Spyware, malware, worms, viruses...

[shempmcgurk]

Anything else I'm missing?

I've got Norton on my desktop and nothing on my laptop...people on this
newsgroup were very helpful in helping me get SpyAxe -- horrible,
intrusive malware -- off my laptop. Thanks to you all who helped.

But the laptop still isn't running as fast as it used to, so I'm
suspecting that something is still there.

Without buying any fancy Norton programs (I've already bought it for my
desktop and can't bring myself to pay for it again!), what do you folks
recommend I do for the laptop (that I can download for free!) to fight:

Spyware
Malware
Viruses
Trojans
Worms
Anything else for other horrible things I can't think of...

 

[Jerry]

See the "PC Magazine" issue dated February 21, 2006 for the article 'The
Sorry State of Security' for recommendations.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

AVG Free for Windows is a free anti-virus protection tool developed by
Grisoft for home use.

Get Your AVG 7 for free!
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

Download, install, run, update and run again. They are all
good, FREE utilities. Make sure you update every program, even if you
just downloaded it. You must have the latest updates. Without updates,
you have a gun without ammo. You also need to use more than one
anti-scumware program. One program will *not* catch everything.

1) SpywareBlaster
[[SpywareBlaster doesn't scan and clean for spyware - it prevents it from
ever being installed.
The most important step you can take is to secure your system. And
SpywareBlaster is the most powerful protection program available.]]
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

2) Spybot S & D (More for the advanced user)
http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?lang=en&page=download

3) HijackThis (More for the advanced user)
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

3a) HijackThis (direct download)
http://aumha.org/downloads/hijackthis.zip

4) Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner v1.13
http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/index.html?source=appvisit

5) Ad-aware SE Personal
http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/


--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[shempmcgurk]

One question for the 5 points below:

Yes, I'm going to load and do all the 5 below for my laptop, which
doesn't have Norton on it.

But the 5 below look really good even for my desktop which has Norton

AVG Free for Windows is a free anti-virus protection tool developed by
Grisoft for home use.

Get Your AVG 7 for free!
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

Download, install, run, update and run again. They are all
good, FREE utilities. Make sure you update every program, even if you
just downloaded it. You must have the latest updates. Without updates,
you have a gun without ammo. You also need to use more than one
anti-scumware program. One program will *not* catch everything.

1) SpywareBlaster
[[SpywareBlaster doesn't scan and clean for spyware - it prevents it from
ever being installed.
The most important step you can take is to secure your system. And
SpywareBlaster is the most powerful protection program available.]]
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

2) Spybot S & D (More for the advanced user)
http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?lang=en&page=download

3) HijackThis (More for the advanced user)
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

3a) HijackThis (direct download)
http://aumha.org/downloads/hijackthis.zip

4) Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner v1.13
http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/index.html?source=appvisit

5) Ad-aware SE Personal
http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/


--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Anything else I'm missing?

I've got Norton on my desktop and nothing on my laptop...people on this
newsgroup were very helpful in helping me get SpyAxe -- horrible,
intrusive malware -- off my laptop. Thanks to you all who helped.

But the laptop still isn't running as fast as it used to, so I'm
suspecting that something is still there.

Without buying any fancy Norton programs (I've already bought it for my
desktop and can't bring myself to pay for it again!), what do you folks
recommend I do for the laptop (that I can download for free!) to fight:

Spyware
Malware
Viruses
Trojans
Worms
Anything else for other horrible things I can't think of...

 

[Wesley Vogel]

I would not mix AVG 7 and Norton AntiVirus. I personally wouldn't have more
than one antivirus application.

Having the other five and Norton will not hurt a thing. And you do not have
to disable Norton.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

One question for the 5 points below:

Yes, I'm going to load and do all the 5 below for my laptop, which
doesn't have Norton on it.

But the 5 below look really good even for my desktop which has Norton

AVG Free for Windows is a free anti-virus protection tool developed by
Grisoft for home use.

Get Your AVG 7 for free!
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

Download, install, run, update and run again. They are all
good, FREE utilities. Make sure you update every program, even if you
just downloaded it. You must have the latest updates. Without updates,
you have a gun without ammo. You also need to use more than one
anti-scumware program. One program will *not* catch everything.

1) SpywareBlaster
[[SpywareBlaster doesn't scan and clean for spyware - it prevents it from
ever being installed.
The most important step you can take is to secure your system. And
SpywareBlaster is the most powerful protection program available.]]
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

2) Spybot S & D (More for the advanced user)
http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?lang=en&page=download

3) HijackThis (More for the advanced user)
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

3a) HijackThis (direct download)
http://aumha.org/downloads/hijackthis.zip

4) Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner v1.13
http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/index.html?source=appvisit

5) Ad-aware SE Personal
http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/


--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Anything else I'm missing?

I've got Norton on my desktop and nothing on my laptop...people on this
newsgroup were very helpful in helping me get SpyAxe -- horrible,
intrusive malware -- off my laptop. Thanks to you all who helped.

But the laptop still isn't running as fast as it used to, so I'm
suspecting that something is still there.

Without buying any fancy Norton programs (I've already bought it for my
desktop and can't bring myself to pay for it again!), what do you folks
recommend I do for the laptop (that I can download for free!) to fight:

Spyware
Malware
Viruses
Trojans
Worms
Anything else for other horrible things I can't think of...

 

[phillip maurice nelson]

you may want to change to desktop icons around
to make programs run faster: click start, then click
control panel,then click performance & maintainance,
then click rearrange desktop items.

