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Need to protect parents PC. Tips required.


Question

Parents are using Lenovo IdeaCenter that is running Windows 7 Home Basic 32-bit (SP1).

What I already have:

I have MSE installed that does auto update every few hours.

Windows update is set to automatically download/install updates.

I have installed Teamviewer and keep checking the PC once a while. Check the programs that run on startup, current running programs & processes, check Program un-installs for any new programs (that I've not installed).

I run Spybot seek and destroy just to confirm.

Firefox is always updated.

Problem:

1) Once they somehow got 1clickdownloader & sweetpacks installed. They claim it was during the update of Open Office update.

I got rid of it somehow and system seemed to be clean.

2) Yesterday they got infected with "Live Security Platinum" that has blocked MSE and rendered all the .exe useless.

Immediate steps:

- The service engineer is going to format and re-install Windows 7.

How to offer better protection?

- I guess MSE does a decent job, but I am open to other freeware options that I could try.

- What malware/spyware/rouge program detecter should I install? A freeware would be a plus.

Any other tips is welcome.

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Install linux? hehe (really, its the best solution)...

ok, you can limit their account to regular users instead of administrators :) you can use something like a ShadowUser, antispyware, switch MSE for Eset (MSE was good but isnt so good anymore, ESET is smarter)

you can use ComboFix to clean the PC and use superantispyware / spybot

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If your parents are like a lot of typical "email browsing" user types, then no matter how many programmes you put on, it will almost always still result in some sort of infection.

Why?

Because, like most typical "email browsing" user types, they simply do NOT listen to the very people who give them the advice not to click and install any old stuff!...believe me, I've been there and seen it on many friends PC's in the past.

As the previous poster said, either put linux on, or limit their accounts.

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yes, thats a known fact.. the ignorance does not allow them to listen.. they just dont realize how dangerous is if they use online banking and something like that (trust me, i have been there [on the dark side, not as a victim])

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  1. Get a commercial AV program like ESET for starters. It really doesn't cost much.
  2. Use either Firefox or Chrome with the Adblock Plus extension installed.
  3. Disable Internet Explorer altogether
  4. Use a HOSTS file (http://hosts-file.net/) to block known adware, spyware and malware domains.
  5. Install Malwarebytes Anti-malware and set it to scan the system periodically.

Edit: I see you are from India. All the more, get ESET. It is extremely cheap over here. At current prices it only costs Rs 753 /year for a 3 year license on one computer.

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I think that guitz is right, the best security set up for a newbies is to install Linux, that will stop all malware except phishing scams. If for some reason you have to use Windows then Avast free antivirus and Windows firewall should do the job.

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