Thought: Student Edition

[Kent Campbell]

I have kids, three of them.  Two are old enough to use computers and so thanks to family hand me downs they have their own computers.  But kids will be kids and I can only keep those systems clean once something goes wrong.

 

What I suggest would be a collection of tools designed to keeps kids computers clean and protected.  It could be a payed version, or a free version with confirmation of the school they are attending.  Protecting them actively and helping to keep some exploits in mind like those from flash (my kids do love those flash games...).

 

Any way, that is the thought.  Many companies seem to think only adults need protection.  But some times kids are a bigger problem.  Oh and just from those flash games I cleaned 7 threats off their computer today.  Yup...fun fun.

[peteyt]

Hi there. I don't work for malwarebytes and I'm not affiliated just to make this clear to avoid any confusion.

 

As to your post, one of the problems with security suites is they are never perfect. When people get infected when using a security program,suite etc. most people will blame whatever program is supposed to be protecting them but like with medicine trying to stop real virus there is always a risk of infection. This risk becomes higher if people visit dangerous, suspicious sites.

 

The problem with a student edition to me is that with teens visiting just about any site, there's always a risk of infection with or without security. You can keep trying to block sites, but new unknown sites appear on a regular basis. Luckily MalwareBytes does have web protection so the best way would be to use it but also keep an eye on sites and recommend they visit popular sites over unknown sites and always be cautious

[Kent Campbell]

True, but instead of just  teens I was also looking at younger kids like ages 7-12.  Mine (I monitor them) goto sites like Y8, flash game repositories.  But given the holes in flash I would like to have them protected.  The catch is, many free protections do not do well or are inactive allowing things to get in the door.

 

What I would love to see, as a parent, is not a suite to tools that does everything, but is a little more targeted in it's approach.  Looking at things different age groups commonly do and then tracking those vectors for threats.  And then having a scheduler so regular thorough scans can be done.

 

Finally...EDUCATION (took time to think), A set of tools of this kind should have more educating properties then a normal suite of tools.  Something like a small minigame where you play as a PC and fight off viruses while the game tries to teach kids how to keep them selves secure in these times.

 

As educated individuals, we are always taken aback by how people can fall for the methods used to deploy viruses, malware, and other threats.  But it seams that education, and early education could help to make a more knowledgeable population.  And knowledge is power, it could help then reduce some of the horrors out there...may be.

 

If you want to change the world...you win the hearts and mind of the youth.  It is just that simple.

[Amaroq_Starwind]

Bumping is probably something I'm gonna get in trouble for, but the fact almost nobody has looked at this thread yet despite it  being over three years old does irk me a little. Greetings, @Kent Campbell and @peteyt! Hopefully, my advice did not come too late :c

If your kids are still young and still giving you issues, I'd suggest looking into 64-bit versions of Flash, Java, and your favorite web browsers, and I'd also recommend downloading Voodoo Shield, and setting up Adobe Flash and the like to run in a Sandbox if possible. I also have a friend, @ToxicBlitzX3, who knows all about the issue with keeping younger folks from screwing up their computers... and he has to deal with highschoolers!

If you want your kids to grow up with a larger interest in taking computers more seriously (and thus less likely to get into trouble), I'd recommend exposing them to computer games from the late 1990's and early 2000's, as well as movies actually about cyberspace and whatnot (that's how I grew up, but I also had a father who worked in Information Technology at the time).
TL-DR version: Give 'em the TRON movies, and  give 'em games that come from CD-ROMs. In particularly, look for ones with the older white-letter ESRB logos, and you should be in the right era.

Maybe a Malwarebytes developer will come by here to look at your suggestions. Better late than never!

[exile360]

Flash is OK, however I would never recommend that anyone install Java at this point.  In fact, even Oracle, the makers of Java, have already stated that they are going to discontinue it as the features it once offered are now largely obsolete thanks to the capabilities of modern browsers, newer protocols like HTML5 etc., and of course other plugins/add-ons/extensions like Flash.  For me the main issue is that Java is notorious for being vulnerable to a massive number of exploits (a problem not only due to holes and flaws in its code, but also due to its very nature of attempting to extend the executable and scripting capabilities of the browser, basically turning it into a much more powerful tool for developers, including the unscrupulous kind who develop malware infections).

With that said, Malwarebytes Premium includes many layers of defense, including Exploit Protection which safeguards web browsers (including all extensions/plugins/add-ons, with several targeted specifically at Java which should tell you something about its risk) from malicious exploits and hardens browsers and vulnerable system components against exploitation and malicious scripting.

Specifically for environments where you have children using the systems, I'd highly recommend taking advantage of the password protection feature in Malwarebytes Premium to prevent your children from altering Malwarebytes' settings or disabling its protection components (something they tend to do when Malwarebytes stops them from accessing something they want to download from an unsafe source) as that will ensure that they aren't able to sabotage the protection you've installed on their systems.

[Amaroq_Starwind]

I only suggested 64-bit Java in the event that the 32-bit version might already be installed (that is, assuming he's running 64-bit Windows). If it were possible to force Java and Adobe Flash to run exclusively within a sandbox, I'd try to do that. Otherwise, I'd put on MCShield, VoodooShield, and Windows Defender ATP all as supplementary layers of protection on top of Malwarebytes Premium. Unfortunately, while MCShield and VoodooShield would be free, Windows Defender ATP can get pretty expensive AFAIK, so you're probably welcome to skip that. You can also try giving GlassWire a try so that you can make doubly sure that no suspicious processes start trying to exfiltrate data from the computer.

Now if three years later, you still want a modified version of Malwarebytes aimed at protecting students and children, do not be afraid to try coming up with some more ideas and sharing them with the staff. Maybe you'll come up with something truly awesome that'll resonate with the dev team!

[Firefox]

Good thoughts, however truth be told this topic is from 2015 and I highly doubt the OP is still following this topic....