the boss checked my computer history and saw AF

[Aractus]

Ok, I've really tried explaining this to you multiple times, so apologies in advance if this post comes across as frustrating.

uBlock does not block malware. Malware is a file that runs on your computer and performs some malicious action. It is only detectable via either it's a signature, or heuristics. This is almost exclusively performed by anti-virus software.

uBlock is not anti-virus software. It only prevents your browser from accessing URLs which link to known malware sites. This is a huge difference. If sites A, B, and C all host the same piece of malware, and your anti-virus has a signature for it, then visiting any of the sites and downloading the malware will cause your anti-virus to alert you. However, if uBlock only has sites A and B in its list, and you visit site C, the malware will be downloaded, and there's nothing uBlock will be able to do to stop it.

To put it another way: uBlock attempts to prevent your browser from connecting to known malware sites. Anti-virus attempts to prevent actual malware from infecting your system after it has been accessed.

So, please stop perpetuating the myth that uBlock actually blocks malware, because it doesn't. It blocks known distributors of malware. I could upload malware to atheistforums.org today, and your uBlock would do fuck all to prevent you from accessing it.

I'm not perpetuating any myths Tiberius. I never said it replaces the function of anti-virus software, I said it's additional layer of protection and clearly explained why. And the reason is that the most likely place to find malware on the internet is in compromised advertisements. They have been found 3 times in the past 12 months on kickass torrents, and at least once on youtube in the last 2 years. UBlock stops advertisements being downloaded in the first place, thus stopping the malware, and it's not just based on known URLs or malware, but also known URLs of advertisers (as I clearly said, when an advertiser gets hacked the malware comes from the advertiser's URL). Of course you should also have AVAST or some other anti-virus running as well (although note that Avast now comes with a bunch of fucking off-putting bundle-ware bullshit, and continually pops up its own fucking advertisement unless you either buy premium or put it into game-mode). As you well know, hackers target the weak point of a system.

http://beefproject.com/

Go there and read all the exploits you can use to hijack a user's browser. Java and Flash are two ways of exploiting browsers, but they are not at all the only methods. Most of the exploits there use native browser vulnerabilities.

Yes, meaningful security enhancements can be used by installing uBlock and not using Flash / Java, but don't think those will protect you completely. In targeted attacks (which many businesses suffer on a daily basis), you aren't looking at known malware, or known distribution sites, or even Flash or Java. You are looking at coordinated phishing attacks which deliver customized payloads that are undetectable by AntiVirus. The weak point of any business is the employee, and it makes perfect sense to have a security policy that tells employees that it is a disciplinary offence to visit non-approved websites.

The security of the browsers is tested on their default settings. As I've said, they can be hardened which reduces the vulnerability. I, for example, run NoScript on FF as well, I have the MVPS hosts file installed, uBlock, and of course Avast (in game mode), oh and I keep the windows security updates up to date. Other people don't want to put up with the hassle of things like NoScript, and many can't be bothered with antivirus software either (especially now as I've mentioned that the best one IMO, Avast, comes with unwanted bundleware).

The reason why I use Avast is because I was running AVG at the time that this happened. And I confirmed that the rootkit I had was from 2009. 2009 and AVG didn't stop it or have a way to remove it in 2011!! It wasn't even a trojan, just a really annoying virus. The first thing I did after fixing the system - by myself by identifying and deleting the rogue driver (which loaded the rouge SVCHOST file) was uninstall AVG and install Avast.

Anyway, if we go back to what you said about Windows security - yes it's more insecure by the very fact that more malware and viruses target it. But that's just one consideration for a computer system. I make no apologies for not liking Apple - if we go back far enough, they would charge an extra 50%-100% just for the apple logo over the cost of a PC with Windows. And they designed devices to be exclusive to their system - printers, etc. PC has always welcomed competition from manufacturers, and while that can lead to more shonky components, it also leads to greater user-serviceability. Anyway, not only are Macbooks fucking shit in terms of hardware:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7XSckjRPo0

And Apple refuses to service them (which is illegal), but let's say I do get ransomware installed on my PC or my Lenovo Laptop. I can just reformat the hard drive and reinstall Windows (in fact for the Laptop, I can just hot-swap the SSD for a 2.5" conventional magnetic disk drive I have set to factory settings). I'm sure the process is not that much more difficult for a Macbook, but god only knows how you'd fix a fucking tablet infested with ransomware. Point a heat-gun at the section of the all-in-one-motherboard that has the storage and operating system, pull it off the motherboard, and then re-flash it I suppose.