A question for the group... I'm moving (s-l-o-w-l-y) through my new build and I'm almost at the point where I'll have to load and tweak the OS. For years, I've been a devoted follower of Nick Needham (a.k.a NickN), and I've set up all my systems using his Windows setup guide.

 

But this time around, I'm a bit concerned about security. Over the summer, I was one of the people hit by the sirefef virus that spread - I think - through an Avsim ad banner during a brief security lapse. It affected my work computer, not my flightsim computer - this was less of a problem for me since the setup on the work computer wasn't nearly as elaborate. But I did wind up having to reinstall the operating system (followed, of course, by all my applications) in order to clean out all the infected files.

 

When I rebuilt my system, I upgraded from ESET NOD Antivirus to the ESET Smart Security Suite. Previously, I'd avoided Smart Security because of the additional burden on the system. But as it turned out, Smart Security included protections against sirefef that NOD Antivirus lacked. I also reconfigured Windows to turn on automatic updates, just to make sure I wouldn't miss any security patches. (I also dropped IE in favor of Chrome, which was probably my best move, but not pertinent to this thread).

 

In doing all that, I was, of course, violating Nick's prime directive by making more demands on the system. But I didn't feel I could do without the security protections. This leads me to wonder - given that we're now in a higher-threat environment, and that the threats are much more complicated and harder to eradicate, does it still make sense to strip down Windows and turn off services in order to get the best possible FSX performance? Or is it more sensible to add some more security protection, even at the cost of a hit to FSX? What approach are all of you taking?

 

I recognize that not all of Nick's settings will have an impact on security. Maybe most of them won't. And maybe my concern is unwarranted. But I wanted to ask.

 

I'll post this question over at Simforums as well, but I wanted to hear what all of you thought as well.

 

Thanks in advance!

Over the summer, I was one of the people hit by the sirefef virus that spread - I think - through an Avsim ad banner during a brief security lapse.

 

I seriously doubt this happened here at AVSIM as no one else reported this issue. I do not use any anti-virus program (and never have since 1992) and never got the virus you mentioned and I post on AVSIM everyday. There are a lot of false-positives put out by anti-virus programs. According to the Internet, it is really not a virus but malware that will slowly take over your system and make it run slower and download even more vicious malware. It blocks any anti-virus program installed on your system so that it cannot be discovered (so your anti-virus program is worthless to this malware). The good thing is that it won't immediately destroy your system and, if you clean your system periodically with a program that searches for Malware (like the freeware Malwarebytes - one of the best).

 

If I were to install a security program, I would install the freeware Microsoft Essentials. It's adequate. I do use a payware called Advanced System Care which cleans up my system periodically and removes malware but it does not look for viruses. I run Malwarebytes periodically as it finds the most devious kinds of malware. I think cleaning your system regularly is the best preventive from nasty people who try to take over computers.

 

Another mandatory security practice is to make sure your firewall is constantly on. That prevents nasty things like hackers getting into your computer without your knowledge. If you download something, your firewall will tell you if you want to download and install the software. You can still download and install programs that contain viruses but the possibilities of that happening are slim to none as long as you know that your are getting it from a legitimate website like FlightOne or AVSIM.

 

Your concern about Internet security is a bit overboard IMHO. But I was like that in the early 1990's too before such things as anti-virus/malware software and firewalls. If you work in a corporation or other business, you should be very worried about viruses, malware or other mischievious threats as these are the organizations targeted mainly. Individual users can be targeted too if you're someone like Bill Gates. This concern is probably wise for novice computer users as you could forget to turn on your firewall (on by default) or download things from devious and unsecure websites. I know someone who plays a lot of games on the Internet and goes to those card game websites and plays various versions of solitare and other games. These sites are loaded with malware and they'll download all kinds of nasty cookies (malware, not viruses) that try to take over your system. Her system has slowed down so much she can hardly navigate. And, being a novice, she was going to take the system to a computer repair shop that would simply format and reinstall Windows, return the system, and charge her $100 plus. Thank you very much! But I told her to clean up her system using the Maintenance features in Windows and then run a freeware program like Advance System Care or CCleaner. She's back up and running smoothly now with my advice and she still has $100 in her purse.

 

If you're going to enable a lot of security on your computer and keep your User Access Controls enabled, you are going to have a hard time running FSX, especially if you have the settings up high. If you are really concerned about threats to your system, then I would unplug the cable to your modem that communicates with the Internet. That way, absolutely nothing can get into your system while you are using FSX. After you are finished with FSX, plug the modem back into your system.

 

Yes, you should be aware of viruses and other security hazards but it is no different that one walking out their front door, climbing in their car and driving around. You could be attacked but most likely you won't be attacked. I think these anti-virus program developers should tone down some of their scare tactics to their customers. They are making a lot of money doing that and getting people scared mostly for no reason at all.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Best regards,

Jim

Jim -

 

Thanks for a very thorough reply. I appreciate it.

 

I should probably clarify a couple of points.

