It's getting dangerous out there (Off Topic)

Hvacman

And what do you think about Windows Defender? My laptop had been infected with that "Best Spyware" bug and several others that AVG missed but Defender caught... I run both now on the PC and Laptop... Doesn't seem to slow them or cause any confilcts.

The Wire Nut

Is your protection up to date?

In the computer consulting side of my life (far too much of my life), I spend a too much of my time cleaning up mal-ware. In the old days, this would generally be caused by clandestine visits to "wink-wink, nudge-nudge, ya know what I mean" sites or by clicking on the link to see the Paris Hilton video and the like.

But it's a far more dangerous world these days, and a recent infection on one of client's pcs seemed to appear from nowhere. I was a bit stumped but I managed to clean it out using CounterSpy from Sunbelt-Software.com, one of the weapons in my arsenal. Sunbelt has a weekly newsletter and blog I subscribe to, and in the latest issue there was an article that resolved the mystery. It describes how viewing "big-name" websites can redirect you to sites that infect your PC.

Check this out (it's a safe link!): Rogue ads pushing malware

Better make sure your Anti-Evil software is up to date. Considering most of the better commercial programs are relatively inexpensive, and update themselves automatically, there is no longer an excuse to rely on that "free" version of Norton or McAfee that came with your PC 2 years ago.

Not an endorsement, but I've been using AVG from grisoft.com and the aforementioned CounterSpy.

And you Mac folks, don't snicker, you guys are sitting ducks as well, as the hackablility of the iPhone and the endless OS-X patches attest.

Now, back to the joys of no-heat issues and the vagaries of Vapor Steam systems....

Alex ("The Wire Nut")

Steamhead (in transit)

Thanks, Alex

and check your e-mail.

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The Wire Nut

I just sent you a reply. Thanks for the vote of confidence...

Alex...

Al Corelli_2

I hate PCs

I have some really great PCs here at home and at work.

Loads of power. Too bad all that power is used up using Norton and whole bunch of other "wares".

I think I'm going to get a MacBook for internet and email.

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Steamhead (in transit)

Norton

is getting to be a real resource hog. Even the PC publication reviews mention this.

Why not try one of the free anti-malware programs, like Avast! or AVG for antivirus, or Spybot, A-squared or AVG for anti-spyware?

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The Wire Nut

Steamhead hit it right on the head. All the "majors" have become bloatware and profit centers based on automatically charging your credit card for renewals.

AVG as freeware is pretty good, but for $60 you can get their complete package of anti-everything and a firewall. It takes far less resources than any of the majors. They're renewals are cheap, and they update it often and automatically. www.grisoft.com

For stand-alone anti-spyware you can't beat either Counterspy (www.sunbelt-software.com) and Webroot (www.webroot.com). Both are good, but I tend to use Counterspy because their service is top-notch and US based. I presume Webroot is the same, but I haven't used their product that much.

Most of these products have a free trial available. Avail yourself of them. Tip: Restart your PC after you uninstall any of these products and before you install another one...

It's important to use only one type of any product at a time. Do not run more than 1 anti-spy, virus, firewall, etc. as you will have problems as well as a darn slow PC...

Tony_23

My expert

He keeps telling me to dump McAfee. "It's paid for til March", I said. Then they paid themselves for it. Not happy about that, WILL be canning them early this year.

He recommends Trend-Micro's "House Call", as well as AVG, Spybot and Adaware.

JohnNY

Just hold on....

I take issue with your blatant disdain for Ms. Hilton and ask that you acknowledge her willful and philanthropic contributions to the world of internet video.

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The Wire Nut

Dump the McAfee Tony and liberate your PC from all the bloat and overhead. You can replace it with some of the free versions of the products out there, but I think you're better off buying the commercial version of the better (in my opinion) products out there. You get more features and support.

For example you can get the full AVG suite for $53 with a 1 year support and update subscription or $70 for 2 years. Better yet you can buy a 3 user 2 year license for $87..

The other option is to get their "pro" with firewall edition for $50- (2 years) and throw in CounterSpy for $10...

None of the above are endorsements of the products and their suitability to your needs is not implied. (Just in case someone was taking notes...)

Download the trial versions and see how it works for you. Remember to completely uninstall your old software and reboot prior to installing the new package.

And, very importantly, download the new software and license key prior to removing the old software. Then disconnect your PC from the internet until the new software is installed. An unprotected PC, especially without a firewall and a router, can be infected in as little as 5 minutes. There are millions of "zombie" (infected PCs that the owners do not know or care about the infection) PCs that are constantly searching the internet looking for unprotected PCs.

You should also invest in a cable or DSL Router to provide an additional level of isolation from the internet. But that's a whole other topic...

Be aware that some of the free anti-spyware have fallen behind on their abilities. And with the aggressiveness of the malefactors these days, you need the best defense you can get.

But it's important to remember not to have duplicate programs running. Installing Spy-Bot, Adaware and CounterSpy won't protect you better, in fact, it may make it worse.

Well, off to work...

Alex ("The Wire Nut")

The Wire Nut

John,

You're trying to compare the vapidness of Paris to the suave sophistication of Pamela? I'd put the latter's oeuvre way above the formers...

Alex...

Steamhead (in transit)

I have a total of four computers here

and they all run different programs. Still using McAfee on one, but it is not set up to automatically renew- I do it manually. Another came with Norton, same renewal setup- so far no problems but it does consume a lot of system resources. Then free versions of Avast!, AVG, A-squared, SpyBot and the ZoneAlarm free firewall. So far no infections. This mix also allows me to scan over the network, so if one machine gets flaky I can scan it with another program without having to install it on that machine.

All these machines run Windows XP SP2. From what I understand, those people running Vista are in a much worse situation, since in addition to the new OS's many other issues, most or all of these anti-malware programs had to be reworked for Vista. For those of you considering "upgrading" to Vista- don't. Wait until Microsoft actually finishes working out the bugs. Or look at the Mac or Linux. Where's OS/2 Warp when we need it?

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Steamhead (in transit)

Well, they have one thing in common

you can hear the wind whistling through their ears......

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Maine Doug_66

I dumped Norton

some time ago as it is bloatware, a prime target for viri writers and a pain to use. Bought a 5-user license to AVG sans firewall as I use a hardware firewall. Have found AVG to be much more useful.
It was time consuming to completely rid the PC's of Norton remnants.

The Wire Nut

Defender was built off of the code Microsoft bought from Sunbelt. I would try CounterSpy, it's substantially updated and is light years ahead of defender.

No one product is going to clean up an infection once caught, but a good product will prevent the infection in the first place. I have a toolbox of products that I use to clean PCs once they are infected. Sometimes Webroot works better than CounterSpy in a one-off cleanup, sometimes the other way around... I often have to google the infection to find a program specifically designed to clean up a certain bug...

It's a bad, bad world in cyberspace...

Alex