This post was made following the recent malware incident : https://www.anime-sharing.com/threads/psa-malware-detected-from-members-upload.1847789/
In that thread, multiple users asked how they could better protect themselves. While I was not affected by this incident, I wanted to give back to the community by sharing helpful tips and pointing people in the right direction. This will mostly focus on the Windows operating system. Not everything here is mandatory; decide for yourself what you want to do with this information.
General Tips:
The first and most foolproof way would be to have a second physical computer that never connects to the internet. This reduces possible attacks, as nothing can communicate out from the computer. Even if it does get compromised, the computer, as-is, cannot do anything. It could, however, pass along infected files via external drives.
The second method, for more advanced users who do not have or do not wish to use a physical computer, is virtual machines. You can use free tools like VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation. Virtual machines are clones of an operating system that run fully isolated from the main OS. A VM escape is not impossible, but it is less common than other general malware. This method, however, requires significantly more system resources (mainly RAM and disk space) and also result in reduced performance. For 3D games, this is not ideal. Not every programs will let themself run in VMs. TIP: You can disable network access of your VMs.
The third method, again for more advanced users, is sandboxing. Sandboxing is "similar" to running a VM, except that programs run closer to the real hardware, which offers better performance at the cost of less isolation from the main computer. More 3D games should work in a sandbox context. Free and open-source sandboxing programs exist, with Sandboxie-Plus being one example. It is important to note that sandboxed apps run in less isolated environments, which can expose more sensitive information about your main system, such as its files, running processes, and more. Most sandboxing programs offer the ability to restrict access to certain file paths, block network access, allow only specific processes to run, and more. However, at the end of the day, this method is also vulnerable to escapes.
Keep your VM and sandboxing apps updated to protect against vulnerabilities. Share your own tips below. Don't trust everything you see blindly. Use critical thinking and do your own research.
In that thread, multiple users asked how they could better protect themselves. While I was not affected by this incident, I wanted to give back to the community by sharing helpful tips and pointing people in the right direction. This will mostly focus on the Windows operating system. Not everything here is mandatory; decide for yourself what you want to do with this information.
General Tips:
- In general, games, even more so, "portables/non-installers type" DOES NOT need Administrators rights.
- On Windows, try to use a standard user account for daily use, and keep a separate account with administrator permissions.
- Have an antivirus enabled. Let's not go into which one is good or bad. Yes, some are better, but you're better off with a "okay" antivirus than with none. Disable your antivirus only as a last resort, and only if you're willing to accept the risk.
- Scan your files with online services like Virustotal, or with services that run files in sandboxes and analyze their behavior, such as hybrid-analysis.
The first and most foolproof way would be to have a second physical computer that never connects to the internet. This reduces possible attacks, as nothing can communicate out from the computer. Even if it does get compromised, the computer, as-is, cannot do anything. It could, however, pass along infected files via external drives.
The second method, for more advanced users who do not have or do not wish to use a physical computer, is virtual machines. You can use free tools like VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation. Virtual machines are clones of an operating system that run fully isolated from the main OS. A VM escape is not impossible, but it is less common than other general malware. This method, however, requires significantly more system resources (mainly RAM and disk space) and also result in reduced performance. For 3D games, this is not ideal. Not every programs will let themself run in VMs. TIP: You can disable network access of your VMs.
The third method, again for more advanced users, is sandboxing. Sandboxing is "similar" to running a VM, except that programs run closer to the real hardware, which offers better performance at the cost of less isolation from the main computer. More 3D games should work in a sandbox context. Free and open-source sandboxing programs exist, with Sandboxie-Plus being one example. It is important to note that sandboxed apps run in less isolated environments, which can expose more sensitive information about your main system, such as its files, running processes, and more. Most sandboxing programs offer the ability to restrict access to certain file paths, block network access, allow only specific processes to run, and more. However, at the end of the day, this method is also vulnerable to escapes.
Keep your VM and sandboxing apps updated to protect against vulnerabilities. Share your own tips below. Don't trust everything you see blindly. Use critical thinking and do your own research.