 

I seriously doubt this happened here at AVSIM as no one else reported this issue.

 

Unfortunately not true. I was referring to the incident reported in this thread. You'll see my posts - #33 and #35. In #35, I posed pretty much the same question as I did in this thread, and pmanhart, the original poster, suggested in #36 that he was thinking along the same lines.

 

According to the Internet, it is really not a virus but malware that will slowly take over your system and make it run slower and download even more vicious malware. It blocks any anti-virus program installed on your system so that it cannot be discovered (so your anti-virus program is worthless to this malware). The good thing is that it won't immediately destroy your system...

 

Well, yes, I probably misspoke when I called it a virus. But in my case, that's a distinction without a difference. What it did - immediately - was take over my browser and make it unusable. I'm a solo consultant and my work depends on my ability to access clients' web-based e-mail and cloud-based files. So the loss of the browser was a very serious issue. I tried all the solutions I could find, and none worked - the only viable solution was to reinstall Windows 7, which of course meant I had to reinstall applications as well. Fortunately my files were unaffected.

 

 

Your concern about Internet security is a bit overboard IMHO.

 

Um... I beg to differ, given my experience.

 

If you work in a corporation or other business, you should be very worried about viruses, malware or other mischievious threats as these are the organizations targeted mainly. Individual users can be targeted too if you're someone like Bill Gates.

 

I'm not exactly Bill Gates. But I did have the problems I described.

 

Look, here's the thing. I'm not a novice computer user. I've built and run a number of systems, for work as well as for FSX. And yet, what happened, happened. I thought I was informed and I thought I had a secure system, but I got hit by a piece of malware that was one step ahead of the safeguards I had in place.

 

My concerns about Nick's recommendations for a stripped-down Windows install are pretty specific. As I'm sure you know, he recommends turning off a number of Windows services, turning off automatic Windows updates, and using NOD Antivirus but not the Smart Security Suite. I do know now that the Smart Security Suite is able to cope with sirefef, but NOD Antiviurs by itself couldn't. So I'm definitely going to install Smart Security Suite on the newbuild. I continue to wonder whether it might make sense to activate the Windows updater - maybe for updates on shutdown, rather than background updates - and to use a lighter touch on services, in particular leaving in place any that have a bearing on security. But I agree that those steps might be overkill. I guess the best step would be for me to put the question to Nick over at Simforums, since the recommendations are his and he might have a handle on the security implications.

 

I do appreciate the help and I hope this thread will help others think through the same or similar issues.

 

Best,

Alan

Thanks.

 

Best regards,

Jim

Alan,

 

Firstly regarding Windows updates - There should be no penalty to leaving these switched on, some may disagree but I believe it's essential for any internet-connected PC to have the latest security hotfixes and patches. You do, however do not want them downloading and installing whilst your running FSX. In the settings for Windows updates, I use 'Download updates, but let me choose whether to install them' This has FSX download the update automatically, however it won't install unless you tell it to. There are also settings to just notify you of updates, and let you decide on which to download or not. Leaving these settings on shouldn't really have any huge noticable impact on the running of your simulator.

 

Regarding anti-virus scanning - the part that usually slows most systems down to a crawl is 'On-Access' scanning. (Thats the McAfee name for it, other vendors may name it differently) This setting scans every file that is opened by you, or any program currently running. As you can imagine, this has quite a resource overhead, If I were you, I would suggest at least disabling this before running FSX.

 

One method to keeping essential programs running, whilst cutting down on un-needed services, is to use something like 'Gamebooster'. It is a utility that closes down un-needed services and applications that would otherwise be hogging CPU time. It can be tweaked to leave certain applications open, or close additional ones as required. I use it for every flight, my system is more than capable of running FSX, however I still notice the difference if I have not run gamebooster.

 

In regards to firewalls, I tend to shy away from endpoint installed firewalls. They tend to be a tad overprotective and add far too much of a CPU/Memory overhead. The MS firewall has also been known to cause problems even when the correct exceptions are set! Most modern ADSL routers these days come packaged with a more than adequate firewall. I would suggest going through your device with a fine toothed comb, check that no ports are left open - If all you do is browse the web, then you really need only leave ports 80 and 443 open - this will serve you fine in 99% of cases.

 

The internet as said already by Jim, isn't the scary place that some would have you believe. I too haven't been running any kind of firewall or active antivirus system on my personal PCs for several years now - however I've been in the IT industry too long now and know what I should and shouldn't be clicking on. However, I do believe that any user as long as they are careful and use common sense can and should be able to run without antivirus, and never suffer an infection. If you do want to try the 'No-AV' approach, then THIS article should be of some help..

 

Hope this has been of some help.

This leads me to wonder - given that we're now in a higher-threat environment, and that the threats are much more complicated and harder to eradicate, does it still make sense to strip down Windows and turn off services in order to get the best possible FSX performance?

