Spyware 201

teddywingman

Looks like Zach Galifianakis
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2009
11,144
a basement on the hill
My desktop with windows 7 contracted a virus the other day when I was trying to download celtx--the screenwriting format software. The main virus seems to be some browser safeguard thing. Problem is I can't get on the internet to download anything to remove it.
I went to the control panel and clicked uninstall but that obviosly isn't going to cut it. (as you can tell, I'm a tech moron).
Any help would be great.
 

Harry Hooper

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Jan 4, 2002
34,365
teddywingman said:
My desktop with windows 7 contracted a virus the other day when I was trying to download celtx--the screenwriting format software. The main virus seems to be some browser safeguard thing. Problem is I can't get on the internet to download anything to remove it.
I went to the control panel and clicked uninstall but that obviosly isn't going to cut it. (as you can tell, I'm a tech moron).
Any help would be great.
 
How are you making out with this? Can you download on another machine a software package (e.g., http://usa.kaspersky.com/downloads/free-home-trials/internet-security/download ) and then bring that download (via USB drive or CD-ROM disc) over to the infected machine and install?
 

BoSoxFink

Stripes
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2006
7,646
South Park
Are there any free adware or spyware apps out there? My laptop has been incredibly annoying lately with popups and has become almost unusable because of it. I'm not that tech savvy so any help would be much appreciated.
 

AnkleStigmata

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May 31, 2005
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Bleedred said:
I have a new Lenovo T440s (purchased a month ago).  My Norton Anti-virus runs out tomorrow.   I have historically only purchased one anti-virus product, as I do nothing exotic with my machine.  What do you all recommend (link if possible) to provide basic protection?
 
Thanks
 
I have sorta the same question. I've been using the freebie version of Avast for a while now - as a result of a long-ago recommendation in this thread, IIRC - but lately it's been causing my Win 7 machine to blue-screen (an extensively discussed yet still unfixed problem with aswsv.sys per google). I uninstalled it, reinstalled, same thing. Last night I uninstalled it a second time, custom-installed with just bare-bones AV, and already one BSOD. So now it's time to say vaffanculo to Avast and try something else. For a while I was paying for McAfee but then despite automatic and frequent virus definition file updates, that failed to prevent something from hosing my machine and my wife's laptop on separate occasions, so eff that ess too.
 
What's currently good, whether free or pay?
 

Couperin47

Member
SoSH Member
AnkleStigmata said:
 
I have sorta the same question. I've been using the freebie version of Avast for a while now - as a result of a long-ago recommendation in this thread, IIRC - but lately it's been causing my Win 7 machine to blue-screen (an extensively discussed yet still unfixed problem with aswsv.sys per google). I uninstalled it, reinstalled, same thing. Last night I uninstalled it a second time, custom-installed with just bare-bones AV, and already one BSOD. So now it's time to say vaffanculo to Avast and try something else. For a while I was paying for McAfee but then despite automatic and frequent virus definition file updates, that failed to prevent something from hosing my machine and my wife's laptop on separate occasions, so eff that ess too.
 
What's currently good, whether free or pay?
 
I don't believe in any single provider, layered protection works best, but, of course, they have to play nicely together. I use the following combo. have for years. Together they use very little space and resources and are inexpensive:
 
1. MS Security Essentials is free and almost worth what you pay for it... but it can't hurt to have it running.
2. ESET NOD32 AV (NOT their full security suite product), on occasion Newegg sells a 1 year license for as little at $10.99, once you have it I have used the single license on as many as 7 boxes with no objection from them...
3. Webroot Secure Anywhere is available in several flavors, the basic I use covers my Windows boxes and also provides coverage and theft protection for Android phones. Unlike most, it's now cloud based, continually updates. It also appears insensitive to how many boxes you install it on with a legit key... I think on the last sale I bought a 2 year subscription for $30.... Also Webroot includes all sorst of extra goodies: a sandbox tool, a password manager, a utility to directly control any active process, the ability to backup data and settings from your phones locally, identity protection...lots of useful stuff.
 
