Does Norton 360 Provide Complete Protection

[cdnvic]

Start your computer in safe mode, usually by pressing F5 or F8 as Windows loads. Choose "Safe Mode with Networking".

Go to http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/ and do a full scan, then go to http://www.malwarebytes.org/ download Malwarebytes and do a full scan.

These programs can remove most infections but depending on what issues come up additional steps may be needed.

Don't forget to disable AVG before running the other scans.

[waza]

Start your computer in safe mode, usually by pressing F5 or F8 as Windows loads. Choose "Safe Mode with Networking".

Go to http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/ and do a full scan, then go to http://www.malwarebytes.org/ download Malwarebytes and do a full scan.

These programs can remove most infections but depending on what issues come up additional steps may be needed.

Don't forget to disable AVG before running the other scans.

THank you cdnvic for that suggestion. we will try it and lets you know the results.

Wishing a Merry xmas and a happy new year to you and your family.

[siamect]

Start your computer in safe mode, usually by pressing F5 or F8 as Windows loads. Choose "Safe Mode with Networking".

Go to http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/ and do a full scan, then go to http://www.malwarebytes.org/ download Malwarebytes and do a full scan.

These programs can remove most infections but depending on what issues come up additional steps may be needed.

Don't forget to disable AVG before running the other scans.

There is nothing safe abotu "Safe mode"

It will disable all antivirus/malware I have heard of...

Be careful

[Supernova]

Hmmm my home comp has paid AVG, and it may be infected. Web pages are slow to open and AVG cant be accessed. This was related to me by my son who is house sitting for me. I am overseas at the moment and wont be home for a few months to take any action. If you dont mind me asking, cdnvic, what actions would you recomend I take? Thanking you in advance.

Avira AntiVir Rescue System

SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner

No installation is required. Scans can be run from CD/DVD/USB media.

[cdnvic]

There is nothing safe abotu "Safe mode"

It will disable all antivirus/malware I have heard of...

Be careful

That's the whole point, the malware doesn't launch either. Safe mode starts Windows with only a set minimum of processes needed to make the OS work. The malware isn't part of this so it doesn't launch. This deals with the problem of malware messing with the antivirus, and makes it possible for your anti-malware program to delete problem files because they are not in use while in safe mode.

[siamect]

There is nothing safe abotu "Safe mode"

It will disable all antivirus/malware I have heard of...

Be careful

That's the whole point, the malware doesn't launch either. Safe mode starts Windows with only a set minimum of processes needed to make the OS work. The malware isn't part of this so it doesn't launch....

Are you sure?

[prallo]

http://www.matousec.com/projects/proactive-security-challenge/results.php

[cdnvic]

There is nothing safe abotu "Safe mode"

It will disable all antivirus/malware I have heard of...

Be careful

That's the whole point, the malware doesn't launch either. Safe mode starts Windows with only a set minimum of processes needed to make the OS work. The malware isn't part of this so it doesn't launch....

Are you sure?

Yes. While it's possible that a core program like explorer.exe can be infected, this is pretty rare. Finding them usually means looking at registry keys which I'm not about to recommend to someone inexperienced with it when the above simple instructions will almost always get the problem. If it doesn't, we'll go from there.

If you have any additional, factual information that you think will be helpful please add it. If all you have is a smiley and a smart remark I'd prefer you kept quiet because the rest of us are trying to help someone here.

[siamect]

If you have any additional, factual information that you think will be helpful please add it. If all you have is a smiley and a smart remark I'd prefer you kept quiet because the rest of us are trying to help someone here.

I'm trying to help people by making people aware that "safe mode" is not safe at all, quite the opposite and you should be really careful...

You are saying I'm wrong if I understand you correct. Not sure who you help by doing that?

Martin

[cdnvic]

Well virtually every antivirus manufacturer recommends it for the most effective removal of malware, and in years of disinfecting computers I've never yet come across something bad happening while in safe mode. We are also talking about infections that have already gotten past the existing antivirus so the fact that it isn't running is a rather moot point.

