Computer Virus Protection?

blue_eyes53813

blue_eyes53813

Well-Known Member
OK. You know this day in age the computer virus plague is terrible, My Sons computer got knocked out by a virus and we even have mcafee installed and updated weekly.

My laptop has mcafee as well and I havent run into a problem yet.

I got my daughter a Dell laptop for xmas (sshhhhh she doesnt know of course) but I am gonna have to add a anti virus protection to hers. It doesnt have anything installed yet.


Ideas would be great... What do you all use for virus protection?

The guy that is working on my sons computers highly praised AVG protection. Anybody hear of this ?:surrender:
 
H

Hunter1998

New Member
I've been running the free version of AVG for a few years now and it works great. I've never had a problem, my opinion is it's one of the best out there and it doesn't come with a hefty price tag. They do offer a upgraded version for a price but for my needs the free one works great.
 
C

Cavinca

Active Member
Yeah avg is awesome. You'll want to install something before you go on the internet at all though. PC's get bombarded by thousands of malignant code as soon as you boot up a network connection. What this mean is that you dont even have to click on Internet Explorer to actually get a virus.

Download AVG at AVG Free - Download antivirus and antispyware software for Windows XP and Vista and install it as soon as possible. If you want the full version and your going to use a creditcard to purchase it, i recomend installing the free version before entering creditcard information into any online forms.


Cole if you have no virus protection your sitting on a thin line... You dont have to click anything to get a virus
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
new reefer 03 said:
i dont have any, just becareful what you click on...
Click to expand...

Cole you should get an Anti-Virus immediately. It not only works to protect you but it will also try to protect your information. You owe it to anyone who you have their email or worse... their PERSONAL information to protect it. It's not a matter of IF you'll be hit by a virus but when. Even the BEST of websites can be hacked into and loaded with malicious mal-ware.

AVG rocks. I use it in my own personal systems as well as all of our Corporate machines. For home/private use I highly suggest the FREE version. Anything more you need to pay for it. It's worth it's purchase price.

Keep in mind that NO anti-virus is 100% bullet proof and it can only go so far protecting you from yourself. If you click on "bad" stuff and allow it then you've in effect by-passed the AV. Install it.. .keep it up to date and "Smart usage" will go a long way to keeping you and your information protected.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
PS

Norton and McCrappy are HUGE resourse hogs that will greatly drag your system down. If you don't believe me, download AVG Free (do all of this in THIS order), un-install McCrappy (may take a couple of reboots because it's embedded in many areas of your system) and install AVG. Time how long a reboot takes with McCrappy and compare it to a Non-Crappified machine. You will notice a HUGE difference.

Also installing a Hardware firewall will help greatly in "Drive By" hijacks and random attacks.
 
blue_eyes53813

blue_eyes53813

Well-Known Member
Thank You Guys. Very good inforamtion. My daughters new laptop will have AVG as soon as she gets it for xmas. Before she even gets online or is able to open anything else on the net I will install the free version of AVG and than purchase one of their downloads.

I know the guy that is repairing my sons computer is installing AVG into it. I havent heard back how that fix is going but Im pretty sure it wll be a full restore, I think the virus went to far.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Vicki opt for a Format > Restore..... a simple "System Restore(also called a System Roll-Back)" (and he will probably know this) has the potential to have the "Restore Points" infected which will simply lead to re-infection very soon. Suggest a "Flush Restore" then Restore if he doesn't format and Restore. Been there.. done that.... :)
 
M

Mya

Active Member
I join the masses when I say.. AVG...

I used/paid for McCrappy for a long time and still got a virus. Same with my dad... And the virus actually came from Y!'s homepage. Nice huh?

I got AVG for both him and me... Never going back now! There are some viruses out there that can get threw. Nothing is 100% perfect but it has to be a damn good one to get threw AVG and something you have to pick out by hand...
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chrome91

chrome91

Member
new reefer 03 said:
i dont have any, just becareful what you click on...
Click to expand...


be careful with that, theres a new one out where a pop up comes on your computer and says something like your computer has a virus, do you want antivirus to remove it? and if you hit OK, the virus creator gets all your info, passwords, and your computer fully crashes. it happened to my uncle but he was lucky enough to at least fix the computer, and he had full on virus protection
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
WinAntivirus2008/2009 is one that says that but your system doesn't "fully crash" instead it becomes a slow system that's propagating SPAM and just a dog performance wise. Fortunately it's VERY rare that a virus merely "CRASHES" a system. Today's virus writers don't want to stop the system fully (the majority anyway.. there are CORP attacks that are more brutal but that's another story). They benefit more from turning your system into a Spam-bot and sending out crap to the masses.
 
MatthewJ

MatthewJ

Member
IMHO...the anti-virus products are losing the battle, AVG included. The criminals selling exploit kits guarantee results (i.e. anti-virus will not detect). I see poor detection across the board all the time. Here is just one quick example from a few weeks ago:
Virustotal. MD5: 0877e84e46c5142bb84d58d963412d52 Generic!Artemis Suspicious:W32/Malware!Gemini Win32/TrojanDownloader.Zlob.CWP

AVG is as good as any other though and you still definitely need anti-virus. I would highly recommend also installing Firefox with the noScript add-on and setting it to your default browser. Keep your plugins updated (Acrobat reader, Flash, etc)! You might also consider installing this product and at least configuring it to block the high risk categories:
K9 Web Protection - Free Internet Filtering and Parental Controls Software
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
MatthewJ said:
IMHO...the anti-virus products are losing the battle, AVG included. The criminals selling exploit kits guarantee results (i.e. anti-virus will not detect). I see poor detection across the board all the time.
Click to expand...

I'll agree that on any given day there are NEW vulnerabilities released and exploited but at the very same time the anti-virus companies are releasing definitions and patches for those same problems. It's a contact power battle that shifts from one side to the other each and every day. That doesn't mean it's a losing battle but a never ending one. It's tough trying to fix all the "holes" that are opened up and with each new batch of fixes the bad guys go to work looking for ways to break them. Classic battle of good vs evil it's just on a CYB ER battle field now.

MatthewJ said:
AVG is as good as any other though and you still definitely need anti-virus. I would highly recommend also installing Firefox with the noScript add-on and setting it to your default browser. Keep your plugins updated (Acrobat reader, Flash, etc)! /QUOTE]

That's good.. no GREAT advice. If the user/owner doesn't keep the system up to date and VERY often then they are only hurting themselves. This goes for plug-ins as well as OS updates and such. There is no excuse for running a system without updates and Service Packs. They may be a hassle to install on some system *your system needs to be CLEAN before installation* but they are easier to install than re-installing EVERYONE after a full format.
Click to expand...
 
MatthewJ

MatthewJ

Member
I don't think you're missing anything BigAl. AVG is a fine anti-virus product. The point I was making is that ALL of the anti-virus products fail more than most people think. The link provided to virustotal just gives one example, but more than half of the products in this instance (including AVG) did not detect this malware. That's why I'm such a proponent of Firefox with noscript these days.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
:bluenod: Gotcha!

There is no excuse/replacement for GOOD common sense. Granted ANY website could be hacked into and turned BAD but common sense and "Smart Clicking" will go a long way to protect users from the Internet and THEMSELVES!!! :)
 
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