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Anti Virus needed

kmilburn
Grafter
Posts: 911
Thanks: 6
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Anti Virus needed

I've recently had a virus problem on my system at work,  Security essentials missed everything along with Spybot (2.4).  Malware Bytes found two files (lurking in C:\ProgramData\Windows Genuine Advantage). As I was still concerned about another file (also hiding in C:\ProgramData, with a somewhat random name), I installed avast and it indicated that the suspicious file was also malware!
My current concern is that I've got no idea how the virus managed to get on my system,  the malware files turned up at 21:58, 3 hours after I leave work,  coincidently a couple of hous before my machine collected the latest Windows updates.  It turn out it was the malware that broke flash, not the widows update as I assumed.
Also, the malware managed to inject alternative HTML into the Bank login page (for Halifax) in Firefox, which happened in such away that  everything else looked fine (security cert, etc), and it still sent the right information to allow the login to work. What probably saved me from any problems was No Script and or Ghostery which prevented the subsequent actions from working (extra tip, if the bank site lets you in, but says actions are suspened until an erroneous transfer is reversed by you (and a chat window will appear in a couple of seconds), you've almost certainly been got!).
I'm seriously considering switching my Work enviorment to Linux  (OpenSuSE),  or using a Live CD in a VM.
atbs1
Grafter
Posts: 307
Registered: ‎14-04-2007

Re: Anti Virus needed

We use Avast (free) on both of our Pc's - it's rather good actually.
NedLudd
Grafter
Posts: 1,898
Thanks: 8
Registered: ‎20-10-2012

Re: Anti Virus needed

Norton user here!  Each year, I always buy this years version after next year's has been released. Only need the licence details. This way I get another year for 3 machines for less than £15!
MSE is very poor. That may be okay if you know what you are doing but could be worse than useless if you're a novice.
Computer active recently did a road test on AV software and MSE came 10th out of 10!
Geoff,
York.
AlaricAdair
Champion
Posts: 5,658
Thanks: 647
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎21-03-2011

Re: Anti Virus needed

Quote from: kmilburn

My current concern is that I've got no idea how the virus managed to get on my system,  the malware files turned up at 21:58, 3 hours after I leave work,

It's worth using paid for Anti-virus software. I buy a multi-machine licence for Kaspersky and make sure auto-updates are working. The remedial cost after a malware infection can far exceed the "savings" on free anti-virus software. I also use  Malwarebytes continuously running on the machines to sweep up the types of things that pure anti-virus software misses.
It is possible to gain exposure to malware simply by browsing an infected website. The file creation/update time can be misleading as some malware waits for a quiet period before downloading its full payload. The files timestamp is not immune to alteration.
Now Zen, but a +Net residue.
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: Anti Virus needed

I buy it from Amazon when there is a good offer
Present is a 5 machine license for about £25
rongtw
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 6,973
Thanks: 1,541
Fixes: 12
Registered: ‎01-12-2010

Re: Anti Virus needed

Even with paid for Anti Virus you cannot be sure you WILL not get infected !!
It should be no revelation, but the software companies proclaiming themselves as security guardians of your PC have the same agenda as the people making malware: to make money.
Asus ROG Hero Vii Z97 , Intel i5 4690k ,ROG Asus Strix 1070,
samsung 850evo 250gig , WD black 2 TB . Asus Phoebus sound ,
16 gig Avexir ram 2400 , water cooling Corsair H100i gtx ,
Corsair 750HXI Psu , Phanteks Enthoo pro case .
AlaricAdair
Champion
Posts: 5,658
Thanks: 647
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎21-03-2011

Re: Anti Virus needed

Which why I use two layers of protection at the desktop PC. If there's say a one percent chance of something getting through the first layer, the second barrier would prevent 99% of the 1% getting through. I know the maths is more complex than that, but you can see the general principle.
Now Zen, but a +Net residue.
rongtw
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 6,973
Thanks: 1,541
Fixes: 12
Registered: ‎01-12-2010