I do think you are misinformed here and would thank you not to spread it around. Unless you can show some hard evidence of your claims, don't derail the topic any further.

[nikster]

Well virtually every antivirus manufacturer recommends it for the most effective removal of malware, and in years of disinfecting computers I've never yet come across something bad happening while in safe mode. [snip]

I don't do Windows anymore, but a quick Google search on the topic shows that bad things can happen when attempting to go into safe mode - like an endless reboot cycle:

http://thedailyreviewer.com/xphelp/view/trojan-wont-allow-boot-into-safe-mode-102765458

I have not found anything on trojans that survive in safe mode though so in general it looks like it would be a good idea to try.

From a theoretical perspective, once a trojan has infected your system the only safe way out is to re-install the OS. In practice, current malware doesn't bother with the nastier ways of ingraining themselves into the system; the normal stuff they do is "good enough" to provide a very high infection rate.

I do want to warn you though - all the things that I have always thought theoretically possible with viruses/malware have eventually found their way into actual implementations out in the wilds. So even though the trojans might not be as bad as they could be, eventually they will. They'll use hypervisor / vm mode to hide themselves outside the OS, for example. Once your system is compromised, the possibilities are endless.

As for providing complete protection - the only way to have complete protection is to move to a platform that doesn't have viruses (yet) like Mac OS or Linux. Anything not Windows. AV programs are good only for certain things, and don't mean you can just do whatever you want. Zero day exploits and USB Flash stick based viruses will get executed before the AV program can stop them and subsequently disable your AV program.

[cdnvic]

Well virtually every antivirus manufacturer recommends it for the most effective removal of malware, and in years of disinfecting computers I've never yet come across something bad happening while in safe mode. [snip]

I don't do Windows anymore, but a quick Google search on the topic shows that bad things can happen when attempting to go into safe mode - like an endless reboot cycle:

http://thedailyrevie...-mode-102765458

I have not found anything on trojans that survive in safe mode though so in general it looks like it would be a good idea to try.

That is a result of boot sector malware not allowing safe-mode to start, not safe mode itself and is solved by a powering off. There is no additional danger of going into safe mode, and a great chance that the problem will be solved.

Note: I deleted some mis-informational post.

[Tywais]

When I find a computer at the lab that is misbehaving and suspect of malware/virus but not being detected by the anti-virus that is on the machine then I use a bootable antivirus rescue CD/DVD. With over 100 computers at our facility and portables coming and going it's difficult for me to make sure everyone is using protection and updating until it's too late.

FREE Bootable AntiVirus Rescue CDs Download List.

Antivirus Bootable rescue CDs

BitDefender free utility

I use BART-CD with Avast but usually I build it to have some standalone virus scanners included on the CD such as Stinger, etc.

[Supernova]

Well virtually every antivirus manufacturer recommends it for the most effective removal of malware, and in years of disinfecting computers I've never yet come across something bad happening while in safe mode. [snip]

I don't do Windows anymore, but a quick Google search on the topic shows that bad things can happen when attempting to go into safe mode - like an endless reboot cycle:

http://thedailyreviewer.com/xphelp/view/trojan-wont-allow-boot-into-safe-mode-102765458

Which is why I suggest using Rescue media to rid the system of infection in the first place (see post #37). IMHO, it's the best solution there is.

As for providing complete protection - the only way to have complete protection is to move to a platform that doesn't have viruses (yet) like Mac OS or Linux. Anything not Windows. AV programs are good only for certain things, and don't mean you can just do whatever you want.

You don't actually believe that now do you? ALL platforms are vulnerable to viruses. You don't hear about malware/virus issues on other platforms since it not as widely targeted/used by the masses.

Zero day exploits and USB Flash stick based viruses will get executed before the AV program can stop them and subsequently disable your AV program.

Disabling Autorun will eliminate threats from USB flash devices once and for all.

[Tywais]

Which is why I suggest using Rescue media to rid the system of infection in the first place (see post #37). IMHO, it's the best solution there is.

Ah, sorry about that - missed you recommending the same method I just did.

