Virus & Spyware

[Guest]

There are so many different programs out there to run on the computer to
catch viruses and spyware. I currently have Norton 2006, Spybot S&D and
Adaware.
I run all three on a daily basis and yet when I ran into a problem with my
Windows and reported it to Microsoft I received a reply to go to
safetylive.com. When I ran the protection there it turns out I had 18
threats on my computer.

Why weren't these picked up by Norton, Spybot S&D or Adaware?
Is there any othere program out there that I should also be using to protect
my PC?

 

[Robert Moir]

There are so many different programs out there to run on the computer
to catch viruses and spyware. I currently have Norton 2006, Spybot
S&D and Adaware.
I run all three on a daily basis and yet when I ran into a problem
with my Windows and reported it to Microsoft I received a reply to go
to safetylive.com. When I ran the protection there it turns out I
had 18 threats on my computer.

Why weren't these picked up by Norton, Spybot S&D or Adaware?

Hopefully you meant http://safety.live.com (note the extra dot),
safetylive.com is something rather different.

Without knowing what threats it warned you about, it is impossible to say.
It could also be that the problem is the live site is wrong - it's still a
'beta' tool, beta being the term for a system that is still undergoing
testing and may not work quite right yet.

Is there any othere program out there that I should also be using to
protect my PC?

It could be that the current programs you have are out of date, or not
configured correctly. You also need to think about the sort of sites you're
visiting - it may be that one of them is less friendly than you think and
you're exposing your system to problems that could be avoided.

It helps to think of anti virus and anti spyware programs like a seatbelt
and airbag in a car - it doesn't matter how good your seatbelt and airbags
might be, it still isn't a good idea to drive dangerously.


--
--
Rob Moir, MS MVP
Blog Site - http://www.robertmoir.com
Virtual PC 2004 FAQ - http://www.robertmoir.co.uk/win/VirtualPC2004FAQ.html
I'm always surprised at "professionals" who STILL have to be asked "Have you
checked (event viewer / syslog)".

 

[Malke]

There are so many different programs out there to run on the computer
to
catch viruses and spyware. I currently have Norton 2006, Spybot S&D
and Adaware.
I run all three on a daily basis and yet when I ran into a problem
with my Windows and reported it to Microsoft I received a reply to go
to
safetylive.com. When I ran the protection there it turns out I had 18
threats on my computer.

Why weren't these picked up by Norton, Spybot S&D or Adaware?
Is there any othere program out there that I should also be using to
protect my PC?

First of all, SafetyLive or OneCare or whatever it is calling itself
today has got one of the lowest virus detection rates. I wouldn't use
it.

If your NAV subscription is kept active and your virus definitions are
current, you're just fine with what you've got. While your NAV is
always providing active protection, there is no need to scan every day
with Ad-aware and Spybot. Once a week is sufficient.

The reason for using more than one antispyware program is because no one
program will get all the baddies. If you keep your operating system and
major programs updated (including Java - uninstall older versions of
it) and practice "Safe Hex", the precautions you have taken are just
fine. Here are some links about staying safe:

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=27971 - So How Did I Get
Infected Anyway?
http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Introduction
http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html
http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm - The Parasite Fight
http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldron/archive/2006/02/05/82584.aspx - MVP
Harry Waldron - The Family PC - How to stay safe on the Internet
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm - Eric Howes on
Rogue Antispyware Programs

Malke

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "Breeze" <[email protected]>

| There are so many different programs out there to run on the computer to
| catch viruses and spyware. I currently have Norton 2006, Spybot S&D and
| Adaware.
| I run all three on a daily basis and yet when I ran into a problem with my
| Windows and reported it to Microsoft I received a reply to go to
| safetylive.com. When I ran the protection there it turns out I had 18
| threats on my computer.
|
| Why weren't these picked up by Norton, Spybot S&D or Adaware?
| Is there any othere program out there that I should also be using to protect
| my PC?


Download MULTI_AV.EXE from the URL --
http://www.ik-cs.com/programs/virtools/Multi_AV.exe

To use this utility, perform the following...
Execute; Multi_AV.exe { Note: You must use the default folder C:\AV-CLS }
Choose; Unzip
Choose; Close

Execute; C:\AV-CLS\StartMenu.BAT
{ or Double-click on 'Start Menu' in C:\AV-CLS }

NOTE: You may have to disable your software FireWall or allow WGET.EXE to go through your
FireWall to allow it to download the needed AV vendor related files.

C:\AV-CLS\StartMenu.BAT -- { or Double-click on 'Start Menu' in C:\AV-CLS}
This will bring up the initial menu of choices and should be executed in Normal Mode.
This way all the components can be downloaded from each AV vendor's web site.
The choices are; Sophos, Trend, McAfee, Kaspersky, Exit this menu and Reboot the PC.

You can choose to go to each menu item and just download the needed files or you can
download the files and perform a scan in Normal Mode. Once you have downloaded the files
needed for each scanner you want to use, you should reboot the PC into Safe Mode [F8 key
during boot] and re-run the menu again and choose which scanner you want to run in Safe
Mode. It is suggested to run the scanners in both Safe Mode and Normal Mode.

When the menu is displayed hitting 'H' or 'h' will bring up a more comprehensive PDF help
file. http://www.ik-cs.com/multi-av.htm

Additional Instructions:
http://pcdid.com/Multi_AV.htm


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