4 ms·

we've an air gapped one for the kids every month I have to go in and clean it up - Malwarebytes gets rid of most of the browser trub - to the point Chrome is u

by mtkd 9y ago

we've an air gapped one for the kids every month I have to go in and clean it up - Malwarebytes gets rid of most of the browser trub - to the point Chrome is usable again they are casual browsers - something is very wrong when kids can render a Chrome install unusable after an hour or so of clicking flashy things

_jtrig 9y ago
Why not just wipe the comp/reinstall the browser? Seems easier and safer. Also get them on ublock so they cant click dangerous ads..
fredsir 9y ago
Tried using Safari instead? Might make a difference?
pmontra 9y ago
Out of curiosity, do you ever browse with your kids and keep teaching them what to click, what not and why? I assume that it can't make them completely safe, but it should eventually bring them near to it. If you're doing it, what's your experience with that and where do you think the malware is still coming from?
- mtkd 9y ago
  it comes, mostly, from the online game sites and other shiny honeypots for kids - google "X game" click top link - the game sites themselves override Chrome search bar and home page etc. - they click yes and put an email in to every single prompt to get to the game it's completely and utterly broken
cuckcuckspruce 9y ago
How is a machine with a network connection 'airgapped'?
- jakeva 9y ago
  Not op but my reading was that it is airgapped from the other machines in the household, possibly on a secondary network interface. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  - bronson 9y ago
    But... that's not an airgap. Has the original meaning of the word been lost?
    - mtkd 9y ago
      bad phrase - it's on another segment
- tajen 9y ago
  His backup HDD is airgapped, I assumed. Maybe rather he wipes and reinstalls, making it relatively impossible for malware to stay.
Angostura 9y ago
Extraordinary. I have two kids who each have their own accounts on a couple of Macs and over the space of 5 years I have never had to clean Malware off. 1. Set them up with managed accounts 2. Use parental controls to stop them from installing things 3. Set the default browser to Safari which works better with Parental Controls 4. Try using the Parental Controls automated web filter. It's pretty good and not too stringent. 5. TALK to your kids about the importance of NOT simply clicking indiscriminately on random stuff.
- mtkd 9y ago
  it's not random stuff - it's more often than not the game sites that are ranking which ask to mod the Chrome config - not ads the OSX parental controls break Chrome - or did when they were on - and were overly intrusive - if you're typing in the password every 10 mins you might as well not have one - the parental controls on router don't work with HTTPS what I need is Google Account / Chrome setup that is age aware and: 1. filters search results on age of user 2. downranks sites that prompt to alter configs or force email address to run a game 3. enforces strict content (not just on results, but also on what Chrome will render) 4. locks down Chrome config 5. filters gmail more aggressively than it would for an adult 6. notifies adult user on suspicious activity (not reports sites visited etc. but reports if something serious happens)
  - Angostura 9y ago
    So, 0. Use Safari not Chrome 5. Use Mail.app rather than the Gmail web interface. Parental controls then let you whitelist addresses that the kids can use e-mail with you can set it up so that if they ask t e-mail someone new, they can request it and you'll get an 'allow/deny pop up. 6. Set up a free OpenDNS account for use on your kids machines and set up a profile for use with them (you can adjust strictness and alerts you want to receive). 7. Once again - talk to your kids. Explain that if they click on something that requests this kind of thing, they are not to run it. Running it will result in reduced computer time and privileges. Ultimately technology can only help you parent, it cannot do it for you.
Yetanfou 9y ago
Funny, that. I've got several machines around the house which are used by my daughters (~6 and 12 yo) and wife. The machines run Debian, apart from one on which I installed Mint. I have several Android devices for the same purpose. Those Android devices range from a 2011 Ainol Novo 8 Advanced running Gingerbread to a Teclast X80 running Lollipop. I use Debian myself, on client and server hardware. We use Firefox, Seamonkey and Chromium (not Chrome). I never had a single piece of malware on any of these machines, ever. I do see lots of SSH login attempts to the servers (in vain, naturally) and quite a bit of exploit scanning for vulnerable services but the amount of successful intrusion attempts, whether on client or server, is zero. Maybe you should to try this solution for your children?

