Firefox, AVG, and Infections
in [Windows Viruses]
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From: Max Wachtel on 3 Sep 2009 22:08 On Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:06:29 -0400, W. eWatson <wolftracks(a)invalid.com> wrote: > I'm having some trouble with Firefox, and have gotten to the phase where > I decided to run a virus checker on my C: HD. My basic difficulty is You should be running weekly scans with both your Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware > what I would call herky-jerky operation. When I'm typing or scrolling, > things stop for many seconds, then start. It came after a the plug from There could be a mechanical problem. > my PC accidentally pulled out. FF failed upon recovery. I put it back > together by re-installing and retaining e-mail, etc. For awhile it > worked fine, but then started halting as above. I did a cclean, and that what the hell is a "cclean"??? > got it rolling again, only for the problem to return within 10 or so > hours. > > I did a diagnostic on the HD and it passed. I then began to try a virus > check with AVG, which I have never used before. I have question about > what it report. If I knew of a web site to temporarily post images of > the vault, I'd post it. > Perhaps you should check the memory too. > I posted the following in the FF support group. > ... > > My virus scan with AVG proved very interesting. It found several > infections, three were trojans, several tracking cookies (associated > with FF and probably SeaMonkey, and a worm in > Doc&Settings/.../dialsys.exe. I took care of them. They are now in the > vault. That was all last evening. > > Some hours of the scan I sat down at the PC to find AVG Resident Shield > had found two more Trojan Horses. Correcting thes matters last night > provided no change in the problem with FF that I reported. > Download David Lipman's Multi-AV tool,run all modules and see what they report. Also grab SUPERAntiSpyware and the MBAM tool and see what they have to say. If I were you, I would make backups of all important files, pics,music etc. and prepare for a format/install. Go get yourself a disk imaging tool and learn how to use it. Create a clean image so if you get yourself in trouble you can just restore from a "known clean image" in a few min. > What's quite surprising to me is the "infections". Apparently, AT&T > Yahoo s/w isn't doing its job, or AVG is much too sensitive to them. By > the latter, I mean are these infections dead on arrival anyway? In > almost a decade of internet use, I've contracted maybe 3 viruses. This > is certainly different. You need a refresher on maintaining your PC. They don't call it the WWW for nothing! -- My Pages: Virus Removal http://max.shplink.com/removal.html Keep Clean http://max.shplink.com/keepingclean.html Tools http://max.shplink.com/tools.html
From: W. eWatson on 4 Sep 2009 06:58 David H. Lipman wrote: > From: "W. eWatson" <wolftracks(a)invalid.com> > > | Can you back that up with specific reviews that it rate it poorer than > | others? What do you do that requires hundreds of computers? What would > | you suggest that's free and better? > > { Why does EVERYONE have to lean towards a free AV ? I don't know.... } > > The answer is Avira AntiVir - http://www.freeav.com/ > > A question remains. What is wrong with AT&T/Yahoo's protection? I can assure you that I do not run around looking for oddball exe files to download and open. If no one knows, I think I'll ask them.
From: 1PW on 4 Sep 2009 07:23 W. eWatson wrote: > David H. Lipman wrote: >> From: "W. eWatson" <wolftracks(a)invalid.com> >> >> | Can you back that up with specific reviews that it rate it poorer than >> | others? What do you do that requires hundreds of computers? What would >> | you suggest that's free and better? >> >> { Why does EVERYONE have to lean towards a free AV ? I don't know.... } >> >> The answer is Avira AntiVir - http://www.freeav.com/ >> >> > A question remains. What is wrong with AT&T/Yahoo's protection? What protection? To what depth do you expect your ISP to protect you? Why do think we strongly suggest you run a good NAT router, maintain a good personal firewall, and the best AV and even several antispyware applications, plus good current backups? > I can assure you that I do not run around looking for oddball exe files to > download and open. But if you fail to have a well maintained/protected system, you might as well be... My apologies to you if I missed it in your previous posts. What is the exact output from the "winver" command on your system? > If no one knows, I think I'll ask them. Please repeat to us, in this thread, what you are told by them. I believe it will be quite interesting and perhaps quite a wake-up call for some. Respectfully, -- 1PW
From: W. eWatson on 4 Sep 2009 14:44 1PW wrote: > W. eWatson wrote: >> David H. Lipman wrote: >>> From: "W. eWatson" <wolftracks(a)invalid.com> >>> >>> | Can you back that up with specific reviews that it rate it poorer than >>> | others? What do you do that requires hundreds of computers? What would >>> | you suggest that's free and better? >>> >>> { Why does EVERYONE have to lean towards a free AV ? I don't know.... } >>> >>> The answer is Avira AntiVir - http://www.freeav.com/ >>> >>> >> A question remains. What is wrong with AT&T/Yahoo's protection? > > What protection? To what depth do you expect your ISP to protect you? > Why do think we strongly suggest you run a good NAT router, maintain > a good personal firewall, and the best AV and even several antispyware > applications, plus good current backups? I expected total protection, but as I just learned from their tech support that's not necessarily true. One