Malware, Adware and Spyware

[MissInformation]

I have been having one #@&*% of a time with adware and spyware. I get pop-up ads without even having a browser window open! So I am now running AVG Antivirus, Spybot, Ad-aware and Stinger. I'm probably going to add Zone Alarm, and have seriously been thinking of going to Mozilla for my browsing needs... By the time I finish, I'm going to have a safe computer, but no memory left for anything else! It kind of makes me dream of doing evil, evil things to the people who create adware and such...

Heidi

<=========>
Evil, I tell you!

[ebmonon36]

I have Ad-aware, XP firewall, Google toolbar, Hijackthis, and have pondered installing ZoneAlarm, and when at home, dial-up so im not online that much.
Eric

[Jeff Waegelin]

I run Zone Alarm and Norton 2003 all the time, and Ad-Aware and Spybot about once every 2 weeks. My popup blocker is my right index finger

[Ryan M.]

Most of the above, plus, to "keep my computer running well" I use registry cleaners of various sorts. Although, I wouldn't recomend that to anyone who doesn't even know what the registry is...

Or, just go with Linux. You are instantly protected from the most common everythings...

--EDIT--
Oh, yeah. MissInfo. I can't see your computer, but they might be Windows Messenger windows. Try "shoot the messenger." (Put that into Google.) Or, find it under the Windows services and set it to disabled.

[JakeGallagher]

Originally Posted by MissInformation

I have been having one #@&*% of a time with adware and spyware. I get pop-up ads without even having a browser window open! So I am now running AVG Antivirus, Spybot, Ad-aware and Stinger. I'm probably going to add Zone Alarm, and have seriously been thinking of going to Mozilla for my browsing needs... By the time I finish, I'm going to have a safe computer, but no memory left for anything else! It kind of makes me dream of doing evil, evil things to the people who create adware and such...

My advice is to just reformat...my friend had the same problem and no matter what he did, he couldn't get the popups and all that crap off his system.

As for me, I run SpyBot: Search and Destroy on my systems about once a week, and that cleans most of the junk out...But as for anything else, we do Norton Antivirus which will *usually* protect.
*WARNING - Possibly offensive material in the next paragraph*
As for the people who repetitively get things like BonzaiBuddy and xupiter on systems, a lot of times it doesn't really help to preach to them because these are the people who don't know a lot about computers. They might just get another annoying piece of adware stuck on the system at some other point, so we just try to keep them informed on what kind of stuff to download, and what shouldn't be downloaded, as well as what should be avoided at all times.
Does that help any?

[Venkatesh]

Hwello,

On my Windows system (my laptop) I use the IPSec Filters as a sort of makeshift firewall. I use Mozilla Firefox as my web browser. And msconfig is a good friend.

I used to run things far more securely. I had created a separate user account, stripped it of most of its rights, and ran IE under that user's context, using "runas" . But it was unnecessary once I switched to Firefox. I still run my Java interpreter under that secondary username though.

[GregT]

Mozilla Firefox
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

Firefox is, in my opinion, currently the best browser. And it's opensource!
I'm convinced that most problems on a windows computer come from Internet Explorer. I can't think of any good reason to use IE.

Try Firefox.



Other programs I use, all are free:

AVG Antivirus - free for personal use
http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php

AdAware (adware cleaner):
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ (use the free version)
AND/OR
SpyBot S&D:
http://www.safer-networking.org/

SpyBot is probably better.

Zone Alarm (firewall):
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conten...id=zadb_zadown

[aaronbr28040]

I dont remember what site or forums I read it on but just the other day I read where some guy was having to register with his state as a sex offender due to child porn. He swears that he never went to those sites but it was a popup program that continually opened windows while he was browsing that sent him to those sites........It would really suck to have been falsly accussed of something such as this. Remember you are responsible for the content that is on your computer.
-Aaron

[UCGL_Guy]

Another program I use is Startup Mechanic www.startupmechanic.com
You see what starts up when you start your computer and can disable it.
I also subscribe to Fred Langa's langalist newsletter which contains a multitude of gret tips.
Good Hunting
Ken

[Max Lobovsky]

Originally Posted by aaronbr28040

I dont remember what site or forums I read it on but just the other day I read where some guy was having to register with his state as a sex offender due to child porn. He swears that he never went to those sites but it was a popup program that continually opened windows while he was browsing that sent him to those sites........It would really suck to have been falsly accussed of something such as this. Remember you are responsible for the content that is on your computer.
-Aaron

