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So much for free AV/Spyware programs

post #1 of 15
6/2/05 at 2:42pm
Thread Starter 
Well, in spite of having up to date MS antispyware and AVG, my computer has caught a bug. It's the nasty thing that sends the screen black with a warning directing you to Antivirus Gold. CoolWebSearch is present too.

AVG just sat there and told me what was happening and couldn't stop it, and the MS thing was nice enough to keep me apprised too.

Anyone have any removal suggestions before I reformat?

Cheers

Steve
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post #2 of 15
6/2/05 at 2:44pm
Adaware and Spybot are, IMO, much better than AVG or MSAS at detecting certain programs. You might give them a spin before throwing in the towel.
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post #3 of 15
6/2/05 at 2:45pm
so far Microsoft's beta spykiller and Norton's Antivirus/internet security have worked for me.

coolwebsearch can be removed with a file called CWShredder. find it at download.com, and use FireFox to surf the web.
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post #4 of 15
6/2/05 at 2:48pm
I use a program called AntiVir for virus protection and Adaware for spyware.
AntVir is free and very good.
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post #5 of 15
6/2/05 at 3:48pm
just type in to goolge the program you need to remove, like for me aurora was not being removed by spybot or ad-aware on a windows ME system, so i just typed in "aurora removal" and got a link where i could download a program that removes it. worked very well
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post #6 of 15
6/2/05 at 4:00pm
You dont need a tool to remove them if you know your way around your machine. If you boot into safe mode. Load up the registry check the hkey_local machine\software\microsoft\windows\current versions\run

make sure nothing is running you dont know. Like any odd shit. If you dont recognize the file through it into google. If it comes up as a bad file. follow the path thats listed in the reg key go delete the file then remove the registry entry. Then run your MS anti spy and your adaware. Shoud do the job. Also keep an eye out for a file called
"Nail.exe" it seems to be a piece of Spyware thats been going around a lot lately. Nail should be in windows\system32 I believe.
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post #7 of 15
6/2/05 at 6:54pm
If you're really having trouble, download and run HiJackThis, post your log at this site, and check back every day or so... don't bump your thread, and you'll have someone "assigned" to you to help you clean yourself up.

After that, delete/hide all shortcuts to IE and only use firefox. I used IE for quite awhile... and every week or so I have 20-100 various forms of malware, usually not *too bad*, according to adaware/spybot.

I exclusivly use firefox now, I just ran my first scan last night, after 3 monthes.... only 8 objects found.... all cookies.
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post #8 of 15
6/2/05 at 6:59pm
Spyware Blaster

I use this in addition to Spybot S&D and Adaware SE. Combined with Nod32 AV, firefox as my browser and a NAT firewall (linksys router), I have next to zero security problems.
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post #9 of 15
6/3/05 at 7:16am
Here you go:

Best Anti-spyware detection/removal (tested, not hearsay): Counterspy
Best Antivirus detection/removal with-up-to-date definitions (tested, not hearsay): Kaspersky AV
Best Antivirus detection/removal with unknown virii (tested, not hearsay): Eset NOD-32
Best anti-trojans: DiamondCS TDS-3, BoClean and Ewido Security Suite

However, when looking at all the factors (price, ease-of-use, scanning time, unpacking features, etc.) there is no single best anti-virus program. The only applies only to detection/removal accuracy. So, caveat emptor.

For more information: www.wilderssecurity.com

rgds,
halcy

PS This really is the wrong forum for this. This is a notebook, not a security forum.
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post #10 of 15
6/3/05 at 7:46am

double

nt
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post #11 of 15
6/3/05 at 10:00pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I managed to fix it without a reformat, but it was a hassle involving emptying caches, restarting in safe mode and using multiple programs.

The big problem was AVG, which was able to detect the problems, but unable to remove them even in Safe Mode. I used Avast to do the job.

Thanks for the advice.

Steve
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post #12 of 15
6/4/05 at 7:37pm
I tested AVG's functioning with an old comp and I disliked that AVG could often do nothing too. It picked up the random assortment of stuff I threw at it but sometimes failed to do anything about them.
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post #13 of 15
6/4/05 at 8:48pm
I know you wanted free but nothing will beat Norton Antivirus 2005 / Webroot Spysweeper (check out PC Magazines recent article just google it) as the combination works flawlessly. Good luck!
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post #14 of 15
6/5/05 at 12:04am
Thread Starter 
I have a copy of NAV2003 but thought AVG would use fewer resources (it is for my smaller laptop). After some experimentation on exactly how much the various products use, I discovered that NAV and AVG use about the same amount of memory and CPU power, while Avast uses significantly more.

So I've switched both laptops back to Norton. In terms of Spyware, I'm checking results with AdAware, Spycatcher, Spybot, Spysweeper and MS AntiSpy, but at the moment they seems much of a muchness.

Cheers

Steve
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post #15 of 15
6/5/05 at 1:27am
Thread Starter 
After more tests, I'll keep MS Antispyware and do spot checks with Spybot and Adaware.

Cheers

Steve
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