5 ms·

Ransomware detection is just a (perhaps necessary) band-aid. By default all applications should be sandboxed. Why should a random application be able to read/w

Ransomware detection is just a (perhaps necessary) band-aid. By default all applications should be sandboxed. Why should a random application be able to read/write to every user directory? We enforce process separation in memory, we should do the same on disk.

gambiting 10y ago
That's exactly what UWP(universal windows platform) is - it sandboxes every app. But I am sure you will agree that having this as default behavior on windows would be disastrous, breaking compatibility with every app written before Windows 10, not to mention that the reason why we use PCs is to have low-level access to hardware, many applications require it and sandboxing isn't going to be a good option here. I guess MacOS way of doing things is a good in-between - by default, every app not from the app store is blocked, and you have to go through a slightly cumbersome process of unblocking it manually in security settings. I'm sure it beats the default windows permission popup, which I imagine 99% of users just accept without looking at, or disable outright.
- pjmlp 10y ago
  If you search online Mac forums many people ask how to disable such features. For average joe and jane security is a nuisance.
  - atomic_lock 10y ago
    Most of the people I know still keep it on. It also makes the user think a bit before clicking through the scary warning.
    - pjmlp 10y ago
      Many people just click away at every dialog that disturbs their workflow, specially if they are made to look similar to the real ones. That is how many of these exploits work, regardless of the OS.
  - prof_hobart 10y ago
    Not as much of a nuisance as having all of your data corrupted.
    - pjmlp 10y ago
      Fully agree, but sadly not as many think about it, only after getting through such a pain.
digler999 10y ago
> all applications should be sandboxed. not a bad plan, but also, all data should be backed up. In this 'cloud age' of computing, there's no reason, and no excuse. I certainly don't want to blame the victims of ransomware, but if that data was so important that they paid ransom to get it back, why didn't they back it up ?
- Mister_Snuggles 10y ago
  The Mac makes this so easy with Time Machine. Is there something that's equally easy and effective in Windows?
  - fredsted 10y ago
    Why couldn't the ransomware encrypt your Time Machine drive as well?
    - organian 10y ago
      Don't keep the drive always connected and you're fine
    - Mister_Snuggles 10y ago
      It certainly could do this. I don't think Time Machine protects its data in any way. Backups have to be coupled with some kind of way of noticing that something is wrong. If the ransomware encrypted your data slowly over the course of months and you didn't notice you might be out of luck regardless of your backup system.
  - dagw 10y ago
    Unfortunately, not really. Backup on Windows is strangely terrible out of the box. The best solution for Windows is probably Arq.
- pjmlp 10y ago
  Except the way most people do backups, by the time they are made aware of the ransom, their backup files are already overwritten with the encrypted ones.

gambiting 10y ago

That's exactly what UWP(universal windows platform) is - it sandboxes every app. But I am sure you will agree that having this as default behavior on windows would be disastrous, breaking compatibility with every app written before Windows 10, not to mention that the reason why we use PCs is to have low-level access to hardware, many applications require it and sandboxing isn't going to be a good option here. I guess MacOS way of doing things is a good in-between - by default, every app not from the app store is blocked, and you have to go through a slightly cumbersome process of unblocking it manually in security settings. I'm sure it beats the default windows permission popup, which I imagine 99% of users just accept without looking at, or disable outright.

pjmlp 10y ago
If you search online Mac forums many people ask how to disable such features. For average joe and jane security is a nuisance.
- atomic_lock 10y ago
  Most of the people I know still keep it on. It also makes the user think a bit before clicking through the scary warning.
  - pjmlp 10y ago
    Many people just click away at every dialog that disturbs their workflow, specially if they are made to look similar to the real ones. That is how many of these exploits work, regardless of the OS.
- prof_hobart 10y ago
  Not as much of a nuisance as having all of your data corrupted.
  - pjmlp 10y ago
    Fully agree, but sadly not as many think about it, only after getting through such a pain.

digler999 10y ago

> all applications should be sandboxed. not a bad plan, but also, all data should be backed up. In this 'cloud age' of computing, there's no reason, and no excuse. I certainly don't want to blame the victims of ransomware, but if that data was so important that they paid ransom to get it back, why didn't they back it up ?

Mister_Snuggles 10y ago
The Mac makes this so easy with Time Machine. Is there something that's equally easy and effective in Windows?
- fredsted 10y ago
  Why couldn't the ransomware encrypt your Time Machine drive as well?
  - organian 10y ago
    Don't keep the drive always connected and you're fine
  - Mister_Snuggles 10y ago
    It certainly could do this. I don't think Time Machine protects its data in any way. Backups have to be coupled with some kind of way of noticing that something is wrong. If the ransomware encrypted your data slowly over the course of months and you didn't notice you might be out of luck regardless of your backup system.
- dagw 10y ago
  Unfortunately, not really. Backup on Windows is strangely terrible out of the box. The best solution for Windows is probably Arq.
pjmlp 10y ago
Except the way most people do backups, by the time they are made aware of the ransom, their backup files are already overwritten with the encrypted ones.