this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2024
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[–] [email protected] 65 points 8 months ago (9 children)

Kaspersky is just one piece of software to avoid. Others include:

  • Telegram
  • Avast AV
  • Anything from 360 Safe / Qihoo 360
  • Opera browser ... now owned by above
  • Zoom
  • FileZilla / UTorrent / other PUA that bundles adware and acts essentially as a trojan
[–] [email protected] 32 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Add in:

  • TikTok
  • Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, and Threads
  • Reddit :)

For antivirus, Microsoft's built-in one is fine. Ideally use an OS that has better security and lower default permissions like popular Linux distros (at the very least, it's a smaller target than Windows). I haven't checked recently, but using Malware Bytes for occasional runs (not as active protection though) was good and is probably still good.

But in general, use FOSS, at the very least they'll probably not pull a Reddit and screw over their users.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Seriously. Windows Defender is an excellent piece of software, and its all you need. Paying for anything else is kinda foolish.

If you're on windows, you dont need anything else except maybe to install malware bytes once a month, run the scan, and uninstall it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

This is Lemmy. Chances of people here not using Windows is relatively high.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (2 children)

You know what they say about assuming things.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I would say that the fact that I used the word 'chances' would suggest I wasn't assuming anything.

I would also suggest that the very large Linux communities would support my non-assumption.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Oh, so its like a card game

"I say Chance! and nullify your Astral Assumption card!"

[–] [email protected] -2 points 8 months ago

No? It's like a guess. You've heard of guesses before, right?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Yeah, always make assumptions. They make conversations faster.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

This just feels like a random hit list; how did you come up with it?

Why zoom? It's based out of San Francisco.

I also object to the Telegram inclusion. Unless you want to include Discord, and various other server side encrypted communication apps. The founders may be Russians by birth but they have Ukrainian roots, are no longer Russian citizens, had their first company stolen from them by the Kremlin, etc. Also I always like to note, Einstein was a German by birth but he was no Nazi.

What's the FileZilla connection? Tim Kosse (which as far as I can tell it's still the primary author) is a German.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Honestly, Zoom just has a hilariously high frequency of vulnerabilities being discovered.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago

I mean... That's fair, I don't recommend zoom, but those reasons have nothing to do with Russia and everything to do with a company that was willing to lie that they had E2EE and didn't.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

This very partial list is based on my being in cyber security for 20 years and working a variety of incidents involving these apps. You all can do whatever you want with your computers.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago

That you didn't give a helpful answer makes me doubt you where as before I was interested in what you had to say.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Telegram is better than WhatsApp. At least it has a decent Linux client, and all clients are open source. WhatsApp has neither.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago

Unless you're constantly using secret chats all your data is stored in plain text... This is actually worse than WhatsApp

[–] rottingleaf 0 points 8 months ago

You got an answer why it's not.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Maybe better client and more features. But Russians have full access to servers and messages. They could read whatever they want. It's a fact that proved during war that Russia started in Ukraine.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago

This is nonsense. The Founders of Telegram are exiles from Russia.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Ah fuck, what's the alternative to FileZilla?! I've been using that for like 17 years.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 8 months ago (4 children)

So just to illustrate, I went to the normal FileZilla download page and downloaded the Win64 package. Then I submitted it to VirusTotal.

https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?platform=win64#close

https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/dbde8a4bd71bb1fbc0511cdb657dfeffdaedc513aa425f856043532a7cba6fce

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago

If you click other versions, there are installers without the adware.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago

Those dumbasses have been doing this for years. I don't know if it has viruses and such in it but it has had the bundled stuff for a while now.

I wish it didn't since it's a great program.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

filezilla has an opencandy installer

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

As someone who has used FileZilla for years, I am shook and I appreciate you pasting the link

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Dolphin on KDE/Linux and WinSCP on Windows

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I think whatever GNOME calls their file browser supports FTP as well.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

It surely does, but i'm not sure if you can switch to side-by-side view

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

Then use the kde file browse.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

Same here.

CrossFTP seems promising. Also has the multi OS support.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I'd say avoid AVG too then since it's basically Avast.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

I don't even use antivirus software anymore. Previously, every time I found a new one recommended by security experts I thought I could trust, about a year later, it turned to shit or was relieved to always having been shit. Now I just backup my stuff and vet any executable. I don't do any serious work on my Windows install anyway, so nuking it isn't a problem.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Does Escape from Tarkov make the list?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

Just don't use it for secure comms and anything tangentially connected for what you consider "secure" matters. Simple as.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

Out of curiosity, why Telegram? (Im out of the loop on this one)

As for uTorrent, I’ve got version 2.2.1 and have never allowed it to update in the last decade or however long it’s been. I think that was the last version that didn’t allow any ads or otherwise and was simply a solid p2p client at the time.

[–] rottingleaf 4 points 8 months ago

Because it's less (because of history stored on server and use of OTR being problematic) secure than ICQ in year 2003, prone to phishing and, yes, made by people I wouldn't trust.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

may I ask why didn't you just switch to qbittorrent? is there a feature that utorrent has but qbit doesn't?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

Never needed to or even thought about it. uTorrent never gave me any issues and was super lightweight. Additionally, there was a fansubbed anime site I was a member of for a long time that had a limited whitelist of p2p clients last they would allow their trackers to function on. uT 2.2.1 was one of those.

That pc seldom gets used anymore nowadays anyway, as my main pc is running OpenSuse and ktorrent does all I need it to.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Because Russians started it I guess?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

If you forget everything else, it's basically an unencrypted chat where the company behind it can read all your messages.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

I never cared about discord so I don't know, but I'd assume so, yes.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Telegram ftw. Down with WhatsApp.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Signal has better defaults and a less compromised origin

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

Nobody I know is using it so the point is almost moot :(

[–] [email protected] -1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

There's nothing really wrong with telegram.

It's just social media for people who aren't indoctrinated by the west.