In my opinion, no! There are some desperately poorly written AV programs out there among the big names but as long as you stay away from them you won't notice much (if any) difference in FSX performance. Just install the stuff you want, including ESET SS if that's your choice, and do the mandatory changes to fsx.cfg and then let it be. Closing down resident programs and poking through the services list may have done some good in the Pentium days but on your system you're only wasting your time unless you really enjoy doing it.

 

It's better to worry about losing one or two frames per second than to worry about losing all your harddrive content.

Sorry to revive an aging thread but I wanted to report back - not because anyone's necessarily dying for an answer, but because other people might search the forum later on and come across the discussion, so it deserves an update. The short version is that I wound up going through Nick's Windows 7 setup guide and using just about all the settings. Most of them have to do with how the OS handles memory, and with what programs and services are running in the background. Of the latter, hardly any are related to security. Based on my experience with my past (smooth-running) W7 setup, I thought they were worth applying. So I did.

 

I made only one change - as noted above, I opted for ESET Smart Security over ESET NOD Antivirus. I might revert if there's a significant system impact (I can't tell because I haven't overclocked yet), though I'd think long and hard about it. I worry a little about having my Windows Update routine on full manual, but as long as I'm disciplined about downloading critical updates, I should be OK.

 

Somebody suggested, in a post that I think was lost during the recent AVSIM outage, that Nick's advice was a little out of date. That was my impression, too, but in fact his instructions are quite current - many things have changed since the last time I went through his routine. It's a little hard to tell because his instructions are scattered through several different threads on Simforums, but it's not hard to follow links to the most current ones. I wish he'd consolidate them into a single document, along the lines of the new AVSIM guide but just devoted to his instructions. At some point, for my own convenience, I might try to compile his posts into one big set of instructions, time permitting (which is a big "if"). If I can manage that, I'll share it.

 

What I continue to like about Nick's guidance is that it's based in really thorough knowledge of how the hardware and software interact, and that it takes a hard-headed approach to magical tweaks (the kind that for me at least create system problems down the line) and overloaded software. As I've said elsewhere, I'm trying to keep my new installation simple and lean, partly as a result of my own past experiences, but also as a result of Nick's advice.

 

Again, I hope this helps anyone who comes across the thread later on.

 

 

made only one change - as noted above, I opted for ESET Smart Security over ESET NOD Antivirus.

 

 

Would you mind sharing your settings for the suite ? I'm testing  eset smart security myself  but ever since I installed it fsx performance isn't so great. (blurries and some stutters)Not sure I need to disable most of it when simming.

 

tia

Would you mind sharing your settings for the suite ? I'm testing  eset smart security myself  but ever since I installed it fsx performance isn't so great. (blurries and some stutters)Not sure I need to disable most of it when simming.

 

tia

 

That's odd - I can't say I've ever seen anything like that.  Of course, I installed and tuned FSX after ESET was already set up, so it's possible that I just worked around any problems that it might have caused.  Or the order of installation may make a difference.  I'll see if there's a file I can locate that includes the settings - the short version is that I've got ESET set for "maximum protection" - all options on, in other words.  Just a couple of days ago, I set up exclusions for my FSX and P3D2 folders and my weather programs, but that's only because I'm trying to get rid of a few stutters with ASN.  Can't say I've seen a huge performance difference as a result but apart from the ASN issue, which is minor, everything runs well.  Am not sure if any of this information is useful - if it is, let me know, but in the meantime I'll see what else I can find out.

run Malwarebytes periodically as it finds the most devious kinds of malware. I think cleaning your system regularly is the best preventive from nasty people who try to take over computers.

Hi Jim did a search on Malwarebytes and of course it brings up lots of pages of downloads and was wondering  are  they all the same, and  do they do the same thing since why there are so many downloads for the same  feature.

Unfortunately things have changed since December 2012.  Malwarebytes is trying harder to get people to buy their product instead of using the [former] freeware version.  I hate these websites that say click here to download and it takes you to another site to advertise something else that doesn't even belong to what you wanted to download.  There is another way to get it without having to click on all of those fake download icons.  Go to http://www.tweaking.com/ and download the Windows Repair utility.  The first option in this utility is to download Anti-Malwarebytes and it will do it without you even having to go on the Internet.  Plus this new utility is pretty neat.

 

Best regards,

Unfortunately things have changed since December 2012.  Malwarebytes is trying harder to get people to buy their product instead of using the [former] freeware version.  I hate these websites that say click here to download and it takes you to another site to advertise something else that doesn't even belong to what you wanted to download.  There is another way to get it without having to click on all of those fake download icons.  Go to http://www.tweaking.com/ and download the Windows Repair utility.  The first option in this utility is to download Anti-Malwarebytes and it will do it without you even having to go on the Internet.  Plus this new utility is pretty neat.

 

Best regards,

 

Those fake click here to download things are blocked by AdBlock (you can disable adblock on sites like AVSIM so the owners still recieve funding from their advertising and just enable it for download sites shooting themselves in the foot with far too much baiting).