Fed up with getting viruses/Malware

Jamie_Cortez

elektra wrote: »

You know what you and OH use the computer for but are you sure what sites the kids are visiting ?

This, so far from the sites you have listed (not to dissimilar to my own) the only likely one would be Facebook, but those are more account based and take control of your account to send out spam.

If Bitdefender is the paid version, no real reason to stop using it it's a good bit of kit(http://www.av-test.org/en/tests/home-user/mayjun-2012/) and has won dozens of awards (again i use it and have had no infections ever)

I do wonder if the settings are set properly and someone in your household has not been fiddling.

kerrypn

My children are 6 4 and 2 , they aren't allowed on the internet yet

Fingertapps is not web based its a musical instrument app that is installed on the pc as standard, and it is always supervised anyway just in case they decide to fiddle with something they shouldn't!

All seems OK this morning, I am really impressed that bitdefender seems to be wroking well with both malware bytes and ccleaner-in the past when we have installed an av plus extra protection the av has gone mental, so I am really pleased with the results so far

Can't even tell I am using a sandbox, well chuffed, thanks again

What settings Jamie? Internet settings are on medium high, I tried high but couldnt access any sites including this one.

Jamie_Cortez

kerrypn wrote: »

What settings Jamie? Internet settings are on medium high, I tried high but couldnt access any sites including this one.

Shouldn't block you viewing websites at all. If you being a repeat victim of Malware and Viruses and thats what we are assuming they were i would be setting the AV On access scanning settings all too their Aggressive Setting.

If it is the Bitdefender Total Security Package 2012 if it came free with the PC it may be another version.. under the AV heading there is another tab called Vulnerability, which if enabled will scan the computer for missing various updates etc which usually will include security fixes for programs.

Under exclusions you can also set it to scan CD/DVD media and USB drives on connection.

Under the Firewall tab That can also be set to aggressive, it will make more reports but offers the greatest deal of protection

art_for_arts_sake

I've just spent over 8 hours cleaning up a neighbours' PC. It had a more immediate threat to deal with which I was able to manually eliminate but malwarebytes and avast found about another 20 trojans each. They claimed not to be looking at anything out of the ordinary but it was clear that it was predominantly, but not only, the males' browsing habits which had created the problem, I'm not talking about p**n BTW but relatively innocuous sites.

I've even been redirected on a 100% clean PC to a dodgy site myself whilst browsing Gumtree recently, though a friend was honest enough to admit he had been caught out by looking at p**n, a hefty repair bill from the local computer shop meant he hadn't done so since. Curiousity doesn't kill cats, but it can make a heck of a mess of your computer. If in doubt don't click on it, close your browser instead. Alt-F4 or Ctrl-Alt-Delete and Task Manager should do this for you.

Notmyrealname

Go to your router and change the DNS server settings if possible to the OpenDNS ones as OpenDNS actively blocks access to dodgy sites and control sites if you do get infected...

208.67.220.220
208.67.222.222

If you can't change them in the router, go to the properties for your network card or wifi adapter, click on the IPv4 and then Properties. Where it says DNS server, untick the Automatic box and then enter the above numbers for the primary and secondary servers.

kerrypn

Thanks Jamie, I meant my internet settings not the av settings, will do as you suggest for on access and firewall.

Vulnerability scan flagged up adobe, skype and essenger updates, which I am in the process of doing, I never use Skype or messenger but have done them all the same. Hardly surprising there are so many really with the restore I did yesterday.

Where would I find my router settings please? I am with Sky unlimited if that makes a difference.

ETA: Have now set AV and firewall to aggressive-there is another option of "paranoid mode" which made me laugh since that is what I am in now anyway-but what does this do please?

Hopster_2

kerrypn wrote: »

Hi

Thanks for replying. No I am very careful about click throughs-occasionally bitdefender does block some of the ads you get on ebay and says bitfender has blocked this etc. I never open attachments without scanning(and very rarely get attachments)

We are on Windows 7 and IE 9 on this one(the new desktop) and the last computer was also on the same(went for a disk drive repair and they lost the computer so we got a new one). The old Acer laptop is on Win XP but is on IE9 and up to date with AV software.

Bitfender is up to date on this pc.

I would have posted on here for help earlier but whatever the virus was, it was systematically working its way through sytem files and the PC was freezing so I had to open in safe mode and start the restore process, didnt want to leave it any longer than I had to.

What is the link above for please?

I have heard of Sandboxes-do they give good protection then? I considered going over to Firefox for browsing but wasnt sure of compatibility etc.

Thanks for all help so far

Thanks again

The best bit of advice a would give is to ditch Internet Explorer mate, its a security nightmare and not a very good browser full stop.
Integrating IE into the core of Windows was potentially the worst thing MS ever did, if your browser gets infected then it has a clear path to the core of the OS.
A do about a dozen clean installs for customers every week and the majority are all running IE and heavy security programs that do nothing to stop viruses.

You mentioned Firefox and that's a option i would look at further!
With a few simple addons like WOT,Adblock and no script, you will have a much more secure pc and a faster browser.
90% of viruses now come from the internet so using the most hacked browser ever built isn't a good idea, ditch Explorer mate.

closed

Your previous problems could be unrelated to viruses, so beware going too far with protection measures which could spoil your user experience with little realworld benefit.

kerrypn

Thanks Closed, I think I am done now-I have followed your advice re back up and bolstered the bitdefender as suggested by you and other posters, so fingers crossed I should be able to get about on the sites I use without too many problems now.

It was a lot easier than I thought to put those extras in place, so if anyone else is reading this in a similar position-do what is suggested because it doesn't take long and I cannot tell the difference in speed/performance.

Excellent advice given on this thread :T:T:T

C_Mababejive

Why bother with all that malarky and constant monitoring/listening to your hard drive thrashing?

https://www.ubuntu.com

Seek enlightenment..