Cigar Forums banner

Your "Best" Defense From Windows Viruses

6K views 37 replies 29 participants last post by  TonyBrooklyn 
#1 ·
There are MANY viruses and malware code which the most sophisticated anti-virus products simply can't protect you from. One of which is a variant of the Phoenix virus which includes several different forms, not all are the original Phoenix virus but all contain the term "Phoenix" within its definition.

The most violent form begins by attacking your browser and looks to log your keystrokes to obtain user names, passwords, etc. If more than one browser is installed, such as Explorer, Firefox, Opera, etc., it will spread to each and also corrupt system files.

As this virus propagates, it'll attempt to attack your computer every few seconds while a browser is functioning. Products such as Nortons and McAfee will "block" the virus at each attempt but as this attack continues over the course of several days, your system will not respond and result in a black screen at startup. At this point most will result in reinstalling the operating system which is time consuming along with the loss of all files and applications.

This particular virus is usually contracted by visiting "unsavory" websites, downloading commercial software which requires you to modify the "Hosts File" of your system (advanced) and by downloading products compressed using .RAR compression.

The solution? Every week or so, create a "System Restore Point". Information on this can be found on Microsoft's website. The beauty of System Restore is it brings all system and vital files back to their original state while keeping all your files and applications intact while cleaning your computer of all unwanted files not present at the restore point set.

So basically, System Restore is your best defense against super viruses without the loss of saved files.

You'll require your original Windows Install Disk to initiate the restore in the event of a super virus attack so don't lose them. If not receiving disks with your system, make certain to follow manufacturers instructions on the correct method to create a set from the installed system.

Your Freindly Neighborhood Beerman!
 
See less See more
#27 ·
Smart Browsing, keep away from the skin searches or anything that is supposed to be free. It is free and comes with free malware and virus infections too!
A good AV program is essential too and Norton isnt it. Norton is a resource hog and gets penetrated far too often. My recommendations are Avast NOD32 and Kaspersky.
 
#28 ·
skin sites no matter how authentic will get you a virus eventually. As will most social media sites. My wife is a constant face book user and her AVAST is constantly kicking out warnings and deleting malicious files. Windows defender actually is the most successful for me at stopping these attacks although Avast does a fair job as well as im sure most any of the current virus protection programs offer some degree of protection. I do have one apple mac book pro and just like any of my android devices it has been virus free.
 
#31 ·
An old thread, but still a goodie.

I'll add my two cents' worth.

I've been using computers since the days of the Apple II series, and PCs since the early 1990s. These days my home network has two PCs, A Synology NAS (Network Attached Storage) device, an Android tablet, a first-generation Kindle Fire (which is essentially another Android tablet), and a few Internet-Of-Things devices. I use Bitdefender Total Security 2015 on both PCs, and Synology's antivirus software on the NAS. My router has a name other than the default, and of course I changed the password as well. The Android tablets and my phone run their own security software, but they're irrelevant to this discussion.

Every security option is enabled on each of these devices/applications, and the security applications are updated both automatically and on-demand whenever I hear of something new in the way of malware.

The Bitdefender suite does more than just antivirus protection. One feature I especially like is the way it alerts, blocks and logs suspicious or has potentially malicious code on any site I go to, and I'm amazed at how many reputable sites do harbor such code. The code may be part of an ad running on a page, and I get a warning even if I never go anywhere near the ad; it may be nothing more than spyware or adware, but a look at the log tells me it is/was there ... and that it was blocked.

In addition I run a couple of stand-alone antimalware programs (Malwarebytes and Ad-Aware) on both computers at least once a week. This may be overkill, since I haven't seen anything reported by either program since I've been using Bitdefender, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I also run CCleaner (a nice utility for removing "garbage" files and Registry entries) once a week, and do a few other things to keep my computers running smoothly.

Why do I do all this?

Several months ago, I began seeing attempted thefts from my checking account, using the information from my debit cards. Whoever was behind it was good, and apparently they were getting the information from my computers -- in once case, they had the info for a brand-new debit card within 24 hours of my activating it, before I had used it anywhere except for one internet purchase. (Unfortunately, I began a weekend trip the very next day. My bank caught the attempted fraud and cancelled my card while I was on the road. Good thing I had sufficient cash ... and another card ... to get back home.) Until that particular attack I had been suspecting a skimmer had been mounted on the credit card reader at a gas station or carwash -- I have found a couple of skimmers other places, but the thieves are getting better at disguising and mounting them.

