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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 39,301
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 39,301 |
Having to work with windows again for a little while. Have AVG free anti virus installed but the machine I am using if FULL of spyware and malware. What is the best free software to get rid of this stuff?
The first time I shot myself in the head...
Meniere's Sucks Big Time!!!
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 30,938
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 30,938 |
The best free solution I've found is the combination of Spybot and Malwarebytes
You didn't use logic or reason to get into this opinion, I cannot use logic or reason to get you out of it.
You cannot over estimate the unimportance of nearly everything. John Maxwell
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 39,301
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 39,301 |
The first time I shot myself in the head...
Meniere's Sucks Big Time!!!
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16,554
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16,554 |
The best free solution I've found is the combination of Spybot and Malwarebytes That is a very good and safe to use combination. Have had one catch something the other missed. Sometimes it helps to run them a second time after clearing the bulk of the trash the first pass.
The key elements in human thinking are not numbers but labels of fuzzy sets. -- L. Zadeh
Which explains a lot.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 39,301
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 39,301 |
Malwarebites removed 269 infected files. Things running a lot better. I sure will be glad to get back to my Linux system! I forgot how good I had it.
The first time I shot myself in the head...
Meniere's Sucks Big Time!!!
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16,554
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16,554 |
Actually I've used the two mostly on other people's machines. I use Zone Alarm anti-virus and run Malwarebytes maybe monthly as part of normal maintenance. It never finds anything. Since malware signatures are known to all, any decent anti-virus suite PROPERLY CONFIGURED AND UPDATED should do the trick. (Default configuration is usually good, if overbearing with some products.)
The key elements in human thinking are not numbers but labels of fuzzy sets. -- L. Zadeh
Which explains a lot.
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,156
Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,156 |
The best free solution I've found is the combination of Spybot and Malwarebytes That is a very good and safe to use combination. Have had one catch something the other missed. Sometimes it helps to run them a second time after clearing the bulk of the trash the first pass. Do you run it off the desktop or in safe mode?
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16,554
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16,554 |
I run it in normal mode. There may be times when you have to run it in safe mode but I've never seen it.
The key elements in human thinking are not numbers but labels of fuzzy sets. -- L. Zadeh
Which explains a lot.
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 7,048
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 7,048 |
If you have Malwarebytes theres really no need for Spybot. Its pretty outdated and inefficient as a scanner. It was good at one point, and was decent competition for the old adaware se. Today its good for one thing, immunization. Spywareblaster does a better job of it though, but doesnt scan at all, just blacklists/blocks.
When I set up a computer it gets MSE, then I install Spyware blaster(manually update it once a month) then Malwarebytes. Always install Malwarebytes last, most times itll block Spywareblaster, Spybot, etc from blacklist/blocking certain holes. And of course, Adblock PLUS with whatever browser the customer uses. No one ever has an issue.
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,052
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,052 |
I haven't used Spybot for a very long time, but it normally found only "cookies" from sites I normally visited, so no issue there, anyway, and serious malware that I knew was hiding somewhere in the system escaped it altogether.
Myron
How many peckers can a Pecker Checker check if a Pecker Checker could check peckers? (stolen from shootinurse)
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 73,096
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 73,096 |
I use AVAST anti virus, updated for 19.95 from the free version no problems and it sometimes updates 2-3 times a day.
George Orwell was a Prophet, not a novelist. Read 1984 and then look around you!
Old cat turd!
"Some men just need killing." ~ Clay Allison.
I am too old to fight but I can still pull a trigger. ~ Me
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 7,048
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 7,048 |
The only thing I dont like about Avast is it gives off more false positives than average. It does offer better protection than most though, and it does use less resources than the past. Pretty much the same with Avira. I stick with MSE because its free and very rare to get a false positive. Very light on resources also. Theres a million ways to skin a cat, but if you stick with proven products, most people will be fine with whatever they choose.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16,554
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16,554 |
Is ComboFix still really good? it dug out a nasty bugger for me some years ago, haven't run it since. (NOT recommended for non-geeks, can mess up your system if you don't know what you're doing. Stick to Malwarebytes.)
The key elements in human thinking are not numbers but labels of fuzzy sets. -- L. Zadeh
Which explains a lot.
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 154
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 154 |
My paid Norton run out a week ago. Yesterday i installed SuperAntiSpyWare free version. It removed 495 malware items and a lot of other items it said was dangerous. Cookies, registry and old files.
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 7,048
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 7,048 |
Is ComboFix still really good? Not the greatest. Never really was. It worked, but still left bits behind. The average user can get by with Malwarebytes. If something locks out Malwarebytes, then theyre better off taking it to someone who knows. In those sort of cases, I still use Hirens Boot CD and boot up outside Windows, fix what I can. If I dont get it clean, I can at least get back into Windows and Malwarebytes and finish the job.
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 17,289
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 17,289 |
If you have Malwarebytes theres really no need for Spybot. Its pretty outdated and inefficient as a scanner. It was good at one point, and was decent competition for the old adaware se. Today its good for one thing, immunization. Spywareblaster does a better job of it though, but doesnt scan at all, just blacklists/blocks.
When I set up a computer it gets MSE, then I install Spyware blaster(manually update it once a month) then Malwarebytes. Always install Malwarebytes last, most times itll block Spywareblaster, Spybot, etc from blacklist/blocking certain holes. And of course, Adblock PLUS with whatever browser the customer uses. No one ever has an issue. FWIW, In the past I've had both Spyware Blaster and Spybot Search and Destroy installed at the same time. Since the main feature is passive blocking of malware there's no incompatibility issues. I've also run several different active anti-virus programs with no issues. The one thing about both programs is since they're passive and they have no active detection feature (pop-up warnings) it's difficult to know if they do anything. If you keep them updated nothing ever loads and the scan feature in Spybot Search and Destroy will only detect the latest malware that wasn't previously blocked. It never detected anything new in all the years I used it but I've NEVER had an issue with malware either.
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 13,938
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 13,938 |
My paid Norton run out a week ago. Yesterday i installed SuperAntiSpyWare free version. It removed 495 malware items and a lot of other items it said was dangerous. Cookies, registry and old files. So far SUPERAntiSpy has worked better for me than any other free malware/spyware removal type programs I've tried. Run in safe mode it has caught and removed stuff from my PC in the past that Malwarebytes, MSE Windows Defender and AVG had all either completely missed or if caught couldn't remove.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 415
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 415 |
I have had good luck with IOBIT's freeware and Avast AV. I use their Anti malware
There are free cleaners available for download on Nortons site "Norton eraser" and Microsoft has their Malicious software removal tool.
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