Anyone an expert on PC viruses?

Discussion in 'Blazers OT Forum' started by AmirIcon, Mar 31, 2015.

  1. JFizzleRaider

    JFizzleRaider Yeast Lords Global Moderator

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    My dad had some shitty Cryptowall 3.0 virus a month ago. Took forever to get rid of it. Usually you can google ways to get rid of certain viruses if they are widespread enough.

    And if you go to the right free porn sites, you won't get viruses or malware. I've been going to xhamster for years and malware or viruses have never popped up.
     
  2. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    How new/beefy is your system? Use it for fun or work?

    If you can't get rid of the virus you should just go with Windows 10 - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preview-iso

    It will be free after the Beta test but I'm hearing that there are very few problems/
     
  3. Wheels

    Wheels Is That A Challenge?!?!1! Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Combofix is what I use if I ever run into nasty viruses
     
  4. AmirIcon

    AmirIcon Well-Known Member

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    Why run as admin? Does that do anything different specifically? Can I install on my computer and run it from there in safe mode?
     
  5. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    Admin gives you the ability to repair all files. That's what you want.
     
  6. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    It gives the virus permission to repllicate itself in all your files, too.
     
  7. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    No it doesn't.
     
  8. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    It's one of the first rules of security. Only run as root/admin as little as possible and only when you really have to.
     
  9. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    On the other hand, he might get rid of the windows 7 virus and end up installing the windows 10 one.

    (windows IS the virus)
     
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  10. AmirIcon

    AmirIcon Well-Known Member

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    Guys, I think I made it. I noticed when I locked my computer last night it installed a bunch of garbage when I was sleeping. Tonight will be the test to see if that happens again. So far so good though. Used a combo of Avast, Regsupreme and Malwarebytes. Will report tomorrow when I know more. Thanks!
     
  11. MarAzul

    MarAzul LongShip

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    WTF? And Software that runs on Windows?
    Damn! I can hear now. Don't run it.
     
  12. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    The thing you should be asking is what the virus was trying to do. Do you have any private information on your computer? SS#? Tax returns? CC #s?
     
  13. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    Windows has infected 80% of the computers out there.

    The advanced form of the virus is windows 8.1, which has only infected 10% of the computers.
     
  14. AmirIcon

    AmirIcon Well-Known Member

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    Not really. It still looks good this morning which is a huge surprise. I think it really worked. Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Much preferred that to restoring the PC and having to start from scratch.
     
  15. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    Hitman Pro (free for 30 days, uses the cloud) finds a lot more than the paid Malwarebytes (free for 30 days, then they download the weaker free version).

    Since the start of 2015, I've had all 3, at different times.
     
  16. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    Here is my condensation of this excellent article.
    http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/microsofts-six-free-desktop-security-tools/

    Microsoft offers 4 free, downloadable tools. In order of toughness:
    Malicious Software Removal Tool
    Defender/Microsoft Security Essentials
    Microsoft Safety Scanner
    Windows Defender Offline

    At one end of the spectrum is a simple, lightweight utility — the Malicious Software Removal Tool — that protects against the most common malware. At the other end of the spectrum is a heavy-duty scan — Windows Defender Offline — that operates from its own bootable medium.

    Microsoft divides malware into two broad loosely defined terms: malicious software and potentially unwanted software. The first category covers self-replicating Trojans, viruses, worms that infect your PC and then seek to infect other PCs. The second category — potentially unwanted software — includes spyware that surreptitiously tracks you, keyloggers that capture everything you type, and adware that force-feeds you popup ads.

    These two categories aren’t mutually exclusive. some potentially unwanted spyware is also self-propagating, like a virus. Microsoft sometimes uses the terms interchangeably.

    The Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool

    MSRT automatically removes malicious software (viruses, worms, etc.) that is especially prevalent. about 200 malware types. Windows Update automatically refreshes MSRT once a month (it’s always KB 890830), usually on the second Tuesday (aka Patch Tuesday). After updating, MSRT automatically runs, scanning your PC once and removing infections. One scan a month isn’t especially good malware protection, but you can run MSRT manually. Simply enter mrt.exe in Win8’s Search window. If you want or need a fresh copy of MSRT, it’s available via download

    MSRT is a strictly post-infection tool. It detects and removes malicious software from already-infected computers — and only if the malware is active and running at the time of the scan. But as MSRT Support article 890830 clearly states, the list of malware it detects represents only “a small subset of all the malicious software.” MSRT can’t prevent new malware infections. It also doesn’t target potentially unwanted software (again: spyware, adware, etc.). it’s an incomplete anti-malware solution.

