hey guys i need help getting rid of a virus called "security master av" .... its pretty tough .... was lookin for a free program to download to do it but cant find any .... i run avast all the time and am surprised i got hit ... i think it was my son on facebook ... but anyway i need some help ... thanks
Help i got a virus
- Thread starter Toss Sweep
- Start date
I've gotten hit about 3 times over the last 10 years and I've come to the conclusion I was better off just saving my important documents (scan them to make sure their clean) and reinstalling my OS.
well i installed spyware doctor and I THINK i got rid of the virus ....... but now im gettin a popup every 10 seconds that says "Asus Eee PC ACPI Service has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience." ........... any ideas?
The problem with "free" programs is that they only tell you about a problem after you've already gotten it. They do nothing as far as prevention, and have very little effect on those that you do get. I went that route for a short time, but eventually bought "Norton 360" and installed it. It cleaned my system and I haven't had another problem. What I also like about N360 is that you are licensed to install and use it on up to 3 separate computers, regardless of their OS or whether they are PCs or laptops.
Norton is as damaging as any virus in terms of computer usability. It's a resource hog of the highest order. Avast is a resource hog, too. PandaCloud Antivirus is a good, lightweight antivirus program and it's also free. If you use Firefox and run PandaCloud, you should never get a virus. I actually ran a computer for over a year with no antivirus software, and I used Firefox to access the internet. I then ran three of the free online scans in Safe Mode and no viruses were detected.
I have to disagree. Avast, AVG. and Avira do a good job. Avast jumps in detects virus and blocks it from time to time for me. Malwarebytes does fine job for me of cleaning viruses/trojans. I rarely get anything, but I've never gotten anything that Malwarebytes couldn't clean.
Just my experience.
I use Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free and runs very lightly, and was recommended by my dad and some users here. I Facebook a lot and have no troubles. If it was your son, and no offense intended, I'd dig a little deeper...just to be sure, know what I mean?
I use AVG, Malwarebytes and spybot, all are free and generally do a good job. I did once have a problem none of them could fix & had to wipe the computer clean and start all over...I think I had not been keeping the programs updated as often as I should have.
One simple thing I learned is that if the problem is real bad, you can start up your computer in safe mode & then run the different programs to clean it up.
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I use Avira and SuperAntiSpyWare. I use the free editions for both. They came highly recommended by my super it professional, my son. :wink:
I'm very happy for you that your free Avast, etc., do a good job for you. I was only speaking from experience. I used free editions of several products for some time, and still contracted a virus. AVG wouldn't touch it, Spybot S&D wouldn't touch it, and neither would a host of other free programs. They could detect a problem, but they couldn't resolve the issues it was causing. That's why I finally bought my Norton 360. After installation, it found the virus and fixed all the problems I was having.
I'm not saying my program is better than any other. I'm sure yours works fine for you. I only know what works for me. JMHO
I'm not saying my program is better than any other. I'm sure yours works fine for you. I only know what works for me. JMHO
i use avg and i had only one problem in ~7 yrs. considering the sites i go to, it is amazing it can catch everything.
As long as you pay attention to what emails you open and what files you download, and stay away from porn, illegal file sharing, and "free" online gambling just about any decent free av and anti-SpyWare software will work. How successful your protection will be depends entirely on how you use your computer.
If you're looking for the best solution, it's not going to be free. I have 5 servers and about 30 computers that I "administrate" on a regular basis. I use a combination of ESET Nod32 Antivirus, HitManPro Anti-Spyware, Ad-Aware, and SpyBot Search and Destroy. I have one set of computers that is running the same combination but with Kaspersky AV instead of NOD32. I haven't had a single major infection in almost 3 years.
NOD32, Kaspersky, and HitManPro are the ones that cost money. The others are free. Both NOD32 and Kaspersky have AV/Anti-Malware bundle software versions that are highly rated, but I don't use them. I've never had a problem with them, I just don't want an extra software firewall to deal with, that's why I don't use them. I've told people that they could substitute the bundle (ESET's is called SmartSecurity) for the separate AV and HitManPro purchases, but I prefer the two. It might be a little more expensive that way, but I really like HitManPro.
