vanbells
Pookieboo!!!
HAHAAHAHAHAHAHA at number 5!!!!
Geek Squad Sucks!
- Thread starter IMNEMT-B
- Start date
HAHAAHAHAHAHAHA at number 5!!!!
R
RadioPatrol
Guest
Spy Bot and Adware ........ you get what you pay for ...... nothing
Check PC Mag, ZDNet, C/Net .... for reviews of Spyware Software and make your own educated choices ........
I personally have used Counter Spy from Sunbelt Software for 4 yrs now ..... WebRoot Spy Sweeper used to be a good product .... but seems to slow down my system when testing the latest
I have used Symantec Corp for Anti Virus - that is not the Norton for Consumers .... also I know people that have had good luck with AVG Free ......... most of the major Anti Virus Vendors have major bloat ware these days ........
Norton, McAffee,
sometimes it is a combo of a Virus and Spyware / Malware ......... i have spent 2-6 hrs before cleaning off stuff .... depending on what was infecting the system .... sometimes it is cheaper to just copy data / docs to removable drive and insert recovery CD and Start over ......... should take about 3 hrs to install, and download the 90+ security patches since SP2 came out
and FYI - using FireFox as a web browser is a good Idea with the NoScript add on .....
check out this security scanner:
Software Inspector - Secunia
https://psi.secunia.com/
Check PC Mag, ZDNet, C/Net .... for reviews of Spyware Software and make your own educated choices ........
I personally have used Counter Spy from Sunbelt Software for 4 yrs now ..... WebRoot Spy Sweeper used to be a good product .... but seems to slow down my system when testing the latest
I have used Symantec Corp for Anti Virus - that is not the Norton for Consumers .... also I know people that have had good luck with AVG Free ......... most of the major Anti Virus Vendors have major bloat ware these days ........
Norton, McAffee,
sometimes it is a combo of a Virus and Spyware / Malware ......... i have spent 2-6 hrs before cleaning off stuff .... depending on what was infecting the system .... sometimes it is cheaper to just copy data / docs to removable drive and insert recovery CD and Start over ......... should take about 3 hrs to install, and download the 90+ security patches since SP2 came out
and FYI - using FireFox as a web browser is a good Idea with the NoScript add on .....
check out this security scanner:
Software Inspector - Secunia
https://psi.secunia.com/
ReploidGodX
Reploid God Known as X
The_Twisted_Ear
A proud Conservative!
Great links! I ran Secunia and got it down to 97% secure and still working!
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Mousebaby
Guest
All 3 of my PC's had big time problems but are now at 100%! Thanks! 
I'm still a pretty big fan of Adaware and Spybot: Search and Destory even if most malware is becoming better at getting around them. I typically use A-Squared along side them which started off as a trojan detector and has been making in roads with malware. I'm also a big fan of Spybot's TeaTimer program though those that actually need it will just find it annoying. You just have to always realize that 1 tool is not enough to get everything.
After my days in IMD years ago I wouldn't touch McAfee. Norton is also garbage though I will give a small thumb up to Symantec Corporate Edition. Though most will hold up the free stuff as the golden wand I've found that most people that even know about AVAST and the like are a bit more informed and careful about what they do with their machines. For paid for Antivirus I personally rank NOD32 or Kaspersky as the best of the ilk and they typically are tops in most AV roundups. Like most things dealing with software the players will bounce around each other from version to version though.
Firefox is a good alternative to Internet Explorer but even Firefox has its issues on its own. Mainly Firefox has a pretty poor javascript implementation which has been exploited in the past. Thankfully Firefox is pretty easy to add too so people have come up with addons such as NoScript and Flashblock which work quite well to protect the browser. Though NoScript can and does break a number of websites and so it falls prey to people just whiteboarding everything which defeats the purpose of even running it if you don't pay attention.
So enough babbling typically how I fix malware problems:
1. Boot into Safemode or use msconfig
2. Adaware
3. Spybot
4. A-Squared
5. HiJackThis
The last one I would caution on someone that isn't familiar with the registry and what the various keys do from using. My biggest gains with getting rid of malware is with HiJackThis but you have to know what your doing to use it since it doesn't do anything for you automatically. I've also had to use LSPFix a number of times for the more advanced malware however that's another tool that could really mess up your machine if used incorrectly.
