As a computer newbie short on knowledge I went through quite a wrestling
match to remove NIS 2007 after 4 prolonged, frustrating attempts to renew a
Norton subscription and download a large upgrade failed. I'm very confident
all traces of Norton have been finally purged from my registry.
After clumsily reviving my computer in safe mode I now can connect to the
Internet ONLY WITHOUT AN ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM. It's not my firewall settings or
, at least I 'm completely stumped as to how it could be. I've installed with
apparent success trend Micro Intern et security.AFTER RECEIVING
CONGRATULATIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL INSTALLATION my internet connection is LOST!!
I must then Uninstall the anti virus software to restore inhternet
connectivity. How in the world is the installation of an antivirus program
causing the loss of internet connectivity???
I'm puzzle. Any help on how to remedy for me what is a perplexing riddle
would be greatly appreciated!!!Many thanks to the big footed, clumsy
Symantec dinosuar
that is hopefully near extinction for making this unlikely problem possible.
A number of experts agree that the retail AV version of McAfee, Norton and
Trend Micro has become cumbersome and bloated for the average user.
The major Norton criticisms are related to stability and footprint, the
most common problem being slow-downs because of the massive system
resources Norton hogs. There are products on the market with equal or
better test results than Symantec's products, consuming less resources at a
lower price (*even free ones*).
The retail version of Norton can play havoc with your pc. Uninstall it
using Norton's own uninstall tool:
Download and run the Norton Removal Tool and try to get a refund:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039
The Norton Removal Tool uninstalls all Norton 2008/2007/2006/2005/2004/2003
products and Norton 360 from your computer.
For the average homeuser, the Windows Firewall in XP does a fantastic job
at its core mission and is really all you need if you have an 'real-time'
anti-virus program, [another firewall on your router or] other edge
protection like SeconfigXP and practise safe-hex.
The windows firewall deals with inbound protection and therefore does not
give you a false sense of security. Best of all, it doesn't implement lots
of nonsense like pretending that outbound traffic needs to be monitored.
Activate and utilize the Win XP built-in Firewall; Uncheck *all* Programs
and Services under the Exception tab.
Read through:
Understanding Windows Firewall.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/internet/sp2_wfintro.mspx
Using Windows Firewall.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/security/winfirewall.mspx
In conjunction with WinXP SP2 Firewall use:
Seconfig XP 1.0
http://seconfig.sytes.net/
Seconfig XP is able configure Windows not to use TCP/IP as transport
protocol for NetBIOS, SMB and RPC, thus leaving TCP/UDP ports 135, 137-139
and 445 (the most exploited Windows networking weak point)
If on high-speed Internet connection use a router as well.
For the average homeuser it is suggested blocking both TCP and UDP ports
135 ~ 139 and 445 on the router and implement countermeasures against
DNSChanger.
There are many good free AV applications available, and almost everyone has
his favorite. Most of the users are emotionally attached to their av
application and will have excellent reasons for not recommending any other
brand.
The most important thing here is that all of the available choices listed
here are better in some respects than in others, and which choice is better
for *you* depends on what you do, how you work, and which features you use.
The way you use your PC is different from others.
Have a look at this:
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm
and be guided accordingly.
Good info can be obtained here:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=20
and here:
http://www.av-comparatives.org/
If the above is too deluging consider this:-
Real-time AV applications - for viral malware.
Do not utilize more than one (1) real-time anti-virus scanning engine!
Disable the e-mail scanning function during installation (Custom
Installation on some AV apps.) as it provides no additional protection.
Why You Don't Need Your Anti-Virus Program to Scan Your E-Mail
http://thundercloud.net/infoave/tutorials/email-scanning/index.htm
Viral Irony: The Most Common Cause of Corruption.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/community/columns/filecorruption.mspx
Avira AntiVir® Personal - FREE Antivirus
http://www.free-av.com/
You may wish to consider removing the 'AntiVir Nagscreen'
http://www.elitekiller.com/files/disable_antivir_nag.htm
or
Free antivirus - avast! 4 Home Edition
It includes ANTI-SPYWARE protection, certified by the West Coast Labs
Checkmark process, and ANTI-ROOTKIT DETECTION based on the best-in class
GMER technology.
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
(Choose Custom Installation and under Resident
Protection, uncheck: Internet Mail and Outlook/Exchange.)
or
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
http://free.grisoft.com/
(Choose custom install and untick the email scanner plugin.)
or
ESET NOD32 Antivirus - Not Free
http://www.eset.com/
or
Kaspersky® Anti-Virus 7.0 - Not Free
http://www.kaspersky.com/homeuser
and (optional but highly recommendable)
On-demand AV applications.
(add them to your arsenal and use them as a "second opinion" av scanner).
David H. Lipman's MULTI_AV Tool
http://www.pctipp.ch/ds/28400/28470/Multi_AV.exe
http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp
English:
http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/01/09/scan-your-computer-with-multiple-anti-virus-for-free/
Additional Instructions:
http://pcdid.com/Multi_AV.htm
and/or
BitDefender10 Free Edition
http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-8-Free-Edition.html
Kaspersky's AVPTool
http://downloads5.kaspersky-labs.com/devbuilds/AVPTool/
There's no updating involved since the scanning engine is updated
several times a day and you simply download the updated scanner whenever
you want to do a scan.
Dr.Web CureIt!® Utility - FREE
http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/
Malwarebytes© Corporation - Anti-Malware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam/program/mbam-setup.exe
Note: It is Free for private use. Just download (do NOT buy) and install.
A-S applications - for non-viral malware.
The effectiveness of an individual A-S scanners can be wide-ranging and
oftentimes a collection of scanners is best. There isn't one software that
cleans and immunizes you against everything. That's why you need multiple
products to do the job i.e. overlap their coverage - one may catch what
another may miss, (grab'em all).
SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html
and
Ad-Aware 2007 - Free
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php
http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html
and
Spybot Search & Destroy - Free
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html
and
Windows Defender - Free
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
WD monitors the start-registry and hooks registers/files to prevent spyware
and worms to install to the OS.
Interesting reading:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136195/article.html
"...Windows Defender did excel in behavior-based protection, which detects
changes to key areas of the system without having to know anything about
the actual threat."
A clarification on the terminology: the word "malware" is short for
"malicious software." Most Anti-Virus applications detect many types of
malware such as viruses, worms, trojans, etc.
What AV applications usually don't detect is "non-viral" malware, and the
term "non-viral malware" is normally used to refer to things like spyware
and adware.
Many experts suggest that Windows Live One Care is on the bottom of the
list as far as finding virus\malware\trojan.
Good luck
