country is. Also, I downloaded the "vaccine" that my co-teacher told me to for my home computer and my computer was unaffected. I suspect it was a bad antivirus program.

The issue is that Korean websites don't work on Chrome! This includes online banking :@

I've also heard that this has to do with legacy software. Why do companies keep programming everything for an outdated system?!

I use Firefox for EVERYTHING except banking. Kookmin Bank requires you to install a special "security" plugin to use their website which only works with IE (and then only with 32 bit versions). I reluctantly did this and have had no other issues except that I have to provide administrator privileges any time I want to check my balance.    KB also requires you to register a machine-specific key (that must be renewed yearly!) to use internet banking and makes it quite a hassle to authorize another machine to access the same account! It's the most ludicrous "security" measures I've ever had to deal with and I feel like it's really not any more secure than proper encryption on a browser that's not full of security holes. My home bank account still works just fine from everywhere (including phone browser). sigh...
[/rant]
Anyone else use KB?

Re: Avast! vs AVG. At risk of igniting a Holy War, I'm going to recommend Avast! out of the two for anyone setting up a new machine. I used to use AVG, but back in... I think 2008? they silently cut some sort of greyware scan or something from the free product, made that feature pay only. Hazy memory so you'd have to web search. Whether Avast! has that today or not is another matter, but it made me switch at the time and never look back. The real freebie debate nowadays is MSE vs Avast! I feel. For pay products, IT gurus at previous jobs recommended ESAT NOD32 and TrendMicro, and both ranked very highly on the independent report I read a while back.

 I second this. I highly recommend Avast! to everyone here. It's free, very simple to use, and quite powerful. I also switched from AVG and have found Avast! to be more reliable. (Plus there's a pirate-talk option, mateys! )