Eset and Webroot compete for which catches stuff first for me.
 
Please note NONE of these products provide complete protection 'out of the box', you have to configure each intelligently: locked down fully they will block sites and actions that you may well wish to allow, they may also allow things you don't want to allow. Intelligently configured they have protected me perfectly for the last 7 years, even when I knowingly go to sites notorious for warez and other net horrors.
 

AnkleStigmata

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May 31, 2005
1,148
@mikemokr
Thanks for those ideas. Also just read this thread where MS Security Essentials/Windows Defender was regarded well enough. Avast blue-screened me again today so I have uninstalled it for good and made sure Defender is set up for real-time protection and to automatically d/l updated definition files. I'll do some more research and determine what else if anything I feel I need to do. I generally practice safe/aware/conservative computing, don't go to warez sites etc., so mainly am just looking for a backstop in case I screw up somehow.
 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,128
Glasgow, Scotland
Hey Guys,
 
My sister's lap top has some kind of crypto virus. I've tried to fix it, going on forums and stuff...no joy. So i said I'd ask the brain squad at SOSH. The virus hass encrypted all her files as far as I can see. My sister uses the lap top to work from home, so there's spreadsheets; budgets; reports, all sorts of stuff, some backed up but a lot isn't. As well as this hundreds of photos from her time in the USA a couple of years ago.
 
Her fiance emailed me the text file that you get with this virus and i've pasted it below omitting the links (cos i is scared)  -  basically they - whoever they may be - want some money, and credit card details to provide the encryption key, to unencrypt these files.
 
What i have done so far: Ran scans with Avast and Malware bytes; looked in application data for the offending file, but no joy. So I'm kinda stumped. If any one can help, I'd be most grateful. Here's the text file, cut and pasted below. (in order to tr and fix the problem i cut and pasted the secnd line below into google, looking for forums/solutions etc...but no joy as of yet. Been at this much of the day and had to give up as the problem exceeds my knowledge. The operating system on her laptop is Windows 7
 
 
All files including videos, photos and documents on your computer are encrypted by CryptoDefense Software.
Encryption was produced using a unique public key RSA-2048 generated for this computer. To decrypt files you need to obtain the private key.
The single copy of the private key, which will allow you to decrypt the files, located on a secret server on the Internet;
the server will destroy the key after a month. After that, nobody and never will be able to restore files.

 
In order to decrypt the files, open your personal page on the site .............................. and follow the instructions.
 
1. You must download and install this browser ...........................................................
2. After installation, run the browser and enter the address: rj2bocejarqnpuhm.onion/bYj
3. Follow the instructions on the web-site. We remind you that the sooner you do, the more chances are left to recover the files.
 

AlNipper49

Huge Member
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 3, 2001
44,840
Mtigawi
Fletch - I'd love to give you good news but there is a very good chance that she has lost everything. Google "bleeping computer cryptlocker". I can give you more info later when I do t have two kids hanging off of me.
 

Reverend

for king and country
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Jan 20, 2007
63,822
teddywingman said:
My desktop with windows 7 contracted a virus the other day when I was trying to download celtx--the screenwriting format software. The main virus seems to be some browser safeguard thing. Problem is I can't get on the internet to download anything to remove it.
I went to the control panel and clicked uninstall but that obviosly isn't going to cut it. (as you can tell, I'm a tech moron).
Any help would be great.
Hoping you solved this by now, but do you remember how you sorted it the last time you had a rogue? ;)
 

kneemoe

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Dec 19, 2006
2,436
Glens Falls, NY

Harry Hooper

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Jan 4, 2002
34,365
god loves the sox said:
Best free program to thoroughly clean a PC?
 
