anti virus software - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

whatever1 · 04-09-2008, 04:22 AM

OK, I am at wits end......

I typically use Norton with no problems. I was away for 2-3 months, norton AV expired and wife did not renew it.

I do not have an virus that I am aware of. I have norton system works 2002 and AV 2005 on the computer. After coming home, decided to download AV 2008.

DOwnloads, but on installation, I get an error message saying they cannot uninstall 2005. I Call norton, they remote access for 2+ hours and they remove 2005. Now 2008 will STILL not install. I cannot remember the error message as I was too pissed off.

Is there something else as good to use?

Martian · 04-09-2008, 04:57 AM

AVG is free for personal use and gives good AV protection. If you're looking for an all-in-one security solution, though, you'll have to look elsewhere.

Norton is crap. There's not much out there that's worse.

Hain · 04-09-2008, 05:56 AM

Another vote for AVG Free. Another vote for Norton Spoiler: can go fuck itself. Other than AVG, many of my friends also use Avira AntiVir without problems.

There is filehippo.com that provides a nice list of anti-virus software that they test themselves. Also remember that an anti-virus is not all you need once norton is gone.
Anti-Virus
Firewalls and Security
Anti-Spyware

I keep an updated list of freeware that I personally endorse in the The Open Source/Freeware/Gratis Software Thread (my list linked here).

Lasereth · 04-09-2008, 06:20 AM

AVG Antivirus works well like these guys said. Plus it's free (legally free).

I use Symantec Antivirus (different than Norton, Norton is the bloatware version that won't uninstall and causes problems all the time). AVG is just as good though.

ironman · 04-09-2008, 08:09 AM

I use Avast and I´m very happy with it, plus it's legally free.

Shauk · 04-09-2008, 08:21 AM

I find a lot of antivirus packages are introducing more problems than they are fixing. the persistent state antivirus programs bug the hell out of me. "hi, we're always on, always watching, always eating your system resources, introducing another layer in which something can screw up if you use this software to scan email or firewall anything"

meh. Funny note, my friend was having computer issues so he updated his avg, next day, hard drive failure. go go.

Radio Monk33 · 04-09-2008, 09:39 AM

Another vote for AVG. Works best when combined with safe net use.

Should look at anti spyware software though.

Cynthetiq · 04-09-2008, 09:48 AM

only thing I hated about AVG is that it tagged all my outbound emails... that bugged the crap outta me and I never looked into how to change it. I figured it could be undone only by paying for it.

other than that AVG works as advertised.

as far as I roll tho, I always find a way to get a corporate work version... whatever flavor the employer has, norton, mcafee, whatever is free.

Hain · 04-09-2008, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cynthetiq

only thing I hated about AVG is that it tagged all my outbound emails... that bugged the crap outta me and I never looked into how to change it. I figured it could be undone only by paying for it.

That's wicked bizarre... what email client were you using?

Cynthetiq · 04-09-2008, 09:54 AM

Outlook

Hain · 04-09-2008, 12:04 PM

Huh... I never liked outlook... but I do miss the simple calendar features. Still Rainlender and Thunderbird serve me well enough as long as I don't get lazy.

Cynthetiq · 04-09-2008, 12:40 PM

when you work in the corporate world, i find it easier to use the corporate tools. I'd rather use 1 tool and always do the same things, than do things 1 way at the office and 1 way at home; to me fighting and working against it is counter productive and a waste of time.

whatever1 · 04-11-2008, 04:54 AM

Thank you one and all for your replies. I must say, my naivity about Norton hurts. I guess the one paying the most for advertising may NOT be the best!

I wish I knew thies before I paid for it. Funny thing, I FINALLY got the norton installed, it scanned my computer, and I STILL have an ANNOYING pop up for an "infected file" leading me to a website for antivirus software.

Cynthetiq · 04-11-2008, 06:19 AM

that's malware or adaware which norton doesn't handle so well....

Quote:

How to remove softwarereferral/safewebnavigate hijackers and etlrlws toolbar
Softwarereferral infection is a hijacker. If your computer was infected, you got many popups, Internet Explorer start page changed to softwarereferral.com, blinking stopsign with X in system tray, continual system alert popups.

Download HijackThis and double click on the file for install.
Download CCleaner. Double click on the file for install.
Download Combofix.
Download SmitfraudFix (by S!Ri). Extract the content (a folder named SmitfraudFix) to your Desktop.

Reboot your computer again in Safe Mode by doing the following:

1. Restart your computer
2. After hearing your computer beep once during startup, but before the Windows icon appears, press F8.
3. Instead of Windows loading as normal, a menu should appear
4. Select the first option, to run Windows in Safe Mode.

Start HijackThis. Click “Do a system scan only.” and put a checkmark next to the following items (if exists):

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://softwarereferral.com/jump.php...MjI6Ojg5&lid=2
O2 - BHO: PC-Antispyware Site Blocker Button - {10F0C2A9-8E38-43e3-204D-45524C494E20} - C:\Program Files\PC-Antispyware\IeExtension.dll
O2 - BHO: GNX Bingo - {B2DCA34E-9D1C-4EDA-A1BE-C24D1B4AAE55} - C:\WINDOWS\kdftlboepta.dll
O2 - BHO: GNX Rolex - {CD6DCA54-AE70-4562-BD9E-0C0A32F01347} - C:\WINDOWS\drnpfdxsnp.dll
O3 - Toolbar: etlrlws - {13F5AE57-486D-41B6-BA43-806EA7CCAE14} - C:\WINDOWS\etlrlws.dll
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [awedpedp] C:\WINDOWS\system32\naxgxwbu.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Policies\Explorer\Run: [bZ76ULmU0g] C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\titkpyhg\vyzwdszw.exe
O21 - SSODL: bokpkov - {919071FA-540C-4492-BE14-79F7E72B24A1} - C:\WINDOWS\bokpkov.dll
O21 - SSODL: altvxvm - {360925C8-9CA2-4D10-9C9D-4DA09A5840FB} - C:\WINDOWS\altvxvm.dll
O24 - Desktop Component 0: Privacy Protection - file:///C:\WINDOWS\privacy_danger\index.htm

Note: SSODL modules can have random name(blue color) and some different clsid(red color), use google for check them.

Now close all browser and other windows except for HijackThis, and click “Fix Checked” to have HijackThis fix the entries you checked.

Open the SmitfraudFix folder and double-click smitfraudfix.cmd.
Press the number 2 on your keyboard and the press the enter key to choose the option Clean (safe mode recommended).

You will be prompted : “Registry cleaning - Do you want to clean the registry ?“; answer “Yes” by typing Y and press “Enter” in order to remove the Desktop background and clean registry keys associated with the infection.

The tool will now check if wininet.dll is infected. You may be prompted to replace the infected file (if found); answer “Yes” by typing Y and press “Enter”.

The tool may need to restart your computer to finish the cleaning process; if it doesn’t, please restart it into Normal Windows.

Close any open browsers. Double click on combofix.exe and follow the prompts.

Run CCleaner.

Click Analyze button. After scan your system, click Run Cleaner.

If everything seems to be good - pop ups are gone, no any redirects, then you should make a new restore point.Disable system restore to flush out infected restore points. Reboot your computer again. Turn on Windows System Restore. After that click START > ALL PROGRAMS > ACCESSORIES > SYSTEM TOOLS > SYSTEM RESTORE. click on “create new restore point” > click on NEXT and follow the prompts.

If you are still having problems with spyware after completing these instructions, maybe you have another version of the infection, then please follow the steps: How to use Spyware Removal Forum.

whatever1 · 04-11-2008, 07:08 AM

wow, you are good!!

amfl98 · 04-29-2008, 12:37 PM

Best Av bar none is Nod32. It costs about £19 per year, but it is worth it. Not a single virus has got through. Read up on it.

blahblah454 · 04-29-2008, 04:18 PM

Well the first problem I noticed is that you are using Norton.