Anyway, back to the OP's question, you can download fully functional trials of both NOD32 and HitManPro to scan and clean your system. SpyBot S&D and Ad-Aware are free, as mentioned, and I would install and run those as well.
I'd never put anything with Norton or Symantec in the name on a computer if I could help it, but that's just me. I know people who swear by them but I've never had more technical problems nor seen AV solutions as bloated as those. Anything with webroot in the name is the same. The webroot stuff seems to actually work better than the Norton products, but I've also seen it slow down a computer more than the malware that was on it had been.
If you're looking for the best solution, it's not going to be free. I have 5 servers and about 30 computers that I "administrate" on a regular basis. I use a combination of ESET Nod32 Antivirus, HitManPro Anti-Spyware, Ad-Aware, and SpyBot Search and Destroy. I have one set of computers that is running the same combination but with Kaspersky AV instead of NOD32. I haven't had a single major infection in almost 3 years.
NOD32, Kaspersky, and HitManPro are the ones that cost money. The others are free. Both NOD32 and Kaspersky have AV/Anti-Malware bundle software versions that are highly rated, but I don't use them. I've never had a problem with them, I just don't want an extra software firewall to deal with, that's why I don't use them. I've told people that they could substitute the bundle (ESET's is called SmartSecurity) for the separate AV and HitManPro purchases, but I prefer the two. It might be a little more expensive that way, but I really like HitManPro.
Anyway, back to the OP's question, you can download fully functional trials of both NOD32 and HitManPro to scan and clean your system. SpyBot S&D and Ad-Aware are free, as mentioned, and I would install and run those as well.
I'd never put anything with Norton or Symantec in the name on a computer if I could help it, but that's just me. I know people who swear by them but I've never had more technical problems nor seen AV solutions as bloated as those. Anything with webroot in the name is the same. The webroot stuff seems to actually work better than the Norton products, but I've also seen it slow down a computer more than the malware that was on it had been.
As long as you pay attention to what emails you open and what files you download, and stay away from porn, illegal file sharing, and "free" online gambling just about any decent free av and anti-SpyWare software will work. How successful your protection will be depends entirely on how you use your computer.
If you're looking for the best solution, it's not going to be free. I have 5 servers and about 30 computers that I "administrate" on a regular basis. I use a combination of ESET Nod32 Antivirus, HitManPro Anti-Spyware, Ad-Aware, and SpyBot Search and Destroy. I have one set of computers that is running the same combination but with Kaspersky AV instead of NOD32. I haven't had a single major infection in almost 3 years.
NOD32, Kaspersky, and HitManPro are the ones that cost money. The others are free. Both NOD32 and Kaspersky have AV/Anti-Malware bundle software versions that are highly rated, but I don't use them. I've never had a problem with them, I just don't want an extra software firewall to deal with, that's why I don't use them. I've told people that they could substitute the bundle (ESET's is called SmartSecurity) for the separate AV and HitManPro purchases, but I prefer the two. It might be a little more expensive that way, but I really like HitManPro.
Anyway, back to the OP's question, you can download fully functional trials of both NOD32 and HitManPro to scan and clean your system. SpyBot S&D and Ad-Aware are free, as mentioned, and I would install and run those as well.
I'd never put anything with Norton or Symantec in the name on a computer if I could help it, but that's just me. I know people who swear by them but I've never had more technical problems nor seen AV solutions as bloated as those. Anything with webroot in the name is the same. The webroot stuff seems to actually work better than the Norton products, but I've also seen it slow down a computer more than the malware that was on it had been.
Webroot used to be pretty good, but I suppose they figured the average computer user wanted the flashy bells and whistles that make the user think the software is being really diligent...so they became more and more like Norton and McAfee. As I said earlier in the thread, it's not worth using AV software when it makes the computer less usable than actual viruses.
