P2P Protection ?

My son uses MSN instant messenger talking to a gal in Columbia. What is the best way to protect yourself using P2P?

 

As long as you don't start seeing bags of money and white powder around the house, it's all good


I'm sorry, I couldn't resist that one Seriously though, as far as instant messenger safety, if he's receiving files from her he needs to make sure he is scanning every single one for viruses and spyware BEFORE he opens them. Also, though I don't have MSN at the moment to check, there SHOULD be an option to ask before receiving a file (MSN users help me out here). Others here who use it should be able to give you more information, but those two steps alone should protect you pretty well.

Edit: I forgot to add that technically P2P and instant messaging (even if receiving files through it) are different. If you are looking at ways to protect yourself using actual P2P applications such as Bitttorrent in addition to needing to know about protection when using an instant messenger, write back and I can help with that too.

 

Wouldn't the better approah be to have the messanger be sandboxed. That way you are sure to be protected? I think so. In fact, the same can be said for anything that has access to the internet.

 

I agree with that, though I would still recommend disabling the automatic file download and scanning everything he receives. He might not want to have to fiddle with extra programs, just use his current ones safely. Nothing wrong with that, not everybody wants to deal with security programs outside of their firewall, ant-virus and maybe anti-spyware. But, if he does, to the OP: if you do decide on a sandboxing application, IMHO SandboxIE is the best option. It's free and can be used very safely with just the default configuration.

 

Instant Messaging and P2P (file sharing) are two different things. Some AV's and suites can help with that and Avast free should have modules for both as well as a web guard. I don't know if it's enough protection though. If he is the type to ignore an alert, then other protection may be needed.

Sandboxing has already been mentioned and is a great idea. With Sandboxie, if he decides to recover a pic/file and run it, then it's running on the real computer. Policy sandboxes may be better in this case if he is determined to view a pic or run a file. That way the file should be tagged as untrusted and limited in what it can do.

Also, I know I sound like a parrot but keep MSN Messenger and everything else updated .

 

Personally i use defensewall to run messenger as an untrusted application. That way its very limited as to what it can do.

 

True, but many, especially if he's in the U.S and has to deal with our crapped out economy and high gas prices (unless you're rich of course, hehe), don't want to spend extra money on a computer program. Besides, there are some configuration settings he'll need to deal with depending on use, and with SandBoxIE, he won't have to configure a darn thing and still be extremely safe.

 

No problem- use cheap bus transport (if you can't- change your job/location) and/or work at home. Just change the way you think, it's all simple.

 

Theres nothing needing to be configured, defensewall works fine straight out of the box with msn messenger.

One can also use the free online armor's 'run safer' option which does a similar job however this option could require some configuration depending on how you want OA to run. Theres also the free version of geswall which also does a similar job.

I guess it all depends on what the OP is really talking about IM or P2P.

 

Well, IMHO, if all this is merely about MSN Messenger, then Defensewall is overkill. And, you do need to add things here and there for best protection in Defensewall iirc...might as well use it right if you use it at all, especially if you pay for it.

@Ilya....if only it were that simple here. Most folks right now are damn lucky they even have the job they're at. And, lol, with high gas comes higher bus ticket prices

 

Thank you all for the help. He does not live with me . I will pass on the information.