Best way to clean (as opposed to reinstall of OS or restoration of backup) is to mount the dirty drive as a second drive in a protected, clean PC and clean it from there. If that isn't feasible, download the free 30-day trial of a full program like Kaspersky, Bitdefender or Eset. Install one of them including latest updates, run through cleaning 2-3 times, rebooting after each clean, uninstall. Then install the other one, Do cleaning again 2-3 times, reboot after each cleaning, and then uninstall. Make a backup of the cleaned hard drive. Install some free anti-virus/anti-malware programs. Eset also offers a free online scanner at http://www.eset.com/us/online-scanner/
 
 
Bitdefender is offering a free 6-month license for its Internet Security 2015 at http://www.bitdefender.com/media/html/60-second/index.html
 

MakMan44

stole corsi's dream
SoSH Member
Aug 22, 2009
19,363
Is there a better anti virus software than Sophos for Macs? Every time I try to start a scan, it takes forever to actually start. 
 

Zomp

Moderator
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Aug 28, 2006
13,941
The Slums of Shaolin
Any advice on how to remove adware called pricechop on my laptop?  I've deleted the extension in chrome and uninstalled the program but every time I restart my computer it comes back.
 

Couperin47

Member
SoSH Member
Zomp said:
Any advice on how to remove adware called pricechop on my laptop?  I've deleted the extension in chrome and uninstalled the program but every time I restart my computer it comes back.
 
http://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-price-chop-virus/
 
Google is your friend you know.... and you wouldn't have the issue if you spent a few bucks on some real protection... next time it might not be adware...
 

nothumb

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Jul 27, 2006
7,065
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Couperin47 said:
 
http://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-price-chop-virus/
 
Google is your friend you know.... and you wouldn't have the issue if you spent a few bucks on some real protection... next time it might not be adware...
 
It seems like all the top google links for getting rid of pricechop, ads by notification, etc are just sites parroting ineffective strategies + advising you to download spyware / malware programs that don't fix the problem. The link above included. Your response was not helpful.
 
I've been running security software, firewall, malware detection etc for years and I somehow got the ads by notification thing and can't get rid of it. So skip the scolding. Would appreciate any constructive input from people who actually know how to fix this.
 

threecy

Cosbologist
SoSH Member
Sep 1, 2006
1,587
Tamworth, NH
Anyone deal with CryptoWall 2.0 recently?  According to various articles, the latest outbreak spread through AOL/Match.com/Yahoo advertisements (just by having the ad load, not even clicking it).
 
It eludes anti-virus and anti-Malware programs and gradually encrypts the users files (except things like .exes, so that it can encrypt as much as possible without getting noticed), then demands a $500 ransom.  The encryption key is stored remotely.  If the user does not pay the ransom in a week, it doubles.  If the ransom is not paid after a certain number of days, the encryption key is deleted.  It apparently goes after all attached drives, including external media and mapped network drives.
 

Koufax

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Jul 15, 2005
5,929
Anyone know how to get rid of GoPCPro? Uninstall does not work and Kaspersky doesn't detect it as a problem.  Various websites identify it as criminal, but their instructions for getting rid of it are hopeless complex and end with an offer to sell me something that may well be worse than the disease.
 

Harry Hooper

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Jan 4, 2002
34,365
Koufax said:
Anyone know how to get rid of GoPCPro? Uninstall does not work and Kaspersky doesn't detect it as a problem.  Various websites identify it as criminal, but their instructions for getting rid of it are hopeless complex and end with an offer to sell me something that may well be worse than the disease.
 
Worth a try to download and install the free 30-day trial of HitManPro
 

Norm loves Vera

Joe wants Trump to burn
SoSH Member
Dec 25, 2003
5,341
Peace Dale, RI
HI.. last night my laptop was infected with some malware that is causing pop ups and various shopping deals on all sites.  I run the firefox 33.1 on windows 8.1 on  a Leveno laptop I bought last year.  my fiance had a thumbdrive that our laptops couldnt read, so of course she used my laptop to download recovery software and thus my laptop now is funky.
 
I use the free avast and downloaded and used Malwarebytes.. initially it found 34 issues that it cleaned up.. reboot and issue is still there.. repeat process with Malwarebytes a few times and it keeps finding one issue and cleans it.  I even tried the software suggested above Hitmanpro and it doesnt see the virus.
 
I then went to major geeks and ran the gamit of malware software there..still nothing except some issues found and cleaned.  A friend suggested Stopzilla, and it found items but it wants me to purchase the product to kill it.  that's the rub.. my fiance has my wallet as we switched cars yesterday and I always put wallet in the overhead visor while driving.  my bad.. she is not home until dinner time and I need this laptop back asap.
 
I am attempting to delete manually each of the listed infections and have found one persistant one in the task manager processes listings.  It's called "applagitatint" and "applagitatinthelper" and i have have denied permissions in the properties section for both.. it wont shut down so I can delete them.
 
there are 14 files flagged and the above are the first two listed.. any ideas?
 

riboflav

Member
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Jan 20, 2006
9,546
NOVA
I have the securepaths malware and every time I seem to get rid of it, it comes back. Anyway, my novice question is if I uninstall Safari and install Chrome in its place, will that work? My understanding is that securepaths only effects your browser and not the rest of your computer.
 

Couperin47

Member
SoSH Member
riboflav said:
I have the securepaths malware and every time I seem to get rid of it, it comes back. Anyway, my novice question is if I uninstall Safari and install Chrome in its place, will that work? My understanding is that securepaths only effects your browser and not the rest of your computer.
 
This malware affects Chrome, Mozilla browsers (Firefox & Palemoon for example) and IE too, so that strategy won't work. I'm seeing lots of potential fixes and claims, but it's clear that just removing files won't ever completely kill it, there are registry settings that also need removal. It's an infection that also keeps morphing...this 'easy guide' to removal is anything but simple and admits the infection may have already have added new wrinkles:
 
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Koa2Dbwf4kkJ:removevirusmalware.com/get-rid-of-securepaths-com-virus/
 
 
alternatively, you're going to need a serious malware removal product (hint: don't expect any of the free alternatives to bail you out).
 
ESET has a free online scan and a 30 day free trial offer which might bail you out:
 
http://www.eset.com/us/online-scanner/
 

riboflav

Member
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Jan 20, 2006
9,546
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Couperin47 said:
 
This malware affects Chrome, Mozilla browsers (Firefox & Palemoon for example) and IE too, so that strategy won't work. I'm seeing lots of potential fixes and claims, but it's clear that just removing files won't ever completely kill it, there are registry settings that also need removal. It's an infection that also keeps morphing...this 'easy guide' to removal is anything but simple and admits the infection may have already have added new wrinkles:
 
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Koa2Dbwf4kkJ:removevirusmalware.com/get-rid-of-securepaths-com-virus/
 
 
alternatively, you're going to need a serious malware removal product (hint: don't expect any of the free alternatives to bail you out).
 
ESET has a free online scan and a 30 day free trial offer which might bail you out:
 
http://www.eset.com/us/online-scanner/
 
Thanks, Coup.
 
I had already tried that first link and have done some other stuff but so far no luck. Per your suggestion, I got ESET and ran it and it found a couple threats but I don't think either were securepaths related. 
 
I'm thinking about taking my macbook air to Geek Squad but I don't want to spend $200 and find out they couldn't fix it either. Any opinion on Geek Squad? My macbook is only 16 months old so I hate to give up on it already.
 

Couperin47

Member
SoSH Member
riboflav said:
 
Thanks, Coup.
 
I had already tried that first link and have done some other stuff but so far no luck. Per your suggestion, I got ESET and ran it and it found a couple threats but I don't think either were securepaths related. 
 
I'm thinking about taking my macbook air to Geek Squad but I don't want to spend $200 and find out they couldn't fix it either. Any opinion on Geek Squad? My macbook is only 16 months old so I hate to give up on it already.
 
ahhh, you didn't say this was a Mac issue. I plead complete ignorance of anything Mac related. Geek Squad is, of course, highly variable depending on staff, but in general they are a joke. IMHO, you'd be better off saving all your files elsewhere, reformatting the drive and reloading a fresh install of your OS, and saving the $200.
 

riboflav

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Jan 20, 2006
9,546
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Couperin47 said:
 
ahhh, you didn't say this was a Mac issue. I plead complete ignorance of anything Mac related. Geek Squad is, of course, highly variable depending on staff, but in general they are a joke. IMHO, you'd be better off saving all your files elsewhere, reformatting the drive and reloading a fresh install of your OS, and saving the $200.
 
