Time to spring clean my PC and get rid of redundant tools:
I added malwaredomainslist (web site filter subscription) to the Firefox and Google Chrome add-on “Adblock Plus.”
QUESTION: Is this redundant? Does Avast already block all these sites? Adding filter subscriptions that need frequent updates sucks up CPU so if Avast covers malwaredomainslist sites, I’d like to get rid of this filter subscription.
[On some of those Youtube “reviews” of Avast, our favorite antivirus (Avast) misses some of the most recent “nasties” from the above list – a bit worrisome since this site is quite well known].
I don’t think you are getting redundancy as the network shield would get in there before adblock plus if the domain was on its malicious sites list. If it isn’t then the web shield real-time scan would follow and if clear then the adblock plus malwaredomainslist would get a look in.
If anything was subsequently found on the malwaredomainslist it would block, but considering all this I don’t know how effective or worthwhile it would be. So the choice would have to be yours.
I notice that the malwaredomainslist option isn’t on adblock plus’s list of subscriptions, so presumably you have to create this manually ?
There is no way of telling as there is no direct comparison available.
I rather doubt avast would have all in its database as avast is more a real-time blocking of known malicious sites as it also gets information from the web shield alerts via the avast communityIQ feature. So whilst the avast one is likely to be much smaller I think it is more likely to be current.
No, not by default. They take the malware domains into accounts but not automatically.
There are quite some false positives in the list, as I’ve heard of.
Any idiot can take the most recent sites from malwaredomains and then “review/test” Avast and other antivirus software makers. It’s a “gotcha” game. This closes that “Avast misses zero-day” excuse of the nay sayers.
There are several blacklists (or blocklists) of malware domains. Google Safe Browsing is the one most people probably encounter with its warning that a site is dangerous.
How do I “know”? Well, I have AIS and open Firefox and Chrome (separately) in Sandbox mode.
Then I copy several of the domains posted in the past month. Result: first time around, Avast noticed nothing. WOT got there first OR the “server reset/not found” message indicated malwaredomains filter got there.
Here’s the interesting thing: the NEXT time I ran the same sequence, Avast DID detect some of them but missed the fake AVs (most antivirus programs, like Avast, seem weak on fake AVs, which always trick my wife and kids!!). The supplement to kill fake AV is MBAM (malwarebytes pro). It’s the only thing I know that gets fake AVs – a threat I think A/V makers take too lightly, IMHO.
That first time around I was able to download trojans from within the avast sandbox to my desktop. It was described as a fake AV with a rogue installer in the malwaredomains filter list.
PS: I wasn’t calling AVAST virus analysts idiots, I was referring to the kids (and others) who play that gotcha game on Youtube. Zero-day detection rate (retrospective tests, av-comparatives) show that Avast has risen considerably but no one gets more than 70% of programs for which there is yet no signature.
To clarify: I wasn’t referring to Avast as idiots or I wouldn’t buy their product and use it – and been virus-free – for ten years!