[urandom]

You don't hear about malware/virus issues on other platforms since it not as widely targeted/used by the masses.

yeah agreed, it's not like linux were running all google' s servers. oh wait, OH SHI-

[cdnvic]

You don't hear about malware/virus issues on other platforms since it not as widely targeted/used by the masses.

yeah agreed, it's not like linux were running all google' s servers. oh wait, OH SHI-

Yes but you can be sure it isn't running without virus scans. Linux may not be vulnerable to Windows viruses, but it can still carry them and pass them on.

[BB1950]

There is another thread in this forum you should read:

http://www.thaivisa....dit-their-code/

In particular Martin's comment on it here. You might learn that there's no operating system which are immune to those that want to create harm. The question always fall back to how much havoc do they create by their efforts?

[waza]

Ok I passed on that information you recomended ,cdnvic: but no malware was identified. However, the clock on the computer was found to be set to the year 5000. Once this was reset the web pages loaded normally but AVG was still inaccessable. But the AVG was expired and they wanted it renewed, this was discovered via email. I recomended my son delete the AVG and enable the windows antivirus, til I get home.

Also another interesting occurance today, I purchased 2x 500gb Samsung external drives from a computer shop in Guanzhou China. Both are in seperate sealed boxes from the manufacturer, I opened them to check that I got what I paid for and when I plugged them into the usb slot of my laptop, both HDD had 2 files on them, one a word file and the other a explorer.exe file. AVG, (yes I have a paid version on my Lappy too) identified the exe file as a worm, it couldnt send them to the vault so deleted them.

I should also mention about 2 weeks ago I used a public computer in Bangkok, my hotmail account was hijacked after that and emails were sent to all my contacts sending them to a website. I found that my account was logged on in 2 places. I logged them out and changed my password and havent had a problem since.

[Crushdepth]

MSE is very good and there is no good reason not to use it. Avira is also good if you can stand the endless nagging popups to buy the paid version. AVG is lousy dont touch it.

[cdnvic]

Not the first time I've heard on infected new drives from China. Never a bad idea to scan them.

[waza]

Hi well it happened again, some one used my email to send unsolicited bulk e-mail to my contact list.

First upstream SMTP client IP address: [65.55.111.102]

blu0-omc2-s27.blu0.hotmail.com

According to a 'Received:' trace, the message originated at: [65.55.111.72],

BLU153-W23 ([65.55.111.72])

Message-ID: <[email protected]>

Subject: look at this shop

I have changed my password again and I have done a full scan on my comp with AVG again but it doesnt find any malicious files.

What else would you recomened I do?

[BB1950]

Hi well it happened again, some one used my email to send unsolicited bulk e-mail to my contact list.

First upstream SMTP client IP address: [65.55.111.102]

blu0-omc2-s27.blu0.hotmail.com

According to a 'Received:' trace, the message originated at: [65.55.111.72],

BLU153-W23 ([65.55.111.72])

Message-ID: <[email protected]>

Subject: look at this shop

I have changed my password again and I have done a full scan on my comp with AVG again but it doesnt find any malicious files.

What else would you recomened I do?

Report the SPAM email to your email provider and block the sender.

If you read through this thread, you will find that AVG is not the best at malware detection. Many people (including me) have found infected machines that use AVG antiviris. I ditched AVG several years ago for this reason. When assisting an internet cafe owner who was using AVG, i discovered all the machines were infected. Since the shop switched to Avira, there have been no more problems.

Uninstall AVG and install Avira. For effective scans, you can't have more than one antivirus program installed at a time. Then do a scan with Avira.

[waza]

Hi well it happened again, some one used my email to send unsolicited bulk e-mail to my contact list.

First upstream SMTP client IP address: [65.55.111.102]

blu0-omc2-s27.blu0.hotmail.com

According to a 'Received:' trace, the message originated at: [65.55.111.72],

BLU153-W23 ([65.55.111.72])

Message-ID: <[email protected]>

Subject: look at this shop

I have changed my password again and I have done a full scan on my comp with AVG again but it doesnt find any malicious files.

What else would you recomened I do?