Whoa. Whoa. Do you have a link that would lead me through this?
 
Thanks!
 

riboflav

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Jan 20, 2006
9,546
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Couperin47 said:
 
like I said I no nothing about the Apple ecosystem, but such an option is available on any Windows based laptop.
 
That's cool. I erased the HD and reinstalled the OS so hopefully that takes care of it.
 

Couperin47

Member
SoSH Member
riboflav said:
 
That's cool. I erased the HD and reinstalled the OS so hopefully that takes care of it.
 
That should work, but be aware some infections can lurk in the MBR (master boot record) on the hard drive, eliminating them often requires that you not just erase the drive, but remove the partitioning and completely reformat the drive to obtain a clean MBR.  Nothing I've read implies you need to do that to eliminate securepaths.
 

Harry Hooper

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The paid Panda program has topped the testing charts from time to time.
 

LoweTek

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May 30, 2005
2,178
Central Florida
I have a Win7 computer which is getting the 'System Support IT' pop-ups. (You may be infected, call this toll free number, etc.) All my go to actions to eradicate this thing have had no success. Reading a removal instruction at a site called malwaretips.com, they suggest using ADWCleaner, then Malwarebytes (I did already do Malwarebytes and it found quite a lot but did not eliminate the issue), then HitmanPro and finally to reset IE settings.

I see HitManPro recommended by Hooper above but can anyone vouch for ADWCleaner and/offer another suggestion for a reliable instruction site or approach to getting this cleaned out?

Wiping and re-installing is not necessarily out of the question on this PC but I'd rather clean it up than take the time to re-install.

Thx
 

Bleedred

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 21, 2001
9,930
Boston, MA
norm from cheers said:
norm from cheers said:
HI.. last night my laptop was infected with some malware that is causing pop ups and various shopping deals on all sites.  I run the firefox 33.1 on windows 8.1 on  a Leveno laptop I bought last year.  my fiance had a thumbdrive that our laptops couldnt read, so of course she used my laptop to download recovery software and thus my laptop now is funky.
 
I use the free avast and downloaded and used Malwarebytes.. initially it found 34 issues that it cleaned up.. reboot and issue is still there.. repeat process with Malwarebytes a few times and it keeps finding one issue and cleans it.  I even tried the software suggested above Hitmanpro and it doesnt see the virus.
 
I then went to major geeks and ran the gamit of malware software there..still nothing except some issues found and cleaned.  A friend suggested Stopzilla, and it found items but it wants me to purchase the product to kill it.  that's the rub.. my fiance has my wallet as we switched cars yesterday and I always put wallet in the overhead visor while driving.  my bad.. she is not home until dinner time and I need this laptop back asap.
 
I am attempting to delete manually each of the listed infections and have found one persistant one in the task manager processes listings.  It's called "applagitatint" and "applagitatinthelper" and i have have denied permissions in the properties section for both.. it wont shut down so I can delete them.
 
there are 14 files flagged and the above are the first two listed.. any ideas?
Norm - did you ever solve this?  your problem seems almost exactly like mine
 

cmac24

Member
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Aug 2, 2001
2,003
I've been getting this message from avast:

avast web shield has blocked access to this page becuase the following certificate is invalid: ssl334328.cloudflaressl.com

I did some googling and it looks like some kind of spyware but I can't figure out how to make it stop. Anyone see this before and have ideas on how to get rid of it? I'm running windows xp.
 

Couperin47

Member
SoSH Member
I've been getting this message from avast:

avast web shield has blocked access to this page becuase the following certificate is invalid: ssl334328.cloudflaressl.com

I did some googling and it looks like some kind of spyware but I can't figure out how to make it stop. Anyone see this before and have ideas on how to get rid of it? I'm running windows xp.