A lot seem to be using AVG, never tried it myself

I used to have Panda, total system hog, I don't recommend that to anyone.

Right now I am using Kaspersky and I find it to be great, no problems so far and it does not seem to eat up too many resources.

I actually looked into Node32, costs like 40 american or something for me to get, but I was able to get an OEM version of Kaspersky internet security for 20 bucks (70 or 80 at futureshop)

xepherys · 04-29-2008, 06:54 PM

I use Avira AntiVir (free) and LOVE it. It's also rated VERY highly in it's effectiveness for heuristics use and few false-positives. <3 Avira!

Speed_Gibson · 04-29-2008, 09:51 PM

I used Kaspersky for some time and liked it, then no longer wanted to pay for it and switched to AVG and have stuck to that. Very good in my experience. lt caught a virus very quickly that some sap was spreading with them on a lost MP3 player/USB drive (auto scanned it) that I plugged into my system to check out.

itlain · 04-30-2008, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xepherys

I use Avira AntiVir (free) and LOVE it. It's also rated VERY highly in it's effectiveness for heuristics use and few false-positives. <3 Avira!

Gotta agree here, I switched to Avira from AVG and I couldn't be happier. I've never really had a problem at all, but from what I've read, Avira has a higher quality heuristic scanner?

avernus · 05-05-2008, 04:04 AM

ClamWin is free and lightweight but it doesn't have resident scanner. Originally developed for email scanning on nix machines I think, its open source and has a good detection rate, but these things are hard to tell really.

SSJTWIZTA · 02-22-2011, 06:21 PM

i need a new anti virus. too many options.

so, uhh, bump.

LordEden · 02-22-2011, 06:43 PM

I like avast for a free antivirus. Doesn't seem to have a large footprint even during scanning.

Martian · 02-22-2011, 07:01 PM

Paying for an antivirus for personal use is stupid, these days.

When I'm on Windows (such as right now) I use avast. AVG has gone downhill in the three years between my last post and this one.

I keep toying with the idea of installing that whatever-it's-called one built on ClamAV, but I just haven't overcome my laziness yet.

Of course, the best way to protect yourself is Don't Be An Idiot, but y'know, it's generally better to have antivirus protection anyway. The resource use is so minimal on a modern PC that so long as you're using decent software the impact is negligible -- if your PC was built within the last 4 years or so you're probably not going to notice a difference in performance with avast running.

Bonkai · 02-24-2011, 02:44 AM

If you have a Windows system i would highly suggest using Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free, plus it's one of the best virus defenses out there.

Craven Morehead · 02-24-2011, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonkai

If you have a Windows system i would highly suggest using Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free, plus it's one of the best virus defenses out there.

I use that on my personal PC and have found it to be highly effective. It does not bog down the PC like others have in the past.

bum4evr · 02-24-2011, 11:21 AM

I use AVG free and Malwarebytes which is also free. And you need a good firewall to make sure only the programs you want to connect to the net are allowed to. If a virus does get on my system and tries to send info to the internet I will get a pop-up that says " Dblock827.exe is trying to access the internet: Allow/Deny"

And for that I use Zonealarm free version.

LordEden · 02-24-2011, 04:33 PM

Personally, I stay away from AVG free. One of my last jobs had me selling it to all the clients we had. One of the major distribution centers for AVG is right down the street frim my house. It was great, then it slowed became more of a resource hog, then it stopped catching as much stuff, and generally became an inferior product. My free copy on my laptop updated to 9.0 and basically was a shell of the it's original self.

IMHO, avg just lost it a long time ago.

