[deXter]
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Microsoft Security Essentials is good too.
for me not. Ms removed all important options and over simplified it so much, that the program is useless. MSE is so terrible slow and slowdown Windows too much.
So, what *do* you recommend?
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I have just begun using something called "Deep Freeze" by "Faronics". You will never need anti-virus again, nor will you need more than 1 system backup to hold on to. It makes your computer totally indestructible by any means thru any software virus, malware, spyware, or by any tampering whatsoever by anyone or any website. It works great, and this is NOT a SPAM. Just google it. Acronis Backup uses the technology in its new backup software, and you may all be familiar with Sandboxie"... Well, google it and check out the standard version for single computers. The enterprise version could protect the world of computers, and if Billy Gates had of thought of it, there would be no such thing as malware and viruses today. Just check it out. My PC is indestructable, and yours can be too!.
Deep Freeze isn't indestructible. There are a few known hacks for it that still work, and I know for a fact that the author of one of the hacks still works on it and releases new versions regularly. But even if your copy of Deep Freeze remains unhacked, the problem remains that it won't stop a virus from running on your PC and spreading to other media, like USB drives or the network. Of course, when you reboot everything is back to its defaults on *your* PC, but in that session the virus could create havoc - harvest email address and mail itself to your contacts, or in a worst case scenario - log whatever you're doing and silently report it back to its creator (thus capturing your credit card numbers, bank account details, passwords etc). Then there are browser based attacks like XSS, that don't even bother infecting your PC - they would just run in your browser and you would never realize it. The browser itself might have vulnerabilities that might allow thirdparties to access your files. And don't forget Flash - probably one of the most vulnerable piece of software in your PC.
Thus your PC can never be indestructible - and let's not forget two main reasons - 1) You're running Windows. 2) You're human, afterall.
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Avira AntiVir Personal. I went through a lot of independent reviews on google, and it seems avast! is its worthy competition in the field of free anti-virus programs. I know for sure AVG Free is not, although it has a bigger download rate on CNET, for example.
I would appreciate your thoughts on this; I'm taking a break from paying for an anti-virus program, but it doesn't mean my search is over.
BTW, a licence for Kaspersky or BitDefender out here costs less than 10 EUR, but my PC never got on well with any of them.
Avira is a good choice - it's one of the top AVs out there, regardless of being free. Take a look at the reports on av-comparatives.com for detailed info.
I personally install Avira on every malware-infected PC I fix (must have installed in ~50 PCs so far) and have got good results overall.
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Well since someone else did bump the thread...
As far as I know there still isn't a free ISO editor out there. My suggestion to anyone who stumble into this thread is to use IMGBurn to create a bootable disc from the extracted contents of a previous disc, or create one from scratch. You can use disc mounting tools like 'DAEMON Tools Lite', or 'MagicISO', to mount disc images (NRG, CDI, ISO, etc.), and extract them.
All of the above tools are GUI friendly, and FREE.
Not entirely true, there's ISO Master http://linux.softpedia.com/get/Desktop-Environment/File-managers/ISO-Master-16676.shtml
Ok, so its for Linux but you could simply run a Linux distro under VirtualBox and you'd still get a free, legit solution to the ISO editing problem. Besides, Linux has quite a few handy stuff too other than ISO Master.
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I have been using Teracopy Pro v1.22 for a long time with no problems until I upgraded to Teracopy Pro v2.12. I consider it unsafe for the following reason: I run Windows 7 Ultimate. I have been using Teracopy Pro v1.22 for a long time with no problems. I recently downloaded Tercopy Pro v2.12 and installed it and it immediately disabled MS update. Whenever I attempted to use MS Update I got the following error: 80072EE2. I searched the net looking for a solution and found none, not even from Teracopy. I did a new clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate and installed Teracopy v2.12 only to have MS Update disabled. I reformatted the drive and did a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate and installed Tercaopy Pro v1.22 and had no problems with MS Update. Any ideas why v2.12 disables MS Update? Until Teracopy or someone comes up with a fix or solution for this problem I will continue to use v1.22.
Have you tried TeraCopy 2.2b2? http://blog.codesector.com/2010/09/14/teracopy-2-2-beta-2/ Also, I would recommend a creating a system restore point first, incase you face the same issue again.