Unlikely that it's spyware, what Avast is telling you is that the registration certificate for that site is invalid, almost certainly expired. There are only a gazillion expired certificates to websites on the Net, many/most modern browsers can now be set to alert you to this, as well as protection software that does the same thing. 99% of the time this means nothing more than that whoever is responsible for that site as been lazy about updating/renewing their certificate. It generally does not mean you're infected.
 

riboflav

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Jan 20, 2006
9,546
NOVA
I was on baseball reference this morning. And, after about a minute, it was suddenly redirected to an Adobe (possible fake Abode site?) site that wanted to me to update my Adobe flash player. I wasn't watching any video, just browsing the site. Also, I was on a page, not clicking to another page when it occurred. I immediately closed Safari and ran a malware scan. It turned up nothing. I reset Safari and nothing has happened since. Unfortunately, I did not get the URL of the site I was possibly redirected to.

Anything to worry about on my end? Could baseball reference be corrupted?
 

riboflav

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Jan 20, 2006
9,546
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So, 19 days and no more problems until just now. I'm on wunderground and am redirected to a site that again wants me to "update" my video player. The url is softtic.com. After some research, this seems to be mostly a PC problem, but I'm on a MacBook using Safari. The only thing I can find online suggests that I delete all my extensions. Well, I don't have any extensions. I ran a malware scan and once again it turned up nothing. Still, nothing to worry about?
 

riboflav

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Jan 20, 2006
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Btw, it's captured in my browser history as, "video player setup." I don't know if that helps but I thought I'd pass it along.
 

natpastime162

Member
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Jul 15, 2005
2,943
Pennsylvania
Every time I call my mother she tells me that somebody is trying to hijack her computer. She must call Comcast on the daily. I believe she still has Windows 10 on this PC, but it might be 7 (I remember reverting one of their computers back to Windows 7, do not recall which). I know that she downloaded Norton after these problems started because it is included with Comcast's service, and that she runs malwarebytes and ccleaner on the regular.

I don't believe in any single provider, layered protection works best, but, of course, they have to play nicely together. I use the following combo. have for years. Together they use very little space and resources and are inexpensive:

1. MS Security Essentials is free and almost worth what you pay for it... but it can't hurt to have it running.
2. ESET NOD32 AV (NOT their full security suite product), on occasion Newegg sells a 1 year license for as little at $10.99, once you have it I have used the single license on as many as 7 boxes with no objection from them...
3. Webroot Secure Anywhere is available in several flavors, the basic I use covers my Windows boxes and also provides coverage and theft protection for Android phones. Unlike most, it's now cloud based, continually updates. It also appears insensitive to how many boxes you install it on with a legit key... I think on the last sale I bought a 2 year subscription for $30.... Also Webroot includes all sorst of extra goodies: a sandbox tool, a password manager, a utility to directly control any active process, the ability to backup data and settings from your phones locally, identity protection...lots of useful stuff.

Eset and Webroot compete for which catches stuff first for me.

Please note NONE of these products provide complete protection 'out of the box', you have to configure each intelligently: locked down fully they will block sites and actions that you may well wish to allow, they may also allow things you don't want to allow. Intelligently configured they have protected me perfectly for the last 7 years, even when I knowingly go to sites notorious for warez and other net horrors.
Coup (or somebody else),

Does this remain a good course of action 2 1/2 years later, or are better options out there?
 

Couperin47

Member
SoSH Member
Every time I call my mother she tells me that somebody is trying to hijack her computer. She must call Comcast on the daily. I believe she still has Windows 10 on this PC, but it might be 7 (I remember reverting one of their computers back to Windows 7, do not recall which). I know that she downloaded Norton after these problems started because it is included with Comcast's service, and that she runs malwarebytes and ccleaner on the regular.