 

[Malke]

you may want to change to desktop icons around
to make programs run faster: click start, then click
control panel,then click performance & maintainance,
then click rearrange desktop items.

You are such a waste of space. Troll.

Malke

 

[Guest]

Hi,

Check out this web site. This helps you to keep your PC more secured:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=555441

Rgds,
Raghu Boddu
MS MVP - Win Client

 

[Rick]

I would not mix AVG 7 and Norton AntiVirus. I personally wouldn't have more
than one antivirus application.

Having the other five and Norton will not hurt a thing. And you do not have
to disable Norton.

Probably not a very good choice to have only on AV program running. I
would run at least two to be sure to cover all the threats. I have not
yet been infected by any nasties but, I do not like the prospect of so
I'll continue to run multiple AV programs

Rick

 

[Wesley Vogel]

What are you running, Norton and McAfee?

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Rick]

What are you running, Norton and McAfee?

Norton and BitDefender 9 Standard but, I have used both Norton and
McAfee in the past. I am so disgusted with Norton though I am thinking
of going to BitDefender and McAfee. I have not been able to get NAV2006
to work properly but, I am still working on it. There is a good review
of AV software in PC World Mar 06 starting on page 82. I think you
could find similar reviews with a google search.

Rick

 

[Wesley Vogel]

I use AVG. Norton and McAfee both suck.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Frameman]

I am a late joiner on this topic, but I see no mention of a firewall,
or your method of connection to the web.

If you are connected by DSL or other broadband system you are ALWAYS
connected to the internet, and it is therefore imperative that you have
a firewall. If you connect via a modem through your regular phone line,
it is not essential, but useful to have a firewall.

If you have your desktop and laptop networked in some manner, the you
need to add a firewall to both.

Best explanation I have heard of a firewall's function is that it
removes your computers' visibility (on the net) to the aggressive nerds
that cause the problems.

This does not replace the need for anti-viral programs. Au contraire!
It cuts down the number of times the AV's have to fight.

Kerio is the freeware fire-wall I use. You can find it many places. I
like nonags.com

Frameman

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

If you are connected by DSL or other broadband system you are ALWAYS
connected to the internet, and it is therefore imperative that you
have a firewall. If you connect via a modem through your regular
phone line, it is not essential, but useful to have a firewall.

I see this statement a lot. It's one of the frequent statements I *most*
disagree with.

If you connect to the internet, you need a firewall. Even with dialup, it is
not just useful, it is *essential*. It doesn't matter whether you use
broadband or dialup. You are vulnerable for the time you are connected.

The longer you are connected the greater the vulnerability, but since the
vulnerability is always there, it doesn't matter what the connection method
is. People with dialup service running without a firewall have gotten
infected with Blaster or Sasser within a very few minutes of having logged
on.

How long you are connected is irrelevant. Connecting without a firewall is
foolhardy.

Of secondary importance, but still worth noting, is that I know several
people with dialup access who spend more time connected to the internet than
others I know with DSL service have their computers even turned on. Whether
you have dialup or broadband doesn't necessarily reflect how long you are
connected.

 

[Frameman]

Re: Ken Blake's response ...

I stand corrected. Yes, you should always use a firewall. I only meant
that the longer you are connected the bigger the window of opportunity
for some bugger to infect. This was shared with me by my personal MVP
when I switched from modem to DSL and boondoggled around before
equipping my wife's laptop with the same protection mine had because
she only played solitaire and used E-Mail. Since her machine was linked
with mine via wireless connection, it was my Achilles heel and we had a
whole raft of baddies to clean out after just a few days of DSL
service.

A good parallel is safe sex vs. unsafe sex. If one is casually
inclined; forget protection once and maybe he or she is just plain
lucky. Forget it twice and he or she will have to be TWICE as lucky.
Etc. Etc. It seems to me, if you have broadband you're going to be on
line longer, download much bigger files much more often and are more
likely to get involved in other practices that increase the risk.

But as Ken pointed out, you only need to let your guard down once ...

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Re: Ken Blake's response ...

I stand corrected.

Thank you.

Yes, you should always use a firewall. I only
meant that the longer you are connected the bigger the window of
opportunity for some bugger to infect.

Yes, that's certainly true. My point was that even a small window can be
enough.

But I'm glad we agree.

This was shared with me by my
personal MVP when I switched from modem to DSL and boondoggled around
before equipping my wife's laptop with the same protection mine had
because she only played solitaire and used E-Mail. Since her machine
was linked with mine via wireless connection, it was my Achilles heel
and we had a whole raft of baddies to clean out after just a few days
of DSL service.

A good parallel is safe sex vs. unsafe sex. If one is casually
inclined; forget protection once and maybe he or she is just plain
lucky. Forget it twice and he or she will have to be TWICE as lucky.
Etc. Etc. It seems to me, if you have broadband you're going to be on
line longer,

As I think I pointed in my previous message, it is *usually* true that you
will be online longer with broadband, but not always. I've known people with
dialup to be online almost all day long, and I've known people with
broadband to have the computer powered on for not much more than an hour a
day. I have a friend with dialup who turns her computer on every two or
three days to check her E-mail. She's about to have cable installed this
week, not because she plans to use the internet more, but because her
husband complains that she ties up the phone when she's online, and the cost
of cable is about the same as a second phone phone.

By the way, can I get you to quote the message to which you're responding?
It makes things much easier for all of us. Thanks.