Btw, you do realise that this is a three year old thread right? o.o
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I dont use Anti-Virus - It is for people who don't know what a trustworthy file, site or email attachment looks like!
Also. .Since I hardly ever use Facebook or any of those other "social networking" virus/malware/trojan horse breeding grounds. . .I don't come into contact with that crap much.
I basically use my computer to play online gaming (FPS's and RTS games) and downwatching / recording T.V. and movies . . .and using Adobe In-Design / CS-4 for work
I build alot of computers for friends and co-workers though. . .and I almost always use or install AVG-Free Edition for them. First of all , IT IS FREE, and does a pretty good job of getting rid of nasty viruses and malware - I usually also set them up with "Spybot SD" to keep out alot of the stupid little information harvesters that are lurking out there.
I just think that the whole anti-virus business is a scam! Why doesn't the operating system have this stuff built in? I know that vista has "Defender" and it does O.K.. . .but an operating sytem that costs $150.00 or so (if you paid for yours) should have a ROBUST and EFFECTIVE anti-virus / anti-crapware program built into it automatically. Instead, people get to pay $50.00 A YEAR OR MORE to keep infectious programs out of their computers. I bet companies like Macafee and Norton pay people to create viruses and stuff. . .to make people buy their products. . .
"You better buy Norton. . .or the "SASSER WORM WITH GET YOU"!! hahahaha
It would be comical if it wasn't such a **** scam!
You can get a virus even if you don't visit "social networking" websites or download seedy stuff - for example, due to vulnerabilities in the OS (case in point: the Blaster Worm). And with Windows, you can bet there are always a couple of good undiscovered exploits..
Anyways, Microsoft has finally come out with a decent FREE AntiVirus, that's even better than AVG (according to some test sites). I've used it personally and it managed to find and remove all the malware I could throw at it. (Not that it means anything, except that it works!). Of course, it's still no Kaspersky or NOD32 but hey it works and is a pretty decent and viable option for those who don't want to pay. Pair it up with a decent freeware firewall, make sure your OS is patched regularly, practice safe computing habits and one should be decently protected against such threats.
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I'm sorry, but Outpost isn't as good as Online Armor or Comodo. http://www.matousec.com/projects/proactive...nge/results.php
That's not true. Considering that a majority of people will go for the freeware versions of firewalls, both Outpost and Comodo are better than OA. Outpost is better than Comodo because there's no garbage in the install, no toolbars in their installer.
I'm at the point where I'd pick Outpost over Comodo due to the issues that Comodo has been trying to downplay. Issuing security certificates to malicious websites for one. Another is the constant toolbars in their Firewall installer. Softpedia has removed Comodo completely due to legal threats by Comodo because Softpedia called Comodo's products adware. Their 100% Clean award means you should be able to click through an install without worry of toolbars, malware or any other garbage.
That still doesn't change the fact that Comodo can protect against more threats than Outpost.
Issuing security certificates to malicious websites for one.Source?
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A couple of folks have said that Eset NOD32 is lousy, I am curious to know what versions they were running, how was it configured etc. If they are so crappy then why have they received numerous awards from Virus Bulletin (VB100)? I have been using Eset products for a number of years and imho it beats everything else by a mile!!! I tried Kaspersky once and that slowed my system down to a crawl so it got binned pronto!!! In 5 years I think I have had about 5 viruses (one of which was my own fault) so one a year on average is **** good going in today's world of malware. I am now hoping to reduce that down to zero with now having Agnitum installed.
My current setup has changed a little recently I am now using Eset Anti-virus v4.0.437.0 along with Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro v6.5.5 (latest build), add to this mix of MalwareBytes Anti-malware v1.39 (registered), Spyware Blaster v4.2 (awesome piece of software) and Spybot S&D (though realtime protection is disabled due to the amount of memory it uses).
I was using Eset Smart Security but I got fed up with not being able to control specific applications through my firewall which I can do with Outpost, the settings are all turned all the way up plus Outpost gives you HIPS protection (Host Intrusion Prevention System... or something along those lines).
Add to this I have now joined Boot Camp over at SWI to learn how to use things like HJT and such tools properly.