Coup (or somebody else),

Does this remain a good course of action 2 1/2 years later, or are better options out there?
1. The Microsoft AV included with 10 is seriously better than the Essentials which is all that's available with 7, it's still not great but it's not a joke, definitely better than nothing.
2. Layered still works better than any one program, the issue remains you need a combo that doesn't interact by interfering with each other, use too many resources or actually block/refuse to install together. This is true of ESET + Webroot+ Essentials. Webroot being cloud based is very small, close to the lightest on resources and rates even more highly than it did 2 years ago (there are now 3 or 4 variations, the AV engine is identical in all, you want the plain SecureAnywhere product). The base ESET product is NOD32, also still rates very highly (as to results, some downgrade it because of the interface, not it's performance). They still work together perfectly. Webroot remains insensitive to how many devices you actually install it upon, ESET changed their serial validation and I suspect it now will notice being used on multiple devices if you get a single user version (I have not upgraded the underlying interface since I'm not sure).
3. Norton remains middle of the pack in performance, and is a resource hog. Worse it is very difficult to uninstall/remove so that many consider it more of an infection than a solution and, of course, it does NOT play well with any other product I know of.
 

edoug

Member
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Jul 15, 2005
6,007
Every time I call my mother she tells me that somebody is trying to hijack her computer. She must call Comcast on the daily. I believe she still has Windows 10 on this PC, but it might be 7 (I remember reverting one of their computers back to Windows 7, do not recall which). I know that she downloaded Norton after these problems started because it is included with Comcast's service, and that she runs malwarebytes and ccleaner on the regular.



Coup (or somebody else),

Does this remain a good course of action 2 1/2 years later, or are better options out there?
Does your mother go to Facebook? Does she take those quizzes on there? Some add programs to browsers. So if you or anybody else has an opportunity to check out her PC physically. That may be a place to look.
 
Last edited:

natpastime162

Member
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Jul 15, 2005
2,943
Pennsylvania
1. The Microsoft AV included with 10 is seriously better than the Essentials which is all that's available with 7, it's still not great but it's not a joke, definitely better than nothing.
2. Layered still works better than any one program, the issue remains you need a combo that doesn't interact by interfering with each other, use too many resources or actually block/refuse to install together. This is true of ESET + Webroot+ Essentials. Webroot being cloud based is very small, close to the lightest on resources and rates even more highly than it did 2 years ago (there are now 3 or 4 variations, the AV engine is identical in all, you want the plain SecureAnywhere product). The base ESET product is NOD32, also still rates very highly (as to results, some downgrade it because of the interface, not it's performance). They still work together perfectly. Webroot remains insensitive to how many devices you actually install it upon, ESET changed their serial validation and I suspect it now will notice being used on multiple devices if you get a single user version (I have not upgraded the underlying interface since I'm not sure).
3. Norton remains middle of the pack in performance, and is a resource hog. Worse it is very difficult to uninstall/remove so that many consider it more of an infection than a solution and, of course, it does NOT play well with any other product I know of.
Ok, I'm going to go ahead and purchase Webroot and NOD32. Now I just need to figure out how to eradicate Norton from her computer.

Does your mother go to Facebook? Does she take those quizzes on there? Some add programs to browsers. So if you or anybody else has an opportunity to check out her PC physically. That may be a place to look.
That's the thing. She doesn't have a facebook account. Pretty sure her web diet consists of: web interface for the local paper, her employer's website, romance novel/book websites, and well-known web retailers (amazon, ebay, etc.). Maybe one of those sticks out.
 

charlieoscar

Member
Sep 28, 2014
1,339
Russia has developed a cyberweapon that can disrupt power grids, according to new research --https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russia-has-developed-a-cyber-weapon-that-can-disrupt-power-grids-according-to-new-research/2017/06/11/b91b773e-4eed-11e7-91eb-9611861a988f_story.html?tid=hybrid_mostsharedarticles_2_na&utm_term=.c2a6ebc02dfa

The article also includes the following: "The malware samples were first obtained by ESET, a Slovakian research firm, which shared some of them with Dragos. ESET has dubbed the malware Industroyer."

Is that the same ESET?