Re: Windows 10 considerations

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On 4/12/15 9:24 PM, Edward Mendelson wrote:
> I’ve stayed out of the discussion here about Windows 10, but I
> thought it might be worthwhile to mention one thing: Windows 10
> seems (finally) to have fully effective anti-virus features built
> in. There seems to be no real need for any external anti-virus
> software. (Don’t take my word for this, of course; do your own
> research.) But these features require that Windows has access to
> the anti-virus definitions that Microsoft downloads more or less
> continuously to every Windows 10 system (in the same way that Apple
> sends anti-virus information continuously to OS X systems). I
> understand that some people find it very important to block
> Microsoft’s access to their systems, but it’s worth keeping in mind
> what the potential cost of doing so might be.

The first unpleasant surprise after upgrading to W10:
It deleted my ZoneAlarm and replaced it with Windows Defender (which I
don't trust any farther than I can throw an anvil). I notice that
Windows Defender repeatedly turns itself back on automatically after
one turns it off manually. Pfui.

I have never been in favor of AV software because, in principle, they
all close the door after the horse has already bolted. AV software can
only respond to a virus after it has appeared and been identified as
such, which leaves a machine vulnerable until a patch has been
discovered and issued. Furthermore, a) AV software tends to scan
harmless files over and over again, wasting CPU and RAM, and b) they
tend to lock up the network by downloading patches when you least want
to them to.

For those who know what they are doing, there are more effective ways
of preventing viruses from gaining access to your machine in the first
place, obviating the need to scan for them continuously and remove
them later.

I will soon have an updated list of servers to block (e.g. with Zone
Alarm) or redirect to Nirvana (127.0.0.0 or 0.0.0.0 in a hosts file),
for those who want to manually control MS 'phone home' behavior.