04-09-2008, 04:22 AM	#1 (permalink)
whatever1 Tilted Location: Central PA	anti virus software OK, I am at wits end...... I typically use Norton with no problems. I was away for 2-3 months, norton AV expired and wife did not renew it. I do not have an virus that I am aware of. I have norton system works 2002 and AV 2005 on the computer. After coming home, decided to download AV 2008. DOwnloads, but on installation, I get an error message saying they cannot uninstall 2005. I Call norton, they remote access for 2+ hours and they remove 2005. Now 2008 will STILL not install. I cannot remember the error message as I was too pissed off. Is there something else as good to use?

04-09-2008, 04:57 AM	#2 (permalink)
Martian Young Crumudgeon Location: Canada	AVG is free for personal use and gives good AV protection. If you're looking for an all-in-one security solution, though, you'll have to look elsewhere. Norton is crap. There's not much out there that's worse. __________________ I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

04-09-2008, 05:56 AM	#3 (permalink)
Hain has a plan Location: middle of Whywouldanyonebethere	Another vote for AVG Free. Another vote for Norton Spoiler: can go fuck itself. Other than AVG, many of my friends also use Avira AntiVir without problems. There is filehippo.com that provides a nice list of anti-virus software that they test themselves. Also remember that an anti-virus is not all you need once norton is gone. Anti-Virus Firewalls and Security Anti-Spyware I keep an updated list of freeware that I personally endorse in the The Open Source/Freeware/Gratis Software Thread (my list linked here). __________________ ////\\// IRONSKY.NET \\//\\\\

04-09-2008, 08:09 AM	#5 (permalink)
ironman Smithers, release the hounds Location: Guatemala, Guatemala	I use Avast and I´m very happy with it, plus it's legally free. __________________ If I agreed with you we´d both be wrong Last edited by ironman; 04-09-2008 at 08:12 AM..

04-09-2008, 09:39 AM	#7 (permalink)
Radio Monk33 Psycho	Another vote for AVG. Works best when combined with safe net use. Should look at anti spyware software though. __________________ "Punk rock had this cool, political personal message. It was a bit more cerebral than just stupid cock rock, you know" -Kurt Cobain

04-09-2008, 06:20 AM	#4 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	AVG Antivirus works well like these guys said. Plus it's free (legally free). I use Symantec Antivirus (different than Norton, Norton is the bloatware version that won't uninstall and causes problems all the time). AVG is just as good though.

04-09-2008, 08:21 AM	#6 (permalink)
Shauk Confused Adult Location: Spokane, WA	I find a lot of antivirus packages are introducing more problems than they are fixing. the persistent state antivirus programs bug the hell out of me. "hi, we're always on, always watching, always eating your system resources, introducing another layer in which something can screw up if you use this software to scan email or firewall anything" meh. Funny note, my friend was having computer issues so he updated his avg, next day, hard drive failure. go go.

04-09-2008, 09:48 AM	#8 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	only thing I hated about AVG is that it tagged all my outbound emails... that bugged the crap outta me and I never looked into how to change it. I figured it could be undone only by paying for it. other than that AVG works as advertised. as far as I roll tho, I always find a way to get a corporate work version... whatever flavor the employer has, norton, mcafee, whatever is free. __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION!

04-09-2008, 09:54 AM	#10 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	Outlook __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION!

04-09-2008, 12:04 PM	#11 (permalink)
Hain has a plan Location: middle of Whywouldanyonebethere	Huh... I never liked outlook... but I do miss the simple calendar features. Still Rainlender and Thunderbird serve me well enough as long as I don't get lazy. __________________ ////\\// IRONSKY.NET \\//\\\\

04-09-2008, 12:40 PM	#12 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	when you work in the corporate world, i find it easier to use the corporate tools. I'd rather use 1 tool and always do the same things, than do things 1 way at the office and 1 way at home; to me fighting and working against it is counter productive and a waste of time. __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION!

04-11-2008, 04:54 AM	#13 (permalink)
whatever1 Tilted Location: Central PA	Thank you one and all for your replies. I must say, my naivity about Norton hurts. I guess the one paying the most for advertising may NOT be the best! I wish I knew thies before I paid for it. Funny thing, I FINALLY got the norton installed, it scanned my computer, and I STILL have an ANNOYING pop up for an "infected file" leading me to a website for antivirus software.

