Comments on: VIRUS WARS I

By: design

design — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:15:03 +0000

Great article, thanks for the shout.

By: dark41

dark41 — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:37:31 +0000

Right Chris. And no single scanner finds everything. A person needs to run several AV programs (which all of them recommend you don't) to find everything that can latch onto a computer.

EG: I recently scanned/cleaned a system with AVG 8, SuperAntiSpyware, CounterSpy 3, Vundo Cleaner, ESET Nod32, and a few other tools. Found and cleaned 55 apps and 170 traces. The system looked pretty clean afterward. However a quick read of hijack-this showed several problems still present.

I guess the only way to really be sure you're safe is to shut the computer off.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:35:10 +0000

And therin (above) lies a problem that adds to the confusion….Legacy or old malware that sits on a PC for months, maybe years, then suddenly surfaces – User blames a much more recent download that may have nothing to do with the infection – Confusion reigns!!!!

By: shogan

shogan — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:53:21 +0000

Alan Cowley

The Win95 Bumblebee is an old virus dating to 1999 and is not seen much anymore. If you have not disabled your antivirus software as instructed some AVs may mistakenly identify the ActiveX download needed for the scan as a virus. If you have software finding the Win95 Bumblebee virus then it most likely came in quite a while back. As far as I know Panda, which is who we use for our online scan, is one of the few programs that will identify Bumblebee.

By: Ronald McDonald

Ronald McDonald — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:18:56 +0000

I have been using computers since the early 90's two of my faverts are old P-2 laptops one with 64k ram one with 96k never had an AV on either of them use them to read the news check my mail all safe sights. My current desktop a media center edition 2005 have had several paid AV programs on got infected. Use free AV now get infected once in awhile I don't always use safe sights on this one.Have to reinstall windows every 8-10 months. Most of the time it is my own fault.

By: BernM

BernM — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:14:11 +0000

I continue to believe that one of the best protections you can have for your PC is Email Remover. I am now using version 2.4.
This little gem allows you to look at your emails while they are still out on the server, and delete any that you do not want downloaded to your PC.
You can see who the sender is, the size, and the 1st 100 lines (if you choose). You can delete any that are suspicious, too large to download, or for any reason whatsoever.

By: Frank

Frank — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:26:28 +0000

It's true that no system is safe from malware, since every AV\Malware\Spyware software producer would need to be psychic in order to know what's being invented next or what has already been invented and just hasn't been discovered yet. Anyone who believes they are completely safe is only fooling themselves and if it makes them feel good to do so, then I hope they enjoy it.

There are likely a number of these evangelized freeware programs out there being offered by the very entities who create the malware\spyware their programs remove and I don't care what the article above says. All of that work producing and updating these programs to just give them away for free is questionable. Don't those people have jobs and make a living like everyone else or are they getting paid to create malware\spyware and in many cases simply rename and recycle their creations.

Even new legally purchased DVDs, Audio CDs and computer games can pollute your system with all sorts of junk these days.

By: Lamaan Whyte

Lamaan Whyte — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 07:08:04 +0000

Doug Woodall says that, "The casual user will not be able to stop their system from becoming vulnerable". He is right. There is, however, a difference between 'vulnerable' and 'infected'. My experience suggests that the casual user can use the Internet with a very high level of safely, in the same way that a modestly careful driver can use the roads without getting killed. My evidence? I am responsible for security at a computer club. We have five computers, used by many people (including many total novices) all day, plus we help look after the computers of many dozens of our members. Our security regime involves the usual range of mostly free AV, AS and firewall programs, plus locked-down user accounts (e.g. Limited in XP), all updated weekly. During the five years I have been personally involved here, we have had zero major infestations, plus perhaps a dozen or two serious single-item infestations (which were very quickly caught and removed). We have also, in this five year period and over many dozens of machines, had a couple of handful mysterious problems which have caused machines to play up sufficiently to require software reinstallation (though without being ever able to prove that malware was the cause of the problem). The only thing we have had lots of were tracking cookies and similar low-level threats. Accordingly, I conclude that computers can be set up so that even a casual user – even a careless casual user – can surf safely. The only proviso is that software has to be kept up-to-date, and scanning done regularly.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 02:32:29 +0000

dark41,

I beg to differ. I don't use any third party garbage on my systems. I know I am safe, and have full confidence in the systems I use. My machines are connected to the Internet 24/7, and I am on line a whole lot. There is no doubt in my mind about the integrity, reliability and security of the machines I have.

Ain't no malware creators getting rich off me

By: dark41

dark41 — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:35:53 +0000

Doug Woodall,

As as system builder/repairer, I think your Granpappy was onto something but I'd take it one step further.

Even the techiest (is that a word? should be) user will not be able to stop their system from being vulnerable. I'm constantly trying new AV/Anti-spyware tools and have yet to find anything that can do it all. I'm also intentionally searching for new malware all the time so that I can fix it when my customers bring their infected systems to me. In fact, there are quite lots of malware surfacing now that no AV can get rid of. So we're back to reformatting to keep our systems clean.

The focus of malware now is more about getting our money and/or identities than destroying our hardware.

Anyone who thinks they've never had malware on their system either doesn't use their system online or has never tested it thoroughly. And anyone who thinks they're smart enough to never get infected is the main reason these malware creators are getting rich.