I thought that is what the internet was for
I have to disagree. AVG works great. Just keep the virus def up2date. if downloading something with the word "free" beside it bothers you, many ISP's give away AV to home users. It's the same version you'd get if you went to the AV companies to buy it. Comcast gives you McAfee. I forget what AT&T gives you. But it is at least worth checking into. It's in those companies best interests to keep viruses off their networks. P.S. that's coming from and IT guy who manages a network of 1000's of computers :wink:
I thought that is what the internet was for
I have to disagree. AVG works great. Just keep the virus def up2date. if downloading something with the word "free" beside it bothers you, many ISP's give away AV to home users. It's the same version you'd get if you went to the AV companies to buy it. Comcast gives you McAfee. I forget what AT&T gives you. But it is at least worth checking into. It's in those companies best interests to keep viruses off their networks. P.S. that's coming from and IT guy who manages a network of 1000's of computers :wink:
Well, coming from an IT guy who managed three PC repair / networking shops, I can't tell you the number of computers that came in infested with viruses and spyware running up-to-date versions of AVG, Norton, or McAfee over the three years I was there. Pet at of the problem was that AV was the only protection they had, and the other part was their internet habits.
Securing a corporate network is much easier than securing independent machines connected directly to the internet, because of the level of perimeter security you can implement.
When I put administrate in quotes earlier, that's because I no longer do that as pat of my job description. Those are the PCs in my office, my personal machines, and a few family members and friends. Most of those are individual machines connected directly to the internet.
Sent from my HTC Incredible.
True. AV will only do so much. IMO viruses aren't as big of a deal as all the phishing scams going on. If someone is going to go full retard and start clicking every link in every email they get regardless of who it's from then God help them.
"Go full retard"... lol.
It's easy for those of us who know better to assume that everyone should know better.
I tried to explain that to my mom, who is a habitual clicker and, like most old women on the internet, are also compulsive email forwarders. At one point she had forwarded so much crap to me that my spam server's baynesian scanner black-flagged her email address!
Anyway, she got a facebook message from a friend of hers with a weird subject, a message that didn't make sense with lots of misspellings, and a link to a video. What does she do? Well, of course, she ignores it and deletes the message immediately.
No. Not at all. She clicks on the link, which then opens in Firefox (which I have set as her default browser). NOD32 blocks the page from loading. So, she copies the link, opens up IE, and pastes it in the address bar. When the page loads, NOD32 blocks it again. Unfortunately, this time it (either NOD32 or IE) gives her the option to load the page anyway. She does, and it says it can't play the video without her logging back in to facebook, and sends her to the login page, where she logs in. The video plays, and it has nothing to do with her or anyone else she knows.
And then, a couple hours later, she's surprised when her facebook friends are getting similar, or vulgar, facebook messages from her.
I scolded her pretty good about it, and her first reply was that she didn't think her friend would send her anything bad, so she thought it was okay. That thought process, in regards to the internet, is complete idiocy, but it made sense to her.
Baby boomers are weird. They're overly cautious and worried about things that rarely happen like rapes, muggings, and home invasions but seem to assume that the internet is completely safe.
You can't expect people who aren't familiar with technology to always do the smart thing. You've got older people who don't know better (like my mom). You've got young people who don't care (like a 15 year old boy in desperate search of free porn).
Which is why I would never use what we called "the big three": Norton, McAfee, and AVG. They were, by far, the three most commonly used protection softwares on PCs that came in with viruses/spyware. I think all three are often targeted specifically by malware, and so they can be less effective than other solutions. In addition, Norton and McAfee were almost always horrible performance hogs. All three, but AVG especially, were bad at protecting themselves. Get the wrong piece of malware on your system, not a virus but other type of malware, and the AV was all but shut down within a couple hours.
LOL. Apparently her new sources didn't cover it when 15 million Facebook accounts got hacked.
Most of the time I won't even click a link from people I know.
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