However all of the above should be unnecessary if some common sense is used for your computer usage. Though Xaquin44 number 5 point was half a joke there is truth in the point. Online flash/Java game sites, porn, warez, get rich quick sites, etc should be avoided though I know a lot of people that love their pop-cap games or PoGo so you have to decided what is appropriate risk.
After my days in IMD years ago I wouldn't touch McAfee. Norton is also garbage though I will give a small thumb up to Symantec Corporate Edition. Though most will hold up the free stuff as the golden wand I've found that most people that even know about AVAST and the like are a bit more informed and careful about what they do with their machines. For paid for Antivirus I personally rank NOD32 or Kaspersky as the best of the ilk and they typically are tops in most AV roundups. Like most things dealing with software the players will bounce around each other from version to version though.
Firefox is a good alternative to Internet Explorer but even Firefox has its issues on its own. Mainly Firefox has a pretty poor javascript implementation which has been exploited in the past. Thankfully Firefox is pretty easy to add too so people have come up with addons such as NoScript and Flashblock which work quite well to protect the browser. Though NoScript can and does break a number of websites and so it falls prey to people just whiteboarding everything which defeats the purpose of even running it if you don't pay attention.
So enough babbling typically how I fix malware problems:
1. Boot into Safemode or use msconfig
2. Adaware
3. Spybot
4. A-Squared
5. HiJackThis
The last one I would caution on someone that isn't familiar with the registry and what the various keys do from using. My biggest gains with getting rid of malware is with HiJackThis but you have to know what your doing to use it since it doesn't do anything for you automatically. I've also had to use LSPFix a number of times for the more advanced malware however that's another tool that could really mess up your machine if used incorrectly.
However all of the above should be unnecessary if some common sense is used for your computer usage. Though Xaquin44 number 5 point was half a joke there is truth in the point. Online flash/Java game sites, porn, warez, get rich quick sites, etc should be avoided though I know a lot of people that love their pop-cap games or PoGo so you have to decided what is appropriate risk.
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wkndbeacher
Guest
Sounds like Geek, needs to fire her Squad 
LordStanley
I know nothing
If you knew anything about computers, you would have never taken the risk to have geek squad come out and fix your PC.
So if you are computer illiterate, the best course of action is to forget what everyone posted in your thread, find a friend that knows how to fix your problems and have them do it.
Most friends will fix anything for a case of beer
Spyware/Adware/Viruses/Rootkits are not easily removed by the basic computer user.
In all honesty--- BAck up your stuff, or have someone do it for you. (pictures, music, documents....) And start with a clean install of everything.
If you bought a Dell, you should have a bunch of CD's that came with the system. You can use those to restore your machine like it just came back from the Factory...
Then learn how to Set up different user profiles for your kids, and lock down the permissions so they cant download and install crap!!!!
A pain in the a$$, but its the fastest and cheapest way to get your PC back online
H
HouseCat
Guest
Good advice. Separate profiles for EVERY user in your house... password protected. YOU have admin rights, and put strict, parental controls on all their profiles.
My computer has been virus/problem free for 2 years now thanks to that.
My computer has been virus/problem free for 2 years now thanks to that.
awpitt
Main Streeter
This is the best advise posted so far. I keep all my data sperate from the program and OS. About once a year I wipe my HD and restore from the factory CDs. I do this both for my HP and my Dell. I also, use Symantec EndPoint which does AV and Firewall functions. Check with your employer to see if their enterprise anti-virus software license covers client licenses for employee home use. Any of them that are worth anything will. Also, there are decent freebees out there but don't forget that you get what you pay for. I've been playing on the Internet since 1994 and have never experienced a virus or spyware or any of that other stuff we always here about.
basher
LEET
does anyone use Windows Live Onecare? It seems to work pretty good for me without any problems, especially on my Vista PC. I had used Norton and McAfee for years, but it slowed the crap out of my PC. I know it's a Windows product, but it's simple and I like it so far. The latest update allowed me to share our USB printers between PCs, like they were network printers.
It does pretty badly in AV roundups. Being a generation 1 product from Microsoft it has a lot of ground to make up compared to the major players. However with most things from Microsoft I expect it to make gains at a decently fast pace. They have made some in roads since buying a single license allows you to install it on 3 different computers legitimately.
