What is a "Good and strong" password and other questions.

1. What is a good password?

There is a vast difference between a "good and strong" password and a "complex" password. 'Ab%98@#k*t5z' is a very complex and strong password but is a bad password because it is very hard to remember. However, 'Blacck>Mang0s' is a strong as well as a good password because you can easily remember it. It is strong because it is of sufficient length and is a combination of lower case, upper case, special character and numerals. Passphrase or related characters like above would be good.The other requirement is that of sufficient length, 10 or more characters.

2. Can  a Antivirus product detect all malware in existence?

This is simply not possible techinally, whatsoever the vendors may claim. However, some poducts may be better at any given time. The detection rate of even the best product may be not more than 85%.


3. Which is best anti-virus?

For commercial software go by the existing market reputation. But, be careful, a recently reported news mentions about an emerging antivirus product which induced malware and subsequently cleaned them to generate a good scan report. If you are using freeware then check for the reputation or popularity. Download these from a trusted source.


4. Is  an Antivirus still required if a firewall is used and vice versa?

Both have a different but comlimentary fuction. You require both to safeguard your computer. If a malware is able to breach your firewall then at least the Antivirus would have a chance to detect it.


5. What if the AV has not detected the malware and someone is remotely controlling or using my computer?

If your are a normal user then nothing much can be done except to attempt manually cleaning the offending software. The best option would be to go back to a previous checkpoint, or reinstall the OS after you have taken a backup. Before such a step, take a chance with the free tools i have listed on the right side of this post. Experienced users can use the tools mentioned in my prevoius post.


6. Enabling all the Browser security features has blocked my critical banking and email site?

There is no absolute '0' or '1' answer to this question. Depending on a users requirements and his web browsing habits he may have to customise the settings slowly over a period of few days. Disabling java may have led to your bank account page being rendered useless. You need to figure out this and enable java specifically for this site.