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> Given current ransomware trends, that seems like setting up a bunker but crossing a highway on foot daily. Sure, the nukes won't get you, but those cars will.

> Given current ransomware trends, that seems like setting up a bunker but crossing a highway on foot daily. Sure, the nukes won't get you, but those cars will. I haven't updated Chrome in quite a while. My computer's been running just fine. I'm pretty sure I would've died if I'd tried to cross highways as you mentioned all this time. So I think something about the comparison doesn't smell right.

rtpg 10y ago
Hey some people win the lottery, right? The relative odds aren't quite right, but consider how many people you might know who lost their PCs to virii, compared to people compromised by their Google searches.... Maybe it's a wash ;) I think your likelyhood of getting your PC messed up is pretty dependant on habits too. You're much more likely to get hit by drive-by adware if you're (on Windows and) going to those random illegal streaming sites to watch some show than if you're reading HN. An example: I was on a less than stellar video hosting site, and a bunch of pop-ups got me to accidentally download "FlashPlayer.dmg" I'm pretty well versed in this stuff! And they got me to download this right as I was going to watch this video. If I didn't know better, it would have been like all those other plugin updaters (of course you need root to install flash right?) Of course, updated Chrome didn't prevent this case for me...
- wfunction 10y ago
  > I think your likelyhood of getting your PC messed up is pretty dependant on habits too. Indeed... > You're much more likely to get hit by drive-by adware if you're (on Windows Indeed I am on Windows... without security software, etc. > and) going to those random illegal streaming sites to watch some show Indeed I am not... > than if you're reading HN Indeed I am... > An example: I was on a less than stellar video hosting site, and a bunch of pop-ups got me to accidentally download "FlashPlayer.dmg" I'm pretty well versed in this stuff! And they got me to download this right as I was going to watch this video. Even if you downloaded that, you have to do some extra clicks to make it run. It's not something that I can see happening by accident to the average HN reader. > If I didn't know better, it would have been like all those other plugin updaters (of course you need root to install flash right?) But you did know better. > Of course, updated Chrome didn't prevent this case for me... Well there you go, I'm out of arguments. I think you quite beautifully narrowed down where the real problems lie and proved my point, so I'm just going to leave it at that. ;)
  - rtpg 10y ago
    I might revise my original post. On the other hand, looking over CVEs for chrome[0], I'd be a bit worried. Chromes before 47 included remote code execution via the MIDI subsystem! If someone could play a MIDI, they could compromise your system! Yikes [0] http://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-1224/product_id-15031/opec-1/Google-Chrome.html http://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-1224/...
    - wfunction 10y ago
      My Chrome isn't that old, though I don't play MIDI on Chrome either...
- TeMPOraL 10y ago
  I'm a lottery winner too, I guess - I often keep Chrome running weeks at a time on a Windows machine, because I tend to suspend the system instead of shutting the computer off... Anyway, I came here for a tangent about those "less than stellar video hosting" sites: I have an idea how to kill two birds with one stone - getting rid of them, and fixing the Internet. Can we convince MAFIAA to go after ads on the web? After all, that's what keeps illicit streaming alive. (Torrents will obviously survive, but at least right now, most people don't know how to use them.)
- givinguflac 10y ago
  I think you're oversimplifying the concern people have about google hoarding their data. It's an entirely separate concern from your computer being infected.

rtpg 10y ago

Hey some people win the lottery, right? The relative odds aren't quite right, but consider how many people you might know who lost their PCs to virii, compared to people compromised by their Google searches.... Maybe it's a wash ;) I think your likelyhood of getting your PC messed up is pretty dependant on habits too. You're much more likely to get hit by drive-by adware if you're (on Windows and) going to those random illegal streaming sites to watch some show than if you're reading HN. An example: I was on a less than stellar video hosting site, and a bunch of pop-ups got me to accidentally download "FlashPlayer.dmg" I'm pretty well versed in this stuff! And they got me to download this right as I was going to watch this video. If I didn't know better, it would have been like all those other plugin updaters (of course you need root to install flash right?) Of course, updated Chrome didn't prevent this case for me...

wfunction 10y ago
> I think your likelyhood of getting your PC messed up is pretty dependant on habits too. Indeed... > You're much more likely to get hit by drive-by adware if you're (on Windows Indeed I am on Windows... without security software, etc. > and) going to those random illegal streaming sites to watch some show Indeed I am not... > than if you're reading HN Indeed I am... > An example: I was on a less than stellar video hosting site, and a bunch of pop-ups got me to accidentally download "FlashPlayer.dmg" I'm pretty well versed in this stuff! And they got me to download this right as I was going to watch this video. Even if you downloaded that, you have to do some extra clicks to make it run. It's not something that I can see happening by accident to the average HN reader. > If I didn't know better, it would have been like all those other plugin updaters (of course you need root to install flash right?) But you did know better. > Of course, updated Chrome didn't prevent this case for me... Well there you go, I'm out of arguments. I think you quite beautifully narrowed down where the real problems lie and proved my point, so I'm just going to leave it at that. ;)
- rtpg 10y ago
  I might revise my original post. On the other hand, looking over CVEs for chrome[0], I'd be a bit worried. Chromes before 47 included remote code execution via the MIDI subsystem! If someone could play a MIDI, they could compromise your system! Yikes [0] http://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-1224/product_id-15031/opec-1/Google-Chrome.html http://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-1224/...
  - wfunction 10y ago
    My Chrome isn't that old, though I don't play MIDI on Chrome either...
TeMPOraL 10y ago
I'm a lottery winner too, I guess - I often keep Chrome running weeks at a time on a Windows machine, because I tend to suspend the system instead of shutting the computer off... Anyway, I came here for a tangent about those "less than stellar video hosting" sites: I have an idea how to kill two birds with one stone - getting rid of them, and fixing the Internet. Can we convince MAFIAA to go after ads on the web? After all, that's what keeps illicit streaming alive. (Torrents will obviously survive, but at least right now, most people don't know how to use them.)
givinguflac 10y ago
I think you're oversimplifying the concern people have about google hoarding their data. It's an entirely separate concern from your computer being infected.