Until then I had been relying on Windows Defender and Windows Firewall, free and included with Windows 8.1. I'm not saying either Microsoft program allowed the thief/thieves to gain access to my information, but I decided then and there to start using something that the experts recommended. In my research I learned that Windows Defender (and Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows 7) were pretty good, but better applications were better. After comparing five or six tech-related Websites/magazines I respect, I settled on Bitdefender as the overall best for my purposes; I chose the Total Security version, because it provides the most comprehensive protection. I am not saying Bitdefender is the absolute best antimalware suite, just that it works for me.

And sometimes I reboot into Linux when I'm shopping, although it's a bit of a pain. Neither of my printers (a Brother laser and Epson all-in-one inkjet) are automagically supported by any Linux distro I've tried, and I change distros fairly often just to see what's new, so I usually have to save the receipt and then reboot into Windows to print a copy.

I have not had one computer-security problem since then, and now my money stays in the bank until I authorize its removal; thanks to my bank, the local police department and Lifelock, I even got back $1300 from purchases I didn't make. But just to be safe, now all my online purchases are made using either a reloadable debit card (which I load just before I make a purchase) or a credit card (which offers additional protections and is used for larger purchases).

Maybe you don't think you're important enough for thieves to target. I didn't either. Maybe you never make online purchases, or you've just been lucky so far. But if you buy anything (such as cigars!) online and you don't take precautions, sooner or later someone is likely to gain access to your financial information. Even Macs and Linux systems are potentially vulnerable -- for that matter, I'm told a lot of routers are too.

Please learn from my experience; I got most of my money back, but not all of it -- the thieves made too many small purchases from too many different vendors, some of them overseas. And filing reports with your bank and the local police can be both time-consuming and frustrating.
 
#32 ·
Bitdefender is constantly rated as a top 3 AV by AV-Test. AV-Test rates based on Protection, the AV's effect on system performance, and false positivesThe 2014-2015 product received perfect scores across the board for Win7. This was a jump from the 2013-2014 product. However, Bitdefender was outperformed by AVG overall, and more directly on Win8. I suggest visiting AV-Test before purchasing any AV product.

The point is, you need to do some research when it is time to re-up your AV. I am not afraid to switch annually. I have been running Kaspersky for the past 2 years but I am almost up for renewal. Since most of my computers are Win7, Bitdefender will likely be the product for me for 2015
 
#33 ·
In addition...Malwarebytes...

I also run CCleaner (a nice utility for removing "garbage" files and Registry entries) once a week, and do a few other things to keep my computers running smoothly.
Necro'd thread....but CCleaner and MalwareBytes are both very good. If you wanna step it up even further an IP cloak is very helpful...Ive tried several and have found Private Internet Access to be the best.
 
#35 ·
The best defense against Windows viruses is to never connect to a wired/wireless network. Since that is really not possible, your next best option is to always stay current on patches. Not only do you need to stay up to date on Windows updates, but it is also extremely important to stay current on updates to 3rd party apps like Flash, Java, etc. Even a fully patched Windows machine is still asking for trouble when connected to the internet, so an up to date AntiVirus solution is a must as well. AVG and Avast make great free versions that perform realtime file scanning as well as allow you to schedule full system scans. Its still not a good idea to connect a fully patched Windows machine with up to date AntiVirus software directly to the internet, so some sort of router or perimeter firewall is a must. Nowadays, most ISPs will provide their users with a modem (cable/dsl) that is also a router/firewall. A lot of times they will provide a unit with wireless access point capabilities as well. Make sure the wireless SSID and passphrase is set to something other than default. And use WPA2 encryption instead of WEP.

If you read through the above paragraph and were able to check off each step, you're fairly well defended against viruses. However nothing is fool proof. The final, and most important, bit of advise to heed; don't be a clicktard. Pay attention to what you're doing on the internet. You can save yourself a world of hurt simply by being careful.
 
#36 ·
superantispyware, Deflaggler, ccleaner for yrs with Windows Defender.

2yrs ago I moved to PCmatic runs every 3 days, and I can back check with the others for peace of mind.....the difference for me is Im in the dinggle berries an tulley weeds........ I only use gmail which is checked an not downloaded to my computer... for real playing on the net I run strictly Linux which I isolate from my programs. sycor 340-D my first computer reel to reel an a 1-800 book thought I was king...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top