Guide T2W - Security and Virus Information

[jonnyy40]

Anyone tried McAfee anti-spyware?I'm more likely to buy a product from a name I recognize and just wondered if anyone had tried it already?

 

[oatman]

Always used to take a lot of resources and not highly recommended.Try it and see Let us know.

 

[breadman]

Sounds like good stuff.
WinPatrol is a useful free tool that operates slightly differently from the rest of the bunch. The paid version has only a one-off fee as well.
http://www.winpatrol.com/

Oatman,

How does Winpatrol work, once you have loaded it it says runs when you start up windows. How do you know its working.

Thanks,

Breadman

 

[oatman]

It continually scans your setup for unusual changes.It will alert you and ask if you want to allow
something new to run.

" WinPatrol uses a heuristic approach to detecting attacks and violations of your computing environment. Traditional security programs scan your hard drive searching for previously identified threats. WinPatrol takes snapshot of your critical system resources and alerts you to any changes that may occur without your knowledge. You'll be removing dangerous new programs while others download new reference files."
http://www.winpatrol.com/

 

[rossored]

Right, finally got round to doing a bit of tidying up on this thread ,so some of you regular Techy posters might notice that your post counts have dropped at bit (T333, Oaty etc - and me!).

If I've got rid of any posts that you distinctly remember as being incredibly useful, then let me know and I'll restore them, but the page count has now been cut by over 50% from 15 to 7 pages, so it should be easier to read and find what you're after.

 

[breadman]

Sygate Firewall

If you install a Sygate firewall should it produce a icon on your desktop.

Thanks,

Breadman

 

[dada2826]

is AntiVir (the free version) still as good as it used to be? i have heard reports that the new version has a horrible repetitive 'nag' screen and that the updates are no longer automatic. is this true? or would i be better of with the free version of avg? would appreciate people's views

 

[peto]

Avast! (free version) does it for me. No nag screens at all, automatic updates, etc etc

 

[rossored]

Agreed, Avast! is pretty good.

I actually use NOD32 these days, which is a pay subscription but only £23/year. It uses hardly any resources, runs a FULL scan in 5-10 minutes on my machine (Athlon XP3200+, 1GB RAM, 160GB SATA), costs less than Norton etc which I hate anyway, and has never missed a Virus in 7 years (unlike every other AV solution on the market).

 

[oatman]

AntiVir is still excellent and updates at least once a day automatically as soon as you go online. I think you can get your firewall to block the nag screen. I'll try and find out what to do.

 

[dada2826]

AntiVir is still excellent and updates at least once a day automatically as soon as you go online. I think you can get your firewall to block the nag screen. I'll try and find out what to do.

thanks oatman. verk kind of you

 

[oatman]

I Googled your question and there seems to be a few suggestions but I haven't tried them. I've set Kerio to "Ask" and rebooted but it's not showing as my definitons are up to date... I think.
Will let you know......

 

[Trdr]

I'm using the free AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic and won't allow it to auto-update — that drove me crazy with McAfee and is why I dumped that one — click on Scheduler and either check Activated or not.
I update once a week which I find sufficient, allow AV to be 'Activate' but deActivate when using broker/datafeed programs.

A reminder that http://www.majorgeeks.com/ is a good source of free/pay programs as well as having a 'virus' Help forum and see also: http://castlecops.com/

 

[oatman]

Trouble is that it updates at least once a day. I've set Kerio to "Deny" now and I'm waiting. I'd have dumped McAfee.
For troublesome viruses, tests or any pc problems or advice: PC Pitstop http://pcpitstop.com/

 

[dada2826]

i now have the free version of avg installed. hope it lives up to its expectations

 

[oatman]

AVG is OK but I've seen a number of complaints that it can find a virus etc but can't clean/repair.
The firewall won't block the nag screen as they put out a new one.
If you Google it there are a few answers. It's under discussion on their forum. http://forum.antivir-pe.de/thread.php?threadid=6411
I'm testing Nag Screen Killer http://www.lual.at/nagkiller/scr.html

 

[dada2826]

thanks for those links. so far, avg is updating ok

 

[Vaco]

If youve got a virus and your using avg u need to disable system restore before you try to remove the virus as avg cant alter anythhing stored in that folder when its turned on.

 

[roguetrader]

If you install a Sygate firewall should it produce a icon on your desktop.

Thanks,

Breadman

Yes, it's the fourth from the right

Ooops sorry may have misunderstood your post, in which case the answer would be no, I have installed on a few computers and never had a desktop icon just the systray one you see below

 

[roguetrader]

I use both AVG and avast! on different computers and have no complaints with either, I also get a periodic second opinion from Kaspersky, and TrendMicro online.....damn I'm paranoid