PC virus help....

My step-dad is clicking everything under the sun that pops up on his PC and his problems are endless. He accepted a "Windows Critical Download" box and now his PC is screwed, needing a fresh install.

What is the best way to prevent things like this from popping up on his PC? Is it a good firewall? He is using Windows Firewall only. He also had endless browser problems and I suspect it's because of the same.

Any help would be much appreciated. I can't take these calls every month anymore....

 

Firefox with Adblock Plus plugin would help. ZoneAlarm Firewall is alright but slows your PC down quite a bit.

 

I use nod32.

 

Microsoft Security Essentials and Adblock plus (and Google Chrome)

Best combo, and it's free. Just because Norto says free sucks doesn't mean it actually does. I've been using this combo for as long as MSE has been out- never had a single virus, pop-up or advertisement. It's the virgin web browsing experience.

 

Ever since i got a malware problem on my previous computer, i got a bit insane.

I use Avast (with some config tweaks after install : HERE) + Spywareblaster + Malwarebytes Anti-malware Free (I update it everyday, do a full scan every week)

Firefox + Adblock Plus (EasyList + EasyPrivacy + Malware Domains lists) + NoScript + Ghostery
For checking website on search engines, i use Avast's own OnlineSecurity +WOT.

Still, there's no such thing as best solution.

 

Yes, you have gone insane- All those things can be simply and easily replaced with MSE. It's light and it's designed by Microsoft- so quite frankly you'd expect it to work best with Windows. And it does.
Having so many different applications just to do the job of one seems plain redundant to me.

 

My computer is very lightweight, boots very fast. All of those are free software, recommended by everyone.

But yes, i agree i went insane on browser protection. LOL

 

It basically comes down to a matter of personal preference. I'll sum it up as best and as least biased as I can.


MSE is
light, good for old/low power computers
very well integrated into windows (built in to Windows 8)
Very easy to use
"one size fits all" solution
tl;dr- easy and light


AVAST! is
Good for people wanting customization in their protection (sandbox mode)
has better/more features that some may find useful
can block malware-y webpages automatically
has higher sensitivity
tl;dr- powerful and custom


One thing I'll say about AVAST! is that when you're installing it, it does that stupid "Would you like to install the AVAST! toolbar for [browser]?". I CAN'T STAND THAT SHIT.
MSE is pretty easy to grab off the web and installs in a flash.

 

AVG free 2013, AdBlock, AdSweep, Webmail Ad Blocker, and Magic Actions for YouTube. All these combined and I have never seen an ad or virus on my PC. Been using this setup for 1.5 years now. Bonus for AVG: It has a free "Do Not Track" extension with it for the browser. All my extensions are used with Chrome.

 

I have Xfinity extreme (I forget what it's called now but Comcast internet with 500mb/s download 100mb/s upload) and Norton 360 with Comcast total guard protection comes completely free with any Comcast internet service. A will admit Norton is a quite overprotective and somewhat annoying as it always gives off false-positives, sometimes on programs I have written myself. In my 4-5 years of using Norton I have never got a single virus, or had my email overtaken. Comcast total guard will store all of your usernames and passwords in an encrypted "Vault" as they say. With more secure things such as online banking/ paypal you can choose to open it in a secure window where if your computer does have a keylogger you can enter everything you need within a separate window on a virtual/ onscreen keyboard, which is a great idea if you ask me. Norton is great for people who are less tech-savvy by automatically performing backups and scans, unless you don't want it to. I don't know how much Norton runs for retail, but if you happen to have comcast (which is doubtful) check it out. If I were to purchase an anti-virus I would definatly go with either Norton or Kaspersky, which I have heard great things from my friends about. Be warned if you don't already know running multiple anti-virus programs will heavily bog down your machine, and AFAIK each of their performances will suffer as a result of the other being present.

Hope this helps

 

ABP and NotScripts + Avast.

Should be fine from those auto installing malware.

 

I use eset Smart security (nod32 with extra stuff

 

This was going to be my exact post. 0.o

 

Here's my recommendation:

If you're willing to pay:
Emsisoft Anti Malware (or its Internet Security pack, which includes a firewall)
AdMuncher
Sandboxie

Otherwise:
Avira AntiVir Free
Adblock Plus

Other plugins/extensions mentioned in this thread are also good to have, especially in this situation, but I haven't used them much.

As Johnny said, there's no "best" solution...

 

I use Shadow Defender in this case....especially if the person is only doing web browsing and not installing anything.

Basically... turn computer on, turn shadow defender on....shit happens...reboot....back to the way it was and yes it works great....we used it for security classes to show how viruses, trojans, malwares, and <insertwhateverelseyoucanthinkof>... after reboot everything was fine.

....

until people who attended the classes forgot to turn it on...then shit really happened.

 

LOL. I've heard about that, it's actually a great idea. I might have to try it out on my mom's computer

 

I bought a mac...











But on my windows partition i use the full avast internet security suite, it works well and catches anything bad before it's too late. Hell eve the free version usually works well. Don't ever use norton, ever.

 

You do know that Macs are coming under attack now right? Not as bad as PC yet but it's getting there...

 

It is only a common misconception that Macs don't get virus', and this was true a few years back when Macs were first starting to be popular. Seeing as there were very few people who had Macs, hackers didn't bother making virus/ malicious software when there was far more PC users. Now that Macs are very common and Mac owners have a false sense security, hackers have begun to attack the vulnerable Macs with virus, malware, etc.

I spent a solid 3 hours explaining this to my sister when her Macbook pro got infected with a nasty piece of malware that took over almost all of her online accounts and sent infected emails. Real pain in the butt

I think I will make a thread in the off topic section dedicated to ranting about macs

 

I use ESET and I've never had any problems and I've downloaded just about everything under the sun at one point or another.

I told him to get AVG, then Firefox, then AdBlock, then Malwarebytes. I didn't know about MSE so I just sent him the link. He was using Windows Defender only.

He didn't know about Google Drive or SkyDrive so I got him set up on that as well. Before he only had stuff on his PC. I basically told him that as long as he keep clicking on email links and boxes he's always going to deal with this shit even if he goes out and buys a new PC tomorrow. He just had to wipe his drive and reinstall Windows 7 so hopefully that will make him stop fooling around so much.

Actually, there is one problem with ESET. I have trouble streaming videos from my PC onto XBOX. Looks like a lot of people have that problem. I did their "fix" but it didn't work. I have to disable the firewall when I turn on the XBOX video player, then turn it back on once it has access to the folder.