Yeah, thats kinda funny. It was on Slashdot yesterday

[MissInformation]

Originally Posted by aaronbr28040

I dont remember what site or forums I read it on but just the other day I read where some guy was having to register with his state as a sex offender due to child porn. He swears that he never went to those sites but it was a popup program that continually opened windows while he was browsing that sent him to those sites........It would really suck to have been falsely accused of something such as this. Remember you are responsible for the content that is on your computer.
-Aaron

If he could prove he had a virus he probably could beat that rap. Someone infected our work computers with a virus a couple of weeks ago, and I was the first one to notice something was wrong because I'm very aware of oddities involving my computer (computer security is what my computer Guru does for a living). Well, when our computer department finally came to the conclusion that something had indeed slipped past their firewall and virus scanner (and weren't they just eating crow...), they ran the necessary programs to clean my computer up and found lots of porn ads and what not. I was pretty embarrassed and made some comment about them now knowing how I spent my lunchtime, but they quickly reassured me that it was typical with this virus (and later I read about the virus on the Net and they were right).

Thanks Texan and Jake for the tips on "shoot the messenger" and reformatting. I'm also going to try to run some of my scanners in safe mode in case there are "problems" that initiate themselves on start-up. I use the Net a lot, but I rarely download things or register for things, so I'm a bit miffed by all of this.

Heidi

<==========>
yes, I know I actually use words like miffed

[Ryan M.]

Okay. All these people like AVG so much...

If you don't for some reason, I use Avast! Home edition, which is free for personal use, although to get updates you have to register. I've never had a complaint with them yet though. Plus, it comes in several different OS versions.

[Bharat Nain]

If nothing above helps, Backup your data, Re-format. Then, don't put back your data, make sure its virus+ad-ware proof.

The greatest advice I can give: WATCH THE WEBSITES YOU GO TO.

Even what you think is "Safe" websites, might contain the worse ad-wares/spyware. Softwares such as Ad-aware, Spybot, etc. help a lot in cleaning, but sometimes, manual-editing/re-formatting is the only choice. Some get infected so strong, they are literally sending out vital information you and your computer to whoever...

Another great idea is to use Mozilla Firefox or any Mozilla browser. I have read articles of IE containing more than 30 un-fixable holes(by Microsoft) in IE. So basically, Its so easy to hack in thru IE. One famous instance is, remember those things in AIM/AOL Buddy Profiles saying "I can't believe I found your picture here, HAHAHA". That thing installed thru IE without your knowledge. All you did was go to the site and choose a buddy picture.

Also, If you don't use these, disable them: UnPlug 'n Pray and Windows Messaging system. Go to www.grc.com to get softwares to disable them. They will reduce spyware/crapware to a good extent. That site also has other good stuff you might want to look at.

A Firewall of some sort is essencial. If you don't have one, your computer is basically wide open. I personally use ZoneAlarm and it works just fine.

So if you are in a situation where you can't get rid of spyware:
1) Backup Important data
2) Re-Format computer
3) Check backed up data for virus/spyware etc.
4) Get your data back up on your computer(duh)
5) WATCH THE WEBSITES YOU GO TO

Number 5 is the key. Good Luck

[Ashley Weed]

Does a firewall on a router actually put up any substantial form of defense? I run and manage two seperate wireless networks, and I know that it claims "built in firewall", etc. but what is it actually doing inside of there?

[Bharat Nain]

Originally Posted by Ashley Weed

Does a firewall on a router actually put up any substantial form of defense? I run and manage two seperate wireless networks, and I know that it claims "built in firewall", etc. but what is it actually doing inside of there?

A router definately helps in blocking certain viruses and spyware etc. Bascially the built in firewall blocks ports which are normally not used by websites, which therefore stop intrusions. A good firewall should provide a certain amount of software control too. If you have ZoneAlarm, you can set it so it asks you permission for every program that wants to access the internet. When a program which I don't know tries to gain access to the Internet, I block it and get rid of it. You can test your firewall here. www.grc.com is a great resource.

I am not genius in this stuff, but I learnt a lot as time went on just because I needed to protect some of my files and take extreme care of them. In the process I studied quite a bit. Another fact: When Symantec Corp.(Norton AntiVirus) work with viruses, after they test each virus, they re-format their computer, because they don't trust them, not even if its a minor worm. The Internet is wonderful, just use it carefully