I'm sorry, but Outpost isn't as good as Online Armor or Comodo. http://www.matousec.com/projects/proactive...nge/results.php
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I guess the problem with NOD32 is that they're very selective about adding new malware signatures to their database, because for them performance comes first - they tend to ignore the rarer ones and prefer ones that could be tweaked into the heuristics. As a result, some malware does slip by and this is what causes some people to believe that NOD32 isn't good. But it's good because the signature updates aren't bloated (like McAfee), the performance isn't degraded with each update and more importantly, it means lesser false-positives (unlike Avira).
Another issue with NOD32 is that it's not that great at cleaning an already infected system/files. So if you have some infected documents, chances are NOD32 will either delete them altogether or not do a very good job at it. (Kaspersky and McAfee are quite good at disinfection). NOD32 especially has trouble with some variants of Vundo and similar malware - of course, there are other tools/methods to fix Vundo and such, but that's another reason why some people dislike NOD32.
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^ Well put, Fredledingue.
About this part: "Typing quickely and without mistake the full path of a file located in "My Document"
Firstly, I personally keep my "My Documents" in a seperate partition and its path is F:\Docs (And I believe keeping personal data on C: isn't such a good idea anyways.
) Second, almost all the places where one would need to type the path has autocomplete, so there's hardly any need to type out the complete path.
Third, there's always the %HOMEDIR% variable which redirects to C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\. If one has to type in %HOMEDIR% a lot, you could always shorten it, for eg, to %H%. Similarly, other variables like %APPDATA% too simplifies life in XP.
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^ Not entirely correct. Windows XP, by default, can't be installed on PCs less than 32 MB RAM (though it can be overcome using nLite), on the other hand, it *cannot* be installed on a 486 or below.
Many apps have specific hardware requirements, for example, most modern games won't run *at all* if a necessary feature isn't found in the graphics card.
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^
Minimum requirements mean the minimum requirements needed to *run* the app, never mind if it runs like crap. Which is why there are various performance settings in the GUI so that you can speed it up if it's running like crap.
Having shadows under the menus and a large blue-green skinned taskbar, imho, isn't important for either performance or productivity.
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^
Can you package the entire system into a zipfile and then uncompress it on a different hard drive, or restore it WHEN needed (such as for a mis-install) onto the same hard drive, successfully?Yes. Although RAR/7z is a better option if you're using NTFS, since RAR can store file permissions and ADS (alternate data streams).
Can privacy-invading files be removed, especially those buried deep in the system, such as the contents of %windir%\Application Data\Macromedia\Flash Player\#SharedObjects\ ? Are there not "legacy software" entries in the registry that the OS won't allow to be deleted? Have efforts to 'tweak' the system been thwarted because the OS denies 'permission'?You just need to know how to set the permissions. Google for cacls and setacl.
Has System Backup ever been needed to restore a sick OS, only to get 'caught in a loop', because the system needs to be functioning for restore, but first needs to be restored to function?In most cases, safe mode almost always works, and you can do a restore from the safe mode. If you can't get to the safe mode, then a few basic commands typed in the recovery console (like fixboot, fixmbr etc) can get the system up and running atleast till you reach the safe mode. If the system still isn't booting up (because of files that are missing/corrupted), a simple and quick repair install will fix the problem.
Can files the OS won't allow modification of (even in Win98) be handled by 'dropping' into a low-level OS such as DOS?Yes, there is a "low-level DOS" (technically, console mode). It's called WinPE and is present in form of the recovery console present on the XP Setup disk. You can either boot off the CD, or install the recovery console to the HDD. Once there, you can do all sorts of modifications/restorations. But you don't even need to do all that. You can use the native mode (remember the blue screen when chkdsk runs?) to do modification of system files. Just edit the PendingFileRenameOperations key.