Re: Anti Virus needed

Install AVG, McAfee, and Malware Bytes and you computer will run 50% less Tongue
The best way to protect you self is using BRAIN !
Asus ROG Hero Vii Z97 , Intel i5 4690k ,ROG Asus Strix 1070,
samsung 850evo 250gig , WD black 2 TB . Asus Phoebus sound ,
16 gig Avexir ram 2400 , water cooling Corsair H100i gtx ,
Corsair 750HXI Psu , Phanteks Enthoo pro case .
sjptd
Grafter
Posts: 494
Thanks: 4
Registered: ‎01-09-2014

Re: Anti Virus needed

Generally two av packages installed at once will give big performance issues.  Malware Bytes is somewhat of an exception and mainly searches for different things (especially unwanted toolbars and search manipulation), and I believe that it does not conflict with other AVs in performance.  I can't completely confirm that as I only run Malwarebytes as a periodic batch process; I haven't tried the full realtime version.
General reviews put the best free AVs up there with the best paid for on the 'pure' av front, but the paid for ones often have extra features you may or may not need.
shylok
Rising Star
Posts: 252
Thanks: 23
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎29-11-2014

Re: Anti Virus needed

According to reviews Avast detects far more threats than AVG which i used but now im with MSE which you need to keep updated regularly to be effective, its very light on resources, so long as you use some caution & common sense before installing EXE files / downloading attachments, etc, then you should be ok, Malwarebytes i also use however the online real time scanner (paid for / trial) turns up too many false positives & is a right pain, CCleaner is good for cleaning registry / cache history, REVO uninstaller to remove all traces of software, however for rogue trojans / viruses installed i go thru the Reg Editor & manually delete the junk myself to be sure
rongtw
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 6,973
Thanks: 1,541
Fixes: 12
Registered: ‎01-12-2010

Re: Anti Virus needed

@shylok ,  thats exactly the same system i use  Wink
but i also check with Sysinternals , autoruns & explorer
Asus ROG Hero Vii Z97 , Intel i5 4690k ,ROG Asus Strix 1070,
samsung 850evo 250gig , WD black 2 TB . Asus Phoebus sound ,
16 gig Avexir ram 2400 , water cooling Corsair H100i gtx ,
Corsair 750HXI Psu , Phanteks Enthoo pro case .
Anotherone
Champion
Posts: 19,107
Thanks: 457
Fixes: 21
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Anti Virus needed

Quote from: rongtw
The best way to protect you self is using BRAIN !

Grin That is also an important AV tool as well
However to add my tuppence, I would no longer recommend AVG, apart from bloatware and limited options now applied to the free version, I discovered it has memory leakage at the end of an update and I don't appreciate 150-200MB being wasted on my slower machine. In the past, I've had no issues with Avast which I'll try on my machines again.
I tend to do similar things to shylok and rongtw as well.
@kmilburn
Thanks for the info on that particular nasty banking malware.
Petard
Rising Star
Posts: 140
Thanks: 23
Registered: ‎22-08-2011

Re: Anti Virus needed

I run MSE, this thread set me wondering how good it is, and so I took advantage of a trip to the library this morning to look at Which? online. For what it's worth, MSE scores 80% in their table, comes third, and detected all the malware in their test.
So I'm reassured – I think – until the PC catches a virus, that is. MSE is free, and not annoying in the way some paid-for suites can be (resource use, importunate messages, etc.).
artmo
Aspiring Champion
Posts: 19,524
Thanks: 421
Registered: ‎12-08-2007

Re: Anti Virus needed

What were 1st and 2nd in the list Undecided
Petard
Rising Star
Posts: 140
Thanks: 23
Registered: ‎22-08-2011

Re: Anti Virus needed

I can no longer remember. Sorry about that. I wasn't thinking about posting here at the time, so didn't take notes, went on to look at travel insurance, and that's overwritten the memory.