Report the SPAM email to your email provider and block the sender.

If you read through this thread, you will find that AVG is not the best at malware detection. Many people (including me) have found infected machines that use AVG antiviris. I ditched AVG several years ago for this reason. When assisting an internet cafe owner who was using AVG, i discovered all the machines were infected. Since the shop switched to Avira, there have been no more problems.

Uninstall AVG and install Avira. For effective scans, you can't have more than one antivirus program installed at a time. Then do a scan with Avira.

I have reported the event to email provider. Sounds like good advice, AVG seem to provide poor protection, I will investigate it further but avira or Kapersky seem the most recomended

[LaoPo]

Hi well it happened again, some one used my email to send unsolicited bulk e-mail to my contact list.

First upstream SMTP client IP address: [65.55.111.102]

blu0-omc2-s27.blu0.hotmail.com

According to a 'Received:' trace, the message originated at: [65.55.111.72],

BLU153-W23 ([65.55.111.72])

Message-ID: <[email protected]>

Subject: look at this shop

I have changed my password again and I have done a full scan on my comp with AVG again but it doesnt find any malicious files.

What else would you recomened I do?

Report the SPAM email to your email provider and block the sender.

If you read through this thread, you will find that AVG is not the best at malware detection. Many people (including me) have found infected machines that use AVG antiviris. I ditched AVG several years ago for this reason. When assisting an internet cafe owner who was using AVG, i discovered all the machines were infected. Since the shop switched to Avira, there have been no more problems.

Uninstall AVG and install Avira. For effective scans, you can't have more than one antivirus program installed at a time. Then do a scan with Avira.

...well, I have bad news about this company AVIRA from Germany.

First, both my wife and I had both the FREE virus program installed but lately, especially on the computer of my wife the number of viruses/spyware etc became mindboggling and running into the many thousands in just a few days.

We decided to buy and install the (for Home) AVIRA Premium Security Suite and than the drama really took off.

We installed, closed and restarted the computer according to the instructions and 1 day later the avira signalled another 340 viruses.........AFTER we installed the best program they have ????

The computer became slower and slower and we wrote to them...NO ANSWER...it's impossible to phone them from another country (in Europe) since they have all kinds of barriers BEFORE you can even try to contact them (this problem belongs to technical problems and you can only reach them via a € 0,14/min phone which is impossible to do via another country, outside Germany since the provider doesn't allow to phone that number, outside my own country.

I tried to phone their reguklar number in Germany but you just get a tape....

My wife decided to uninstall the program and the computer is now FREE of problems WITHOUT AVIRA !

Horrible product and horrible company, spending money for nothing and NO service... and only found out on Google, AFTER buying their product that it seems to be common knowledge that Avira installs bugs/viruses to force you to buy, after a certain time of using the FREE version, their anti-virus program.

Note:

since I uninstalled the avira FREE software also, my YAHOO! email account was stolen and used to send spam..... what a coincidence....

LaoPo

[waza]

OK so AVG and Avira are out, I found Norton 360 bloated and invasive. I guess that leave Kapersky.

[cdnvic]

OK so AVG and Avira are out

Don't be fooled by one anecdotal complaint (that hinting that Avira was somehow behind his email getting hacked is outrageous). I've had customers using Avira with great success for years. The premium Avira is more proactive than the free one. The test results and awards speak for themselves. That said, Kaspersky is one of the best, as well as NOD32. If you want a free one you might want to take a look at Avast, which has really improved in the last year or two.

[cdnvic]

since I uninstalled the avira FREE software also, my YAHOO! email account was stolen and used to send spam..... what a coincidence....

LaoPo

Absolute nonsense. You had a severely compromised system prior to installation, and by the sounds of your description, didn't take the needed steps to clean it up (which, when you have that many infections probably means a reformat/re-install). It's no wonder your email got hacked, despite your innuendo that it was somehow to do with Avira, and not the hundreds of pre-existing infections on your system.

[BB1950]

cdnvic, Spot on!

[waza]

Ok guys thanks for the great advice, all systems up and running. Hopefully, there wont be anymore problems.