Yes, the latest 'powerful' hardware is needed to run XP (or worse, Vista) fast, isn't it? It is often 'powerful' indeed, gobbling upwards of 200 Watts, requiring multiple fans yet still getting hot enough to shorten its life (including HDD --- and data). Computers can't be turned on or off easily (no, not even 98/ME), so are typically left on. So total electricity use is high, and this could be of greater importance in the future. Yes, more expensive laptops conserve power, but with lower reliability, higher repair cost, and less upgradeability. Windows 98/ME hybrid runs fine on a 25 Watt VIA M10000 M/B desktop. This is great for leaving it on all day, to catch streaming breaking news and the like.XP's minimum requirement is a 233 MHz processor. Although this is much higher than 98's (66 Mhz), it can in no way be considered as the "latest powerful hardware". Regarding Vista, 1GHz CPU and 512 MB RAM is once again not considerd "latest". (The 1GHz barrier was broken atleast 7 years ago.)
Now I haven't run XP on a 233 Mhz system, but I am at present typing this on a 10 year old AMD K6-2 PC, running fine with XP installed (tweaked fully, of course).
About electricity consumption, Windows XP has better power management features. One example is that when the PC is idle, XP issues HLT instructions to the CPU. This puts CPU in a suspended mode, thus reducing heat generation and power consumption. Windows 98 doesn't have this feature, thus needing third-party programs like RAIN or CPUIdle, which do not always work that well.
Also, your statement "computers can't be turned on or off easily" is a bit debatable - with XP's Hibernate feature, (and Vista's Sleep), one can startup/shutdown in less than 30 secs. XP/Vista take full advantage of the ACPI features of a modern PC. 98 on the other hand, doesn't even enable ACPI by default, and from personal experience, its ACPI support is buggy (eg: Shutting down windows doesn't always turn off the PC). With XP/Vista, it has never been more convenient to quickly turn the PC on/off.
Finally, about power consumption, a standard XP system uses about 38Watts in idle state and 58W during regular usage (nowhere close to the 200W you assumed!). So yes, the consumption on a standard XP system is more compared to a 98 system, but that's because of all the extra services and the new GUI processes that are running in the background. Turn of the unnecessary services (there are many!) and configure the system to run in Best Performance mode (no visual effects), and the power consumption will drop like a ton.
I'm not sure what hardware you're using, but my PIII system (450 MHz | 40GB Seagate | nVidia Riva TNT) has been constantly up since 1999, without any extra fans. I upgraded to XP in 2002 and since then I've almost never shut the PC down, except for maintanance/cleaning. I got the AMD K6-2 recently, but it's been running fine too without any extra fans. The 20 GB Seagate im using on the AMD is much older, but it too has been running nearly 24x7 and running fine too. (touchwood). Just FYI, I'm not in an air conditioned room, and the room temp here is almost always 30c (give or take a few degrees).
For someone just now starting computing, WinXP SP2 Home (SP3 rumor?) may be the best choice]XP SP3 isn't a rumor, its real. Not only that, they say its actually 10% faster than SP2!
Btw, regarding your #SharedObjects concern (commonly called Flash Cookies), the best option is to go to the Global Storage Settings panel and disable the option “Allow third-party Flash content to store data on your computer”. You can also review and delete the cookies from the settings panel.
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One more reason you could add to the list is incompatibility. Some old mobos have this weird version of ACPI in the BIOS that causes BSODs in 2000+ OSes, as they don't allow the BIOS to access the hardware in that manner. I have one such mobo, and the only fix for it to work without crashing in XP is a costly $60 bios upgrade from eSupport. And there's no guarentee whether that upgrade has a fix for the ACPI issue.
9x on the other hand, works perfectly on this mobo.
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^ If you're using xplorer², don't forget that the default keys for copy/move are F5 and F6. Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X would use the standard windows copy / move functions.
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+1 for xplorer² for file management
As for a very fast, lean, and well-featured extensible shell replacement, I highly recommend xoblite (bb4win)
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Download Sysinternals AutoRuns. Run Autoruns.exe. Hit ESC as soon as the program loads. Goto Options -> Hide Microsoft Entries. Hit F5. Wait till scanning finishes. Look for suspicious/unknown program. Disable (uncheck) if needed. Reboot.
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You might want to modify your script a bit:
reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express" /f
reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WAB" /f
reg delete "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities" /f
reg delete "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express" /f
reg delete "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\WAB" /f
reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{44BBA840-CC51-11CF-AAFA-00AA00B6015C}" /f
reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{7790769C-0471-11D2-AF11-00C04FA35D02}" /f-> Whenever there are spaces in the path, don't forget to use quotes ("")
-> Don't forget to add a "/f" at the end, otherwise reg.exe will keep prompting you for confirmation.