weakness is that I receive my mail via Thunderbird. No virus check is performed, but I'm extremely careful about opening messages from people I do not know. Their firewall via DSL seems sound. Another potential weakness is visiting web sites. First, the tech guy said basically you are on your own, but then clued me into their Security Suite, which I'm now downloading, and will install shortly. It does offer web site protection. See * below. BTW, they use McCaffee for security. Nevertheless, respondents here have consistently drifted off the main reason for my post. Interpreting the msgs from AVG. I had no reason to use it other than make a quick check on my system. Everyone seems determined to provide responses to every thing but my main request. There is one infection that AVG tells me that it cannot quarantine. That's important to understand. If you want to discuss more here, that's fine, but how about dealing with the AVG msgs, and in particular the one just mentioned. The game is wide open as to what I do next regarding additional infection software and firewalls. winver? OK, that's a tall order, since that's a lot to type. Here are the basics. Win XP PRO, Vers 5.1 (Build 2600.xpsp_sp2 etc. for Service Pack 2). 1.572 G of memory. * From their web site: McAfee� VirusScan� Plus offers proactive PC security to prevent malicious attacks, so you can protect what you value as well as surf, search, and download files online with confidence. McAfee SiteAdvisor's Web safety ratings, help you avoid unsafe Web sites. This service also provides security against multi-pronged attacks by combining anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall technologies. McAfee's security service continuously delivers the latest software so your protection is never out-of-date. You can now easily add and manage security for multiple PCs in your home. Moreover, improved performance allows it to protect, without disturbing you. Cheers. > >> I can assure you that I do not run around looking for oddball exe files to >> download and open. > > But if you fail to have a well maintained/protected system, you might > as well be... > > My apologies to you if I missed it in your previous posts. What is > the exact output from the "winver" command on your system? > >> If no one knows, I think I'll ask them. > > Please repeat to us, in this thread, what you are told by them. I > believe it will be quite interesting and perhaps quite a wake-up call > for some. > > Respectfully, >
From: David H. Lipman on 4 Sep 2009 15:23
From: "W. eWatson" <wolftracks(a)invalid.com> | 1PW wrote: >> W. eWatson wrote: >>> David H. Lipman wrote: >>>> From: "W. eWatson" <wolftracks(a)invalid.com> >>>> | Can you back that up with specific reviews that it rate it poorer than >>>> | others? What do you do that requires hundreds of computers? What would >>>> | you suggest that's free and better? >>>> { Why does EVERYONE have to lean towards a free AV ? I don't know.... } >>>> The answer is Avira AntiVir - http://www.freeav.com/ >>> A question remains. What is wrong with AT&T/Yahoo's protection? >> What protection? To what depth do you expect your ISP to protect you? >> Why do think we strongly suggest you run a good NAT router, maintain >> a good personal firewall, and the best AV and even several antispyware >> applications, plus good current backups? | I expected total protection, but as I just learned from their tech | support that's not necessarily true. One weakness is that I receive my | mail via Thunderbird. No virus check is performed, but I'm extremely | careful about opening messages from people I do not know. Their firewall | via DSL seems sound. Another potential weakness is visiting web sites. | First, the tech guy said basically you are on your own, but then clued | me into their Security Suite, which I'm now downloading, and will | install shortly. It does offer web site protection. See * below. BTW, | they use McCaffee for security. | Nevertheless, respondents here have consistently drifted off the main | reason for my post. Interpreting the msgs from AVG. I had no reason to | use it other than make a quick check on my system. Everyone seems | determined to provide responses to every thing but my main request. | There is one infection that AVG tells me that it cannot quarantine. | That's important to understand. If you want to discuss more here, that's | fine, but how about dealing with the AVG msgs, and in particular the one | just mentioned. The game is wide open as to what I do next regarding | additional infection software and firewalls. | winver? OK, that's a tall order, since that's a lot to type. Here are | the basics. Win XP PRO, Vers 5.1 (Build 2600.xpsp_sp2 etc. for Service | Pack 2). 1.572 G of memory. | * From their web site: | McAfee� VirusScan� Plus offers proactive PC security to prevent | malicious attacks, so you can protect what you value as well as surf, | search, and download files online with confidence. McAfee SiteAdvisor's | Web safety ratings, help you avoid unsafe Web sites. This service also | provides security against multi-pronged attacks by combining anti-virus, | anti-spyware and firewall technologies. McAfee's security service | continuously delivers the latest software so your protection is never | out-of-date. You can now easily add and manage security for multiple PCs | in your home. Moreover, improved performance allows it to protect, | without disturbing you. | Cheers. I like McAfee Enterprise software. McAfee's retail software (and OEM) SUCK ! Have you installed and scanned with MBAM yet ? -- Dave http://www.claymania.com/removal-trojan-adware.html Multi-AV - http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp |