I'm looking for some protection!


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I need help. I had avast, spyware bot, adaware, malwarebytes on my computer. and still somehow got a nasty bug that would force me to view an ad every time a new page loaded up and made the 'back' button not work on my computer. So after searching and searching for a solution with no luck, I reformatted.

 

I am indesperate need of GOOD anti-virus/adware/garbage. Please help! Thanks!

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Don't go to sketchy sites, that's going to help you more so than any AV product ever will. You could have the best AV product in the world but if you choose to run something without saving it first and you choose yes to run as admin there is nothing the AV product can do about it. This is why I say don't go to bad websites.

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Also note that no product will protect you from everything every time. It's just a matter of which gets to you first:  the malware or the definitions.

 

Best advice is as above. Stay ON the beaten path, and if you must "stray", do it in a virtual machine with an snapshot, undo, or differencing file.

 

-Forjo

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That's the thing. I didn't visit any sites I don't usually go to. Granted, I do use torrents. However I scan every single one of them before opening them and typically it's just movie files.

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Avast scores fairly low in terms of protection in comparison to others, consider switching: http://www.av-test.org/en/tests/home-user/windows-8/novdec-2013/

 

You can probably ditch "spyware bot" and adaware.

 

Are you using malwarebytes free or pro? Pro allows it to run constantly in the background alongside your AV (which it's designed to do, despite what some others may misguidedly try to tell you), and is pretty cheap considering it is a one off lifetime license, including free upgrades to new versions. Consider paying for pro if you haven't already.

 

Make sure you install updates to your OS/apps/plugins promptly. Make sure you're using a non-admin Windows user account for day-to-day stuff, keeping an admin account just for maintenance tasks that require it.

 

If you're still using Windows XP, get yourself upgraded pronto, as of 8th April you'll no longer be getting any security updates.

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I need help. I had avast, spyware bot, adaware, malwarebytes on my computer. and still somehow got a nasty bug that would force me to view an ad every time a new page loaded up and made the 'back' button not work on my computer. So after searching and searching for a solution with no luck, I reformatted.

 

I am indesperate need of GOOD anti-virus/adware/garbage. Please help! Thanks!

Scraggles,

If I may inquire, why did you have so many anti-malware programs installed simultaneously? Having multiple anti-malware programs can slow down your machine and cause conflicts during the detection process.

With that said, I recommend Avira Free Edition* or MalwareBytes for protection. Although the free version of MalwareBytes is capable of detecting malware after it has been downloaded or installed, it does not provide real-time protection. This feature is only available in the paid version.

Just in case things go south in the future, it would be wise to invest in a few standalone tools. Here are a few that come to my mind.

  • HijackThis creates a list of processes, browser helper objects, and registry entries on your machine that could be malicious. HijackThis makes no effort to differentiate between safe and unsafe software - It is up to the user to decide.
  • SpywareBlaster protects against malware and tracking cookies by blacklisting them.
  • Avira also provides a few utilities that you may find useful.
  • Kaspersky's TDSSKiller is a rootkit removal utility that has received favorable reviews and is among my favorites.

Remember to keep your software up to date and backup your data regularly!

(* The most recent version of Avira has a fairly redesigned interface and an emphasis on cloud computing that some users may find irritating. Because of this, I have uploaded the last version known to use the old interface to OneDrive. You may download it here.)

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I have Endpoint Protection + hosts + ipfilter + WOT + AdBlock Edge = clean PC no mater which web site I go to.  Bad website, I don't even get a chance to see the content.  Endpoint would block it instantly... if site is questionable, I would get a warning and an option to view it if I choose to.  Run as Admin but had not got any virus for many many years... Used to have virus on my PC back in the mid 90s that was because I was in IRC and I fall for a trick someone fool me into... so I got a backdoor from him and from that point on, I always use protection... Never got any virus ever since....

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Hello,

I'm looking for some protection!

Might wanna call the APA. Good beer rate on those gu....

Oh wait, what are we talking about? :p

Anyways, Kaspersky and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Pro should pretty much protect you from everything. I use MS's because I basically don't visit dodgy sites but along side I use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Pro.

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You might want to lookat what your installing for example bitlords installer comes with many free annoying ad based programs. You mostly dont look at what your doing but by clicking agree multiple times you'll have all that rubbish on your system. Look at what your agreeing to, they can all be uninstalled but its confusing why its happening at first. Try that

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The issue your having is with ad software getting installed. This is not malware, annoying yes, virus no. It's also commonly referred to as "PUPS" : Potentially Unwanted software". Avast does not protect against PUPS by default, you have to enable it, as with a lot of other Av's.

 

This type of ad software comes bundled with practically all free software on the internet anymore.

 

A lot of this ad software you can also uninstall. I prefer to go to the program and features and arrange by date.

 

I also recommend uninstalling it first before running the tools below. Better to do a clean uninstall when possible rather than ripping out of the system.

 

I would also recommend

 

Unchecky

http://www.unchecky.com

 

You can also scan your system for pups using software made for it such as adwcleaner and Junk File remover.

 

Adwcleaner

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/

 

Junk File remover

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/junkware-removal-tool/

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Thanks for the responses guys. I did the reformat and before anything at all, Installed and ran Malwarebytes pro. It found 108 infected items without anything but my primary hard drive installed.

 

What virus scanner would you say is best and hopefully free

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The issue your having is with ad software getting installed. This is not malware, annoying yes, virus no. It's also commonly referred to as "PUPS" : Potentially Unwanted software". Avast does not protect against PUPS by default, you have to enable it, as with a lot of other Av's.

 

This type of ad software comes bundled with practically all free software on the internet anymore.

 

A lot of this ad software you can also uninstall. I prefer to go to the program and features and arrange by date.

 

I also recommend uninstalling it first before running the tools below. Better to do a clean uninstall when possible rather than ripping out of the system.

 

I would also recommend

 

Unchecky

http://www.unchecky.com

 

You can also scan your system for pups using software made for it such as adwcleaner and Junk File remover.

 

Adwcleaner

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/

 

Junk File remover

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/junkware-removal-tool/

Wouldn't that be "PUS"?  Where did you get that second "P" from?

 

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Your best prevention is reading. Honestly. malware is usually installed and its very sneaky. You have to read those popups and think about what they really want you to do.

 

I also suggest doing a good backup you can cold-restore from once everything is installed. It will save a lot of time as I'll guarantee you'll have another infestation regardless of which program you attempt to combat it with. Its nice to start 'clean' with everything basically setup.

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don't run your profile as admin helps allot; use common sense while navigation into websites, using pens, reading emails, keeping the OS fully patched, etc. There's so much out there that even a fully updated AV solution is moot if you do have bad navigation habits and accept every crap you see on screen.

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I recommend http://www.avast.com/en-us/index for realtime antivirus, for after you clean your computer.

 

I would check for rootkits with http://www.gmer.net/.

Then check for malware with http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/eek/ and http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro/

Use CCleaner to clean remaining files and registry entries. http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/builds

Use Microsoft fixit to repair windows. http://support.microsoft.com/fixit/

 

Also nuke the suspicious folders inside these folders (if you are unsure about one, search up on it):

C:\ProgramData

C:\Program Files

C:\Program Files (x86)

C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local

C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\LocalLow

C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming

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I never have an issues with adware or malware. I use 64bit OS, 64bit internet explorer 11 and the 64bit Microsoft security essential version.

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