by mtkd 9y ago

_jtrig 9y ago

Why not just wipe the comp/reinstall the browser? Seems easier and safer. Also get them on ublock so they cant click dangerous ads..

fredsir 9y ago

Tried using Safari instead? Might make a difference?

pmontra 9y ago

Out of curiosity, do you ever browse with your kids and keep teaching them what to click, what not and why? I assume that it can't make them completely safe, but it should eventually bring them near to it. If you're doing it, what's your experience with that and where do you think the malware is still coming from?

mtkd 9y ago
it comes, mostly, from the online game sites and other shiny honeypots for kids - google "X game" click top link - the game sites themselves override Chrome search bar and home page etc. - they click yes and put an email in to every single prompt to get to the game it's completely and utterly broken

cuckcuckspruce 9y ago

How is a machine with a network connection 'airgapped'?

jakeva 9y ago
Not op but my reading was that it is airgapped from the other machines in the household, possibly on a secondary network interface. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- bronson 9y ago
  But... that's not an airgap. Has the original meaning of the word been lost?
  - mtkd 9y ago
    bad phrase - it's on another segment
tajen 9y ago
His backup HDD is airgapped, I assumed. Maybe rather he wipes and reinstalls, making it relatively impossible for malware to stay.

Angostura 9y ago

Extraordinary. I have two kids who each have their own accounts on a couple of Macs and over the space of 5 years I have never had to clean Malware off. 1. Set them up with managed accounts 2. Use parental controls to stop them from installing things 3. Set the default browser to Safari which works better with Parental Controls 4. Try using the Parental Controls automated web filter. It's pretty good and not too stringent. 5. TALK to your kids about the importance of NOT simply clicking indiscriminately on random stuff.

mtkd 9y ago
it's not random stuff - it's more often than not the game sites that are ranking which ask to mod the Chrome config - not ads the OSX parental controls break Chrome - or did when they were on - and were overly intrusive - if you're typing in the password every 10 mins you might as well not have one - the parental controls on router don't work with HTTPS what I need is Google Account / Chrome setup that is age aware and: 1. filters search results on age of user 2. downranks sites that prompt to alter configs or force email address to run a game 3. enforces strict content (not just on results, but also on what Chrome will render) 4. locks down Chrome config 5. filters gmail more aggressively than it would for an adult 6. notifies adult user on suspicious activity (not reports sites visited etc. but reports if something serious happens)
- Angostura 9y ago
  So, 0. Use Safari not Chrome 5. Use Mail.app rather than the Gmail web interface. Parental controls then let you whitelist addresses that the kids can use e-mail with you can set it up so that if they ask t e-mail someone new, they can request it and you'll get an 'allow/deny pop up. 6. Set up a free OpenDNS account for use on your kids machines and set up a profile for use with them (you can adjust strictness and alerts you want to receive). 7. Once again - talk to your kids. Explain that if they click on something that requests this kind of thing, they are not to run it. Running it will result in reduced computer time and privileges. Ultimately technology can only help you parent, it cannot do it for you.

Yetanfou 9y ago

Funny, that. I've got several machines around the house which are used by my daughters (~6 and 12 yo) and wife. The machines run Debian, apart from one on which I installed Mint. I have several Android devices for the same purpose. Those Android devices range from a 2011 Ainol Novo 8 Advanced running Gingerbread to a Teclast X80 running Lollipop. I use Debian myself, on client and server hardware. We use Firefox, Seamonkey and Chromium (not Chrome). I never had a single piece of malware on any of these machines, ever. I do see lots of SSH login attempts to the servers (in vain, naturally) and quite a bit of exploit scanning for vulnerable services but the amount of successful intrusion attempts, whether on client or server, is zero. Maybe you should to try this solution for your children?