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My computer came down again with the flu. No bird or pig flu but computer flu.
It still allows me to surf the internet. Does anyone know a reliable virus/worm/trojan fighter that would decontaminate my computer on line? Preferably free as I do have McAfee already. McAfee has unfortunately proved useless once again (this is the second time). The guys who service my computers on line haven't yet managed to decontaminate my computer.
Do you keep your dat files up to date and your windows patches up to date?Quote:
Originally Posted by Kees
but..yeah.. I have found when your pc gets to that point, it is usually best to just wipe the slate clean and reload.
Here are 2 free spyware checkers you can try.
The home of Spybot-S&D!
Ad-Aware Free - Download security software for spyware removal - Lavasoft
I got so sick of the constant problems and patches that my wife and I finally switched over to Macs--and I hated Macs--mainly because I didn't want to change. It took a while to acclimate, but I am so glad that we did it.
If you dont want to buy a mac, i would start from scratch and setup auto update for patches/mcafee, then install firefox w/ noscript.
<rant>
i've got to be honest, i have no idea where people get all these viruses and malware from.
Keeping you machine up to date on patches/dats should be automatic. If you go download some shady software and run it as admin, you are rolling the dice.
I've never had one of my machines have these problems in my 20ish years of using dos,windows,linux.
I've had some seen some servers get infected due to not being patched and assholes bringing infected laptops into the network long long time ago.
</rant>
It just happens. I do get updates autamatically both for XP and McAfee. It just happens: you're on line and suddenly you get pop-ups. In this case I suddenly got a pop-up from what looked like an on line poker game site and some other funny sites. Sites I had never visited. I had been on line for a while with I.E and not Mozilla, maybe that was the problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slartibartfast
I run Linux so there is not as much of a potential for a problem. Also Mozilla Firefox with No Script on a Windows XP box with Avast free anti virus.
Trend Micro online virus check is what you want. I think they call it housecall, and you need java to run it. It may take a long time though, but very good.
Connor
That doesn't necessarily mean that you're infected - it could mean that the server you were visiting was infected and was injecting those popups into their html. Or sometimes the banner ads have popups in them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kees
For all the heat it's taken, Vista is much better at resisting viruses than XP, and with the latest service pack it's not too bad to use either.
Kees what you are saying i don't think you are in a big trouble. This will help
Go to kaspersky and download trial for a months. scan it .they will ask email address give them some yahoo .com email account .make one.
then clean your system.
you will need to uninstall other anivirus first.
if i am not mistaken avg does free service for a year .good luck
You could always try linux. Ubuntu just came out with version 9.04.
I've been running linux off and on since I got ****ed off at WindowsMe. (tells you how long I've been using linux)
My first few attempts, I found that linux wasn't even close to being ready for the desktop. Today, it is.
If all you want is a web browser, email, and an office suite, Ubuntu can get you from windows, to a fully installed linux that will do all of that in about 40 minutes.
Everything else can be a bit of a pain to set up, but unlike Windows, once it's set-up, it's done. It will stay stable until your hardware dies, or you do something stupid.
hosuecall from trend micro works pretty good but can take a while. i like malwarebytes anti-malware.
i run firefox with no script and i can still manage to get viruses every so often. i don't know why but it happens.
I used to use AVG-Free until my PC started having noticable delays in use, so I uninstalled it. All I use at the moment is Ad-Aware. My main worry is keyloggers and the like.
Viruses are passé, so 20th century don't you think? :rofl2:
Think I'll run an online virus check now just to be sure...
... All clear! :y
Once you straighten out your machine you might consider using Chrome as your browser. As I understand it its basically a sandbox and isn't connected to anything else so in order to infect your machine besides having to infect the browser they then have to find a connection inside your machine.
Try Malwarebytes.com. You have to update virus definitions daily but the service is free. Pretty good program & you can't beat the price!!!
try avast...you need to have virus scan software on windows.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rajagra
:tu Big fat plus 1! Avast is excellent. Kees I recommend you get a copy as well. McAffee is rubbish and WAY too expensive.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slartibartfast
Avast is the best I've used to far and it's free.
I hear Kaspersky is even better but Avast works so well that I'll just stick to that for now.
Avast and trend micro are good, but don't get everything (not sure that anything does!), the best I have used is Spyware Doctor - not free though.
I used to get a lot of viruses, but now I use Vista, Firefox as a browser, and Spyware Search & Destroy (free) as a memory-resident program, I haven't had to use Spyware Doctor for ages.
The pop-ups are annoying, and sometimes very hard to get rid of. Sometimes rolling the system back via 'system restore' (included in XP) to a time before the virus infected you, then booting into "safe mode" and turning off system restore (otherwise it makes a copy of the virus, all ready to infect you again) and running a virus scan helps.
To really pin-point what is infecting you you need a free program called "hijack this" which tells you every memory-resident program that is running, but you need to know 100% what you are doing before you remove anything. The best bet is to run HJ on a clean system (not many people do, though!) and compare the log it produces with the log it produces once the system is infected.
If you can't get rid of the virus, there is a free support board - Tech Support Guy (HelpOnThe.Net: Tech Support Guy - Free help for Windows XP, Vista, 98, and more!) that is really good - they tell you what to download (all free progs), which free online virus scanners to use, and also look at you HJ log to find what is infecting your computer. They sometimes take a bit of time to respond.
Regards,
Neil.
I find the less protection I have, the more careful I am when I surf the web.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slartibartfast
I won't use a resident checker that impairs my regular computer use. The objective is to avoid problems, not cause them!
Having said that, I do have a router with NAT, so that acts as a simple hardware firewall. If it wasn't for that I would be MUCH more careful.
Also having a network switch I can turn off by remote control is kinda handy. :D
Ray - network switches aren't much use against stealth viruses that locate themselves in the windows internet temporary file and only "come to life" once the machine is re-booted. Things like S&D Resident don't have that much impact on resources either - nothing compared to the constant HDD thrashing that Vista, for example, gives the system with its superfetch and auto defrag tendencies!
Regards,
Neil
The important thing is to know the risks and accept the consequences of what you do. What I do works for me. Anything important gets backed up, and all my data is mirrored on multiple machines.
Incidentally I don't reboot often, my main PC is on 24/7. It keeps my bedroom warm and using the electricity to power both tasks at once is very green. :D