Unprotected PC infected within 20 Minutes

General Topics
1

According to the Internet Storm Center, an unpatched Windows PC
connected to the Internet will last for only about 20 minutes before
it’s compromised by malware, on average. That figure is down from around
40 minutes, the group’s estimate in 2003.

The drop from 40 minutes to 20 minutes is worrisome because it means the
average “survival time” is not long enough for a user to download the
very patches that would protect a PC from Internet threats.
Get the full details HERE

2

The only thing that surprises me is that it takes 20 minutes :smiley: I think its shorter than that.

When I switched to XP Pro (from 98SE), I went on line to get the latest OS updates and got MS Blastered in less than 1 minute.

It was a fight from that point to kill the infection, apply the patch, kill the infection again. Then get the rest of the OS updates.

I was using AVG and Zone Alarm at that time and much use they proved.

3

The 20 minutes is on average, don’t forget that. It depends ofcourse when you go online unprotected. When a new virus, like blaster/sasser, just hit the net the time is shorter. When it is relatively quiet on the virus front it will take longer.

This article speaks of malware, that means ALL harmfull stuff. Not only viruses, but also worms, trojans, spyware, adware and such. When do people go on the net unprotected? Mostly after a clean installation. What is one of the first things people do? Download and install their favorite software like p2p applications. That is also a major cause of infected systems.

Although a system can be protected before going on the net, the protection will always fail if the user don’t use his common sense and do not read and think before doing something.

4

When i do a clean install of my OS i always install my hardware firewall first then go to MS update , after that put my software firewall, anti-virus, spyware scanner ect, then configer IE firewall ect settings, then scan, then download any other protection i need, then Morzilla firefox, scan again with online scanners, check though program files, C drive and Windows for anything supicious, then desktop procceses, then common registry places (even after hijackthis).
Then anything else i want/need.

Two things i never do are install an operating system over another one (xp oner 98SE for example) or download p2p software ect before protection.

–lee

5

lee
Before you go online, install all of your protection software. Av, Software Firewall etc. Then go on line and get your updates.

6

Bob
I use free free software AV and firewall. ( plan on buying them soon.)
And i can’t burn them to cd because i do not have a cd burner, and to big for floopy, therefore i have to connect to the internet to get them.
But as i said, i have a hardware firewall, so i do have protection while doing my updates.

–lee

7

When I first installed broadband, the installer told me to disable any real-time virus software, so I did (I used Norton then). The installer connected me to the net early in the installation, and before it closed and I could reactivate Norton, I was hit by a blaster worm. It damaged 50 windows system files (not to mention 200 other files) which were left corrupted after Norton ‘repaired’ them. Lousy Norton…
I had to format and do a clean install.

8

lee

I use free free software AV and firewall. ( plan on buying them soon.) And i can't burn them to cd because i do not have a cd burner, and to big for floopy, therefore i have to connect to the internet to get them
Can't you partition your HD and keep a copy of the latest install for the AV and Firewall prog along with any other important prog and drivers you need on a seperate partition? That way, you have access to all of that before you have to go online.
9

Do you not trust hardware firewalls to protect my system as much as a software one? , plus i hav never partioned HD, and i have never been infected while doing it this way (done it this way for about 6 reformates)

–lee

10

hehehe. What about Macs? it takes 4 minutes to install all Apple Updates for OS X.3 panther. Plus there are 2 trojans for OS X and both are proof of concept and not in the wild. and list time I checked most spyware/adware doesnt run on the mac OS. so SOulution is to Get a Mac and be happy like me ;D

11

Mac

so SOulution is to Get a Mac and be happy like me
And as soon as enough people get Macs, then they will become the target.
12

But it looks like it will never happen… Mac people (sellers) are still too rapacious for our money ;D and with all those prices, I really can’t see the light at the end of that tunnel… :-\

13

I can’t wait to get mine for school.

14

I’m still missing a tip here ;D People could have ordered the FREE update/security cd from MS. Which has already a lot of patches/updates on it so you can install them before going online.

MS’s security guidance kit can be found HERE

15

The latest update on that CD is from October 2003 you know…
For Windows 2000, it has Service Pack 3 and one critical update.

Alternatively, you could go to the Microsoft Download Centre and download all the critical updates as exe files. You can save them to your hard drive and they’ll be there when you rebuild.