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Why An Antivirus Does Nothing For You & Anti-Malware Strategies + Q&A | Rob Braxman

In response to my post about some cyber-security and privacy options, the question of anti-virus like Norton, McAfee, AVG etc came up, so I posted this – https://doncharisma.org/2023/10/27/the-big-antivirus-lie-rob-braxman/

Downside – Rob’s video was posted in 2021.

Right on cue, Rob posted two updated videos in the last few days, so, here they are.

Rob Braxman is one of the only people I trust (in as much as I trust people) on these issues :

Key insights
🤔 The speaker questions the common thinking about antivirus software, suggesting that it may not be necessary for personal use and may even pose privacy concerns.
🚫 Zero day attacks, which are undiscovered and have no known solution, pose a significant threat as antivirus software cannot effectively respond to them.
🛡️ The sandbox approach used by antivirus software to isolate malware has been proven to have flaws, allowing advanced malware to easily bypass detection techniques.
🕵️‍♂️ An antivirus can install a fake root certificate on your device, effectively canceling all encryption and allowing the antivirus to see all your traffic in plain text.
💻 It is possible to defend against malware attacks without relying on antivirus software, highlighting the need to understand how attackers try to penetrate systems.
📥 Apple’s lockdown mode blocks attachments on email and messaging platforms, reducing the risk of clicking on malicious files.
🤯 Many zero-day attacks are based on running malware in memory, making them difficult for antivirus software to detect.
📱 The speaker promotes phones with an open source OS that have no links to Big Tech, highlighting the importance of privacy in the face of privacy threats.

Key insights
💻 Restoring your computer to a pre-virus state can be an effective strategy for mitigating the damage caused by unintentionally loading a virus onto your computer.
🌐 Hackers can easily create fake websites that appear authentic, making it possible for users to unknowingly download malware through hidden no-click downloads.
📎 Clicking on attachments can pose a risk, so it’s important to be cautious and avoid clicking on them if possible.
📧 Learning how to interpret email headers can help identify fake or scam emails, providing valuable information about the source and legitimacy of the message.
📧 Checking the IP address and domains listed in the email header can help determine the origin and destination of the email, providing valuable information about its legitimacy.
📧 Sending an email with hidden HTML can allow the sender to obtain the recipient’s IP address and location, even without the recipient opening the email.
😱 Clicking on an innocuous-looking file can unknowingly load a malicious interpreter, giving hackers control over a computer, emphasizing the need for cybersecurity awareness and vigilance.
🤯 The concept of using a base name and adding a dash followed by any content after it in an email address demonstrates a clever way to create unique and personalized email addresses without the need to remember each one individually.
🕵️‍♂️ Using a VPN can help protect your privacy by ensuring that your home IP address is never revealed.

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4 thoughts on “Why An Antivirus Does Nothing For You & Anti-Malware Strategies + Q&A | Rob Braxman”

    1. He generally gives good advice, but not always easy for everyone to apply.

      Malware Bytes found malware, the built in one in Windows didn’t.

      Ccleaner I also use periodically.

      However, I always free version, anonymously, download offline installer, install, run and make corrections as needed, uninstall (via “Add/remove programs”) – there’s a risk of compromising one’s privacy with either of these products.

      Generally speaking most malware is avoided by having two users on an OS, the Admin/Root user (full privilege), and the User/Don user (less privileged, asks for confirmation of system changes).

      Linux is better, but impractical for most, even I’m still on Windows, will eventually get around to moving off.

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