As jaclaz already mentioned earlier, go to this site http://koti.mbnet.fi/digitale/throwoutoe/ for uninstalling OE. They already have a comprehensive (better) .bat file for removing OE.
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I use xplorer² as my system default file manager, and its file copying functions are *much* faster than windows's. It may not be as full featured as some of the dedicated file copying programs here, but you do have pause/resume, error recovery, queuing, priority, replacement, archiving and logging options.
On PCs that don't have xplorer², I use XCOPY. Even on my own PC, whenever I'm working in the console, I just use XCOPY to transfer files/folders. It supports pause/resume, error recovery, archiving, some unique tree management (can replicate an entire folder structure without copying the files!) and advanced NTFS-related options. Definitely better than windows' copy, and hence worth a mention in this thread.
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http://www.ajcsoft.com/AJCActBk.php ?
As far as backing up deleted files, the only one I know of that does it is the Norton Protected Recycle Bin that comes as a part of Norton SystemWorks.
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To answer your question: No, simply installing multiple antivirus by itself won't (rather, shouldn't) cause any conflicts in your system.
It's not that simple however, because most AVs load drivers, services and other programs at system startup. If you want to ensure that there's no conflict, after you install the second AV, make sure you disable all the autostarts before you reboot your PC. Also, while using the second AV, you'll need to disable the background scanner of the first AV.
For some AVs though, you can't simply uninstall or disable the drivers - they may be required by it for functioning properly.
Logically speaking, it's normal for wanting to have a second/third AV for the purpose of just scanning a file. (Although if that's your only reason, then just head over to virustotal.com or virusscan.jotti.org)
A safe bet then would be to install the new AVs in individual sandboxes in Sandboxie. This way, you won't be messing up your PC. You'll still however, need to disable your first AV when you're executing the other AVs from the Sandbox.
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I agree with puntoMX, there's no need to upgrade unless you really want the new features.
Nero 8 itself is great though - it very fast* (even on my AMD k6-2 400), writes well and is quite stable. The Burning ROM is probably one of the best writing programs you could get. The same, however can't be said of the other bundled apps - there are much better freeware and commercial software that do a better job than what Nero's bundled.
But, once again, if you have absolutely no need for HD/BD and the other bundled Nero apps, it's not worth upgrading to Nero 8.
Even though my main writing app these days is Ghosthunter's CD/DVD burning, I still keep the old Nero around because its the only program that supports burning short lead-outs - very handy for the occasional overburn.
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* = After removing all the bloat, of course.
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@mamas6667:
Can you please write a detailed reply on why you feel Threatfire works, or is actually a good product? Exactly what objects did it find that NOD32 and other anti-malware have missed?
@anonymous_user:
Can you also please write a detailed reply on exactly how much resources does Threatfire consume? How much space does it occupy, etc?
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If spaces in folder names are a problem, then you can just refer them by their 8.3 equivalent.
Eg: "C:\Program Files" = "C:\PROGRA~1"
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What Anti-Virus do you Use/Recommend?
in Malware Prevention and Security
Posted
Same here - I still don't use any antivirus, but would recommend Windows Defender for normal home users - it does a fairly decent job and rates favorably on av-comparatives tests.
For power/heavy users however, I still recommend ESET's NOD32 due to it's scanning speed, detection rates and low resource impact. If you've got say millions of files you want to scan then stay away from Windows Defender / System Center Endpoint Protection. At work, we have a file server with 1.2 billion files and Windows Defender (SCEP) would take over 10 days to do a full scan - it seems that it doesn't store hashes of scanned files, so when you do a scheduled scan, it still scans files that haven't been touched in years, which is very inefficient. Plus it takes ages to scan archives. I could write an entire essay on how Defender/SCEP is horrible choice for a large organisation, but that's for a separate post....
+1 for Defender + MalwareBytes - great combo!
However I wouldn't recommend or trust Comodo any longer, after their systems were breached and their SSL certs were compromised... See: https://bravatek.com/comodo-certificate-hack-it-gets-worse/
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On an unrelated note, I'm surprised this topic is still active and not locked down. This is my first post here after 6 years, lol.