UKC

What tools do people use to keep their Microsoft kit clean from nasties such as spyware, malware and such like?

In reply to The Lemming:
malwarebytes.org, just install it and run a couple times till it comes up clean then uninstall. Free, lightweight and it's what everyone who fixes machines for a living uses to clean fubar'd machines.

edit: inb4 someone suggests spybot, don't use spybot.

In reply to Removed User:

Xp and Vista had shed loads of tools. Windows 7 has been out 5 years and there is only one tool worth using?

In reply to The Lemming:

Reformat the drive and install Linux?

Only (half) joking

In reply to Bob:


Yawn

In reply to The Lemming:

Yep! It does get boring when things just work all the time

In reply to Hairy Pete:


And if I could map network drives then I too would still be using Linux. But as it is Microsoft and Windows 7 make this a piece of proverbial and a doddle to do.

I still can't do this with Linux, mostly Mint.

Windows just works.

In reply to The Lemming:

App locker built into Windows 7 (some versions) just does the job.

In reply to The Lemming:


Until it slows to a crawl for no discernable reason?

In reply to The Lemming:

But we've told you how to do it on several occasions.


Really? So you posted this thread out of pure curiosity? Or, was windoze not working the way you expected and paid for?

In reply to The Lemming:

Rather than this OP drift off topic, apart from malwarebytes products are there any other tools?

I shall check out the app locker.

Cheers

In reply to The Lemming:

Here's an interesting article that I found on the Guardian website

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2014/jun/20/how-can-i-protect...

In reply to Hairy Pete:


Are you serious? My dad is constantly on the phone to me, whinging about how he can't get x, y, or z to work because no one has got around to writing a driver for it yet!

As for anti-malware. Personally, I find that it is anti-doing stuff software and stops legitimate stuff working more than keeping the nasties out.

Stick to webmail like Google which has excellent malware filters on it rather than using local mail clients and don't click any dodgy links. This seems pretty reliable to me.

In reply to The Lemming:

Why can't you map a network drive, you can do cifs or nfs .... google is your friend




My linux mint still just works, and just as fast as the day I installed it, and as a bonus it is not full of malware, viruses or skyware

In reply to The Lemming:

Don't get me wrong, there's dozens and dozens of tools. Malwarebytes is the one people in the know use because it's the best one for the job. It's quick and simple and it'll work the first time you use it.

Google should be able to provide you with a list of junk programs if that's what you're looking for.

In reply to The Lemming:

There used to be CWShredder but I don't know if that has made the move on from Win XP.

A lot of malware has moved on and isn't a virus in the traditional computing sense in that it attacks the OS but looks for vulnerabilities in support applications/processes such as Java or Flash. Perhaps the biggest on-line security risk these days are "drive by" downloads where simply visiting a web page causes the payload to be downloaded.

Google Mail is effective in stopping a lot of spam/malware because they are filtering such large numbers of emails so the system can pick up common patterns.

superantispyware, malwarebytes, ccleaner all worth a look. That plus common sense

In reply to SteveRi:


I have malwarebytes, ccleaner and malwarebytes rootkit as standard.

Just took a look at superantispyware and it does not get a favorable review on a few sites. sorry.

In reply to The Lemming:

I've known it find something when other things haven't. Interface isn't confidence inspiring I'd agree

In reply to SteveRi:

Ccleaner is not anti spy/malware. Plus it uses a lot of resources to do a crappy job. Just hide your browsing history via 'delete history' in your browser.

In reply to Removed User:


I would say it was. Caused no end of support issues for our misguided customers when I used to work for a genuine software vendor. Uninstall asap if you have it.

The idea that you have to "clean" your registry is a joke.

In reply to ByEek:





I've discovered from painful experience to stay well, WELL, away from any tools that fix registry keys for you. I have buggered up my computer too many times that I now leave well alone.

I've been given a couple of computers to clean that I was wondering if it is even worth my time trying to disinfect them rather than back-up photos and music before going down the road of the NUKE option and doing a clean instal.

Once I have clean computers I was hoping to install some stuff that may help keep my friends computers clean-ish before they screw up again.

I even found 7 nasties on my own computer last night.

In reply to ByEek:

Yeah, don't get me started. The only reason most people have it installed is to clean their porn history and temp internet files.

In reply to The Lemming:

Next time you want to "clean" a PC, start by running a clean boot

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

You can then selectively disable services and applications running in the background until you get your performance back.

In reply to ByEek:

When I ran a Windows machine at home I'd partition the disk in to three:

c: for the system
d: for downloaded program images
e: for everything else

Then if performance started to go down the pan (and it used to with older versions) then I only needed to reformat the c: drive and reinstall. Depending on the software I then just had to go through the programs on d: and reinstall, this also gave me the chance to think "what do I need this for?" and skip anything that I'd installed on a trial basis or really didn't need any more.

Whether this is still a suitable strategy I've no idea.

In reply to The Lemming:

What about for Mac, or is it true that Mac's don't pick up such nasties?

MacBook Pro.

In reply to fairweatherclimber:

Apple get nasties too, but people try to ignore this fact.

Microsoft is the biggest player and as such it is easier to create problems with financial gains to target them rather than apple and Linux.

Android is the next big security risk that can be targeted by bad people.

In reply to ByEek:


A friend of my who uses Gmail just had his entire address book ripped. Every email address got an email ostensibly from him with a link to Google Docs. You then had to sign in with your Google account name & password. One person was suspicious and emailed back to ask if it was genuine and got a reply that yes it was genuine.

Thankfully I didn't have a Google account.

I've used Thunderbird with Avast for years and never had a problem though admittedly it didn't detect this.


There have also been security problems with Yahoo email too not very long ago. Not to mention that they've all got links to the NSA so your email is never going to be secure even when they are working properly.

In reply to The Lemming:

I was told that the very best way to check Windows is from a Linux Live CD. There is one that is specifically designed for the job rooting out malware and viruses but I can't remember what its called. I think it began with 'Doctor' maybe.