5 replies to this topic

[kalimba]

Hi Guys -

Love the scanner - just bought the paid version - have protection running.

If I encounter antivirus2009 again, will this protection keep the whole thing from loading on my computer in the first place?
I just got rid of it thru the forum's help here. Had I used this protection, would it have never happened?
Will it also keep Vundo and other nasty things from coming in?
I try to practice safe surfing, but I've gotten that antivirus2008/9 thing twice in the past 6 months.

Another question - had I done a force shutdown while antivirus2009 was loading onto my computer, would the whole thing have aborted? I kind of suspected it while it was loading onto my machine and considered doing a force shutdown but I was afraid of what that might do.

I'm becoming addicted to this message board, but it's making me so paranoid about what's out there!

Thanks !

[YoKenny1]

What anti virus application are you running and is it up to date?

[kalimba]

I use Trend Micro and it updates at least daily.

[exile360]

MBAM (Malwarebytes') will certainly help prevent threats like AV2009 etc because it is made to block, among other things, the trojans that download these infections as well as block the rogues themselves. As far as forcing your PC to shutdown, it's doubtful that this would have helped since the trojan that installs AV2009 was already on you system, it simply would've resumed it's nasty work once you booted up again.

[TerryS]

A big thing that prevents me from getting infections in the first place, though it does not qualify as security software, is the Firefox web browser with very important add-ons:

NoScript -- prevents websites from running any script or flash content unless you explicitly allow the domain; you can allow temporarily or permanently; also, it puts strong emphasis on preventing cross-site scripting attacks which are often used in "drive-by downloads" of malware when you visit an infected website; the idea is to only allow trusted sites you have experience with and who you feel have a legitimate reason to run a script (i.e., you are shopping and it needs to track your shopping cart info); obviously the element of judgement comes into play here

AdBlock Plus -- prevents most (but not all) adds not caught by pop-up blockers, including flash content; you can explicitly allow all ads and blocked video on a page or even just a single item

AdBlock Plus filterset.G -- to keep AdBlock Plus updated with the latest filters

Some people don't like Firefox because they think it's bloated and the prefer the (definitely not bloated) Google Chrome, but I don't buy that it's bloated because you decide to install the add-ons you want or none. Also the add-on Fasterfox speeds up Firefox, but you need to be careful with the settings (read user reviews first).

[kalimba]

Those seem like some good tips.

I use Opera for a browser - I'll look into the noscript possibility. It does a terrific job blocking ads.

It's frustrating to me that I got some form of those antivirus2008 viruses 2 times just from looking at video on people's web sites. One was a person who had died so the site was probably dormant for a while. I never knowingly uploaded a codec or anything - it was all completely automatic. The second time I was so sure it was loading that I ran a malwarebytes scan while it was loading. In that way I got rid of most of it right away, but still used the amazing help on these boards to clean the last 2 items.