04-11-2008, 07:08 AM	#15 (permalink)
whatever1 Tilted Location: Central PA	wow, you are good!!

04-29-2008, 12:37 PM	#16 (permalink)
amfl98 Upright	Best Av bar none is Nod32. It costs about £19 per year, but it is worth it. Not a single virus has got through. Read up on it.

04-29-2008, 04:18 PM	#17 (permalink)
blahblah454 Let's put a smile on that face Location: On the road...	Well the first problem I noticed is that you are using Norton. A lot seem to be using AVG, never tried it myself I used to have Panda, total system hog, I don't recommend that to anyone. Right now I am using Kaspersky and I find it to be great, no problems so far and it does not seem to eat up too many resources. I actually looked into Node32, costs like 40 american or something for me to get, but I was able to get an OEM version of Kaspersky internet security for 20 bucks (70 or 80 at futureshop)

04-29-2008, 06:54 PM	#18 (permalink)
xepherys <3 TFP Location: 17TLH2445607250	I use Avira AntiVir (free) and LOVE it. It's also rated VERY highly in it's effectiveness for heuristics use and few false-positives. <3 Avira! __________________ The prospect of achieving a peace agreement with the extremist group of MILF is almost impossible... -- Emmanuel Pinol, Governor of Cotobato My Homepage

04-29-2008, 09:51 PM	#19 (permalink)
Speed_Gibson Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Location: right here of course	I used Kaspersky for some time and liked it, then no longer wanted to pay for it and switched to AVG and have stuck to that. Very good in my experience. lt caught a virus very quickly that some sap was spreading with them on a lost MP3 player/USB drive (auto scanned it) that I plugged into my system to check out. __________________ Started talking to yourself I see. Yes, it's the only way I can be certain of an intelligent conversation. Black Adder

05-05-2008, 04:04 AM	#21 (permalink)
avernus Crazy Location: Bath, UK	ClamWin is free and lightweight but it doesn't have resident scanner. Originally developed for email scanning on nix machines I think, its open source and has a good detection rate, but these things are hard to tell really. __________________ I like to browse in occult bookshops if for no other reason than to refresh my commitment to science. -- Heinz Pagels, "The Dreams of Reason"

02-22-2011, 06:21 PM	#22 (permalink)
SSJTWIZTA Master Thief. Master Criminal. Masturbator. Location: Windiwana	i need a new anti virus. too many options. so, uhh, bump. __________________ First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for me And there was no one left to speak out for me. -Pastor Martin Niemoller

02-22-2011, 07:01 PM	#24 (permalink)
Martian Young Crumudgeon Location: Canada	Paying for an antivirus for personal use is stupid, these days. When I'm on Windows (such as right now) I use avast. AVG has gone downhill in the three years between my last post and this one. I keep toying with the idea of installing that whatever-it's-called one built on ClamAV, but I just haven't overcome my laziness yet. Of course, the best way to protect yourself is Don't Be An Idiot, but y'know, it's generally better to have antivirus protection anyway. The resource use is so minimal on a modern PC that so long as you're using decent software the impact is negligible -- if your PC was built within the last 4 years or so you're probably not going to notice a difference in performance with avast running. __________________ I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

02-24-2011, 02:44 AM	#25 (permalink)
Bonkai Tilted Location: Houston,Tx	If you have a Windows system i would highly suggest using Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free, plus it's one of the best virus defenses out there.

02-24-2011, 11:21 AM	#27 (permalink)
bum4evr Upright	I use AVG free and Malwarebytes which is also free. And you need a good firewall to make sure only the programs you want to connect to the net are allowed to. If a virus does get on my system and tries to send info to the internet I will get a pop-up that says " Dblock827.exe is trying to access the internet: Allow/Deny" And for that I use Zonealarm free version.