Anyone else slightly concerned about copied and pasted Malwarebytes posts?

robt_2

markymoo wrote: »

ok i'm sticking my oar in here again..

personally, i have nothing against telling people to do a MalwareBytes scan, but my main issue, is with the, in a way, arrogance, of just putting a very generic reply up, that is copied and pasted, which in a way, could put off someone who could be scared of computers..

Be nice to moneysavers.. maybe just personalise it, and suggest they do it, and give them the details, not just go, copy, paste, and leave me alone, kinda response I FEEL that they get!

give the OP's at least a 1 or 2 line sentance saying,

Hi, I think there could be some spyware/malware etc on your machine, which is stopping you doing what you want to do, so I'd suggest you do the following, any problems, let us know!

there we go.. copy and paste that, and add it into the beginning of the stuff people post now, and it just feels nicer! rather than the sentance that says

"Please download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and save it to your desktop. "

it just feels kinda off putting, and bear in mind, i'm a techie anyway!

nuffsaid me thinks

M

Nail. Head. Hit.

aliEnRIK

markymoo wrote: »

ok i'm sticking my oar in here again..

personally, i have nothing against telling people to do a MalwareBytes scan, but my main issue, is with the, in a way, arrogance, of just putting a very generic reply up, that is copied and pasted, which in a way, could put off someone who could be scared of computers..

Be nice to moneysavers.. maybe just personalise it, and suggest they do it, and give them the details, not just go, copy, paste, and leave me alone, kinda response I FEEL that they get!

give the OP's at least a 1 or 2 line sentance saying,

Hi, I think there could be some spyware/malware etc on your machine, which is stopping you doing what you want to do, so I'd suggest you do the following, any problems, let us know!

there we go.. copy and paste that, and add it into the beginning of the stuff people post now, and it just feels nicer! rather than the sentance that says

"Please download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and save it to your desktop. "

it just feels kinda off putting, and bear in mind, i'm a techie anyway!

nuffsaid me thinks

M

I usually do say ~ download malwarebytes "link".......scan to check for nasties

Then download hijack "link".......
Scan so we can see whats running

Thats english to me. (Nastie being a fairly 'generic' word which EVERYONE should understand, and 'see whats running' seems fairly simple also)

You all feel thats not good enough?

robt_2

aliEnRIK, please don't take this thread as a personal attack it is not

aliEnRIK

robt wrote: »

aliEnRIK, please don't take this thread as a personal attack it is not

I completely see where your all coming from. Im just asking if my own personal way is seen as.......unacceptable?

Unstoppable_2

robt wrote: »

Whatever happened to explaining what is wrong, and how to stop it happening again? Prevention is better than cure afterall.

Just a thought :D

No problem.

What happened - pick one of the options below:

• They didn't use windows updates and visited a site that used an exploit that works on unpatched systems.
• They use a dodgy pirate copy of Windows so can't use Windows Update.
• They opened an attachment in an email they weren't expecting.
• They downloaded a file from a dubious source and when they opened it, they got infected.
• They got a file from a friend which was infected but because they don't run decent AV or update it or Windows, they got infected.
• They were unlucky and got caught out by a zero day exploit.
• They ignored all the warnings from Windows and their AV software and clicked allow.

What can they do to prevent it - all of the below:

• Make sure your operating system is patched up to date
• Make sure your firewall is running.
• Make sure your AV is up to date.
• Do not open email attachments you're not expecting.
• Disable Outlook/Express/Live Mail preview pane.
• Don't go downloading dodgy stuff from Bittorent/Limewire et al.

Pretty much sums it up.

leosayer39

aliEnRIK wrote: »

I completely see where your all coming from. Im just asking if my own personal way is seen as.......unacceptable?

Unacceptable? Nope, worked for me....cheers :beer:

Even after our little spat lol

Leo

AHAR

robt wrote: »

... and how to stop it happening again? Prevention is better than cure afterall.

Just a thought :D

You're absolutely right. I think a combination of common sense and secure, up-to-date software ought to be enough to avoid being infected by these nasties.
I can't help with common sense but the Secunia Software Scanners do a good job of highlighting software vulnerabilities that can lead to infections getting into your system without you having to do anything. They'll direct you to any required updates.

McAfee Site Advisor can also help you steer clear of dodgy sites by labelling your Google/Yahoo!/whatever search results with warnings.

robredz

So long as it is explained to the op why they need to do something it should be OK many are totally non tech and have bought and been sold a PC as if they were white goods or a consumer appliance like a tv, which they ain't. sometimes the advice does go to techie and they may switch off. just my ho

Reluctant_spender

I am a big user of Malwarebytes and advocate its use along with Browntoa and aliEnRIK - the tool is a very good and relatively safe tool for the inexperienced to use.

I take the viewpoint that people do not want a lecture on whats wrong but how to fix their computer quickly.

Blacksheep1979

you honestly want people to explain exactly how spyware etc works?