    Windows Defender (XP, Vista, Win7 version)

    for potentially unwanted software. always-on, real-time protection against spyware, adware, keyloggers. It self-updates and runs automatically. When it detects potentially unwanted software, it opens a dialog box and lets you decide whether to proceed with the installation. Defender doesn’t detect or remove viruses, worms, and similar malicious software. Defender complements Malicious Software Removal Tool. like MSRT, it’s better than nothing. Together, MSRT and Defender are a last line of defense — helpful if no other anti-malware tools are active. superior tools are readily available (see next sections).

    Microsoft Security Essentials

    It targets both types of malware — malicious software and potentially unwanted software. MSE provides always-on, real-time protection.

    Windows 8 Defender

    Microsoft has a history of confusing product names. In this case, the Win8 version of Defender is nothing like the original Defender for XP, Vista, and Win7. It is, in fact, a renamed version of Microsoft Security Essentials. Defender is virtually identical to MSE in both appearance and function. Despite its name, Win8's built-in Defender is really just a renamed Microsoft Security Essentials. Unlike MSE, Win8 Defender is built into the OS — so there’s nothing to download or install. Win8 Defender is really a rebranded version of MSE

    Two special-purpose cleanup tools

    It’s good practice to verify that Windows is truly free of malware — even if your full-time scanner appears to be working — by periodically running an AV tool that operates on its own. Microsoft offers two such cleanup/verification tools.

    Microsoft Safety Scanner is simple to use. active only when running a system scan. (It’s not constantly on in the background.) That lets it coexist peacefully with whatever full-time anti-malware software you’re using.

    Windows Defender Offline is harder to use, but it detects malware hidden at the deepest levels of your system. Microsoft’s most powerful anti-malware tool for consumers. It’s a self-contained utility that operates completely outside Windows. After you’ve downloaded and launched WDO, it steps you through the process of creating bootable media (CD, DVD, flash drive, etc.). You then restart the PC with the bootable disc/drive.

    Because WDO is both operating system and AV scanner, neither the Windows on the system hard drive nor any other software is active. the hard drive is inert. Because it’s standalone, WDO can’t conflict with other security tools you normally use. WDO looks and functions almost exactly like Microsoft Security Essentials or the Win8 version of Windows Defender.

    A weakness is the task of creating the WDO media. If your computer is having difficulty running because of an infection, you’ll need either a second, working computer to build the WDO media or you’ll need to have media you created before the infection (which might not have the latest virus signatures). If you have only one PC, put the latest version of WDO on a flash drive once a month or so.
     
  17. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    Those obviously don't work because you're still here.
     
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  18. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    Anyone who disses intelligence agencies had better have the best cheapo protection. Oh, who am I fooling. They know every site I go to. Here's a Communist article I read this morning. No hiding it. I've been a news addict since about 1960. I read a lot of stuff.

    http://www.workers.org/articles/2015/01/13/phil-africa-presente/

    I don't think they'll kill me for what I read, but you never know.
     
  19. MarAzul

    MarAzul LongShip

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    I have very little trouble anymore and I still use XP. XP because of several programs that have yet to work on 7 or 8. and several more that probably never will since the guys that wrote them are no longer with us. That's thing about MS that pisses me off. You not only can't count on software being compatible from one release to the next. perhaps not the hardware either.

    I tried one time to up grade my boat computer to Win 7. One day of that, was enough, none of my serial ports were usable, which means no input to the computer from any instrument or control of any device, autopilot, radio. I think it is an XP system for the life of the boat. When I did upgrade the hardware to get lower power usage, I stayed with the Ivybridge since I can not go to Haswell without Win 7 or 8. So be it, XP does what I need and the Haswell processors are not much different anyway.
     
  20. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    What's a serial port? Computers haven't had those since the 1990s.
     

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