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Thread: Malware issues

  1. #1
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    Malware issues

    My friend keeps getting malware attacks. He has used MalwareBytes but obviously you have to pay for that if you want always on protection. Is there an alternative program that is free and runs in the background? Many thanks

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    mutantbass head Lee H's Avatar
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    Re: Malware issues

    spybot is highly recommended.

    Other than that I would advise on some security software which detects malware to stop malware from getting onto the PC.

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    Re: Malware issues

    Quote Originally Posted by Lee @ SCAN View Post
    spybot

    Other than that I would advise on some security software which detects malware to stop malware from getting onto the PC.
    Any particular one?

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    Common Sense Advocate Rabs's Avatar
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    Re: Malware issues

    General advice, dont use IE as much as possible - use Firefox, Chrome or Opera

    Make sure he has a good antivirus to complement Malwarebytes, something like AVG, Avast or Microsoft Security Essentials if you want a free one

    Theres a lot of scareware ad's these days on various websites, tell him not to click on any of these if its not the actual antivirus flagging up anything, just close the ad and/or the browser.

    Oh and uninstall Limewire/bearshare and other related P2P pants programs - utorrent however is safe depending on what trackers you use.

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    Senior Member watercooled's Avatar
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    Re: Malware issues

    As above but I personally don't recommend AVG any more because of how many PCs running it I've seen full of malware without it detecting anything. Paid for, Kaspersky and ESET are about the best there is but no AV is a substitute for common sense - even with the best AV people still manage to get malware and since you say your friend is always getting it I think being more careful what he clicks would be far more effective than any AV. Don't think of AV as something that protects your computer against everything - think of it as a last defence incase something slips your notice, most of the time malware doesn't just appear (with the exception of some network worms for example which can spread to unprotected PCs connected without a router/firewall to the Internet) on your PC and neither is the system being directly targeted, it's something the user has done/downloaded that's got the machine infected whether it's through a dodgy download or a website with some scripting that exploits security holes so it's also incredibly important to keep Windows, the browser, Flash, etc updated to patch the holes.

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    Common Sense Advocate Rabs's Avatar
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    Re: Malware issues

    Quote Originally Posted by watercooled View Post
    ...but no AV is a substitute for common sense...
    This, however the average person doesnt think before clicking...

    An alternate browser on top of some AV software is still a good prevention of exploits/bad active x apps etc

  7. #7
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    Re: Malware issues

    Has he considered running his browser as a restricted user?

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    Re: Malware issues

    Quote Originally Posted by Splash View Post
    Has he considered running his browser as a restricted user?
    How does he do that, thanks.

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    Senior Member watercooled's Avatar
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    Re: Malware issues

    Which OS is he using?

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    Re: Malware issues

    gmer http://www.gmer.net/
    autoruns http://live.sysinternals.com/autoruns.exe (tick "hide microsoft and windows entires" and "verify code signatures")
    process explorer http://live.sysinternals.com/procexp.exe
    rootalyzer http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=27368
    rootrepeal http://rootrepeal.googlepages.com/
    hijackthis http://free.antivirus.com/hijackthis/
    serviwin http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/serviwin.html
    smsniff to look for unusual data being transferred http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/smsniff.html

    +manual looking in windows\system32, windows\system32\drivers, %temp%, windows\temp etc.

    That's all for cleaning up, though. In terms of constant protection & automatic updates, Malwarebytes is very cheap and the license is *forever*, not annual. I bought two, and I'm a f*cking cheapskate.

    Microsoft Security Essentials AV is the one I recommend to friends & family. 99% of people on the Ars Technica forums recommends the same.

    However, anti-virus applications are a bit like catching people breaking into your car: most of the time you'll only know it's been broken into after the fact, and you'll still end up with a knackered car. Hence, invest in a flamethrower: use Firefox with NoScript.

  11. #11
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    Re: Malware issues

    Nice list but well out of scope for the average user :/

  12. #12
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    Re: Malware issues

    I'd probably recommend MS Security Essentials + Spybot S&D for free resident protection.

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    Re: Malware issues

    Does Spybot work in the background or do you have to perform regular scans?

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    Re: Malware issues

    Spybot does have resident protection as well as providing a nice blacklist for suspected nasties (immunization). Quite effective but not infallible, obviously.

    That and MSSE will keep most harmful stuff at bay. Would also suggest keeping Malwarebytes installed also and updating & scanning fully with that on a weekly basis, if this guy is that bad at the common sense thing
    Moo.

  15. #15
    jim
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    Re: Malware issues

    Quote Originally Posted by lazer View Post
    Does Spybot work in the background or do you have to perform regular scans?
    That's why I mentioned it - it works in the background - although it's obviously worthwhile doing regular scans in addition. Mind you, I'd use MalwareBytes for the occasional scans rather than Spybot.

  16. #16
    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
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    Re: Malware issues

    MSE works in the background to block malware so that'd be my recommendation.

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