Anti-malware products

[Picobrew]

Hi--

I read Irwin's Malware thread below.  The forum program suggested I start a new thread as opposed to replying to the old one.

I've been looking for someplace to ask my anti-malware questions.  I'm reluctant to use a dedicated techie site as I will really need a layman's explanation.  I use computers everyday, but without really understanding how they work.

My efforts to protect my computer have evolved as I tried to address the most current problems.  I'm to the point that I do not know what is redundant and simply slowing down my system.  Frankly, I'm not even certain what is still installed/enabled.

I'm using a several years old PC with Windows XP home edition, and IE8.  I have installed Spybot and AVG.  When I was plagued with a bogus security program a year ago I bought the paid version of Malwarebytes.

When I upgraded from AVG 9 to AVG 2011 (a 15 hours marathon of loading, installing, hang ups, uninstalling, reloading....) I eventually learned that Malwarebytes and AVG 2011 don't play well together.  I disabled Malwarebytes, but it seems to running in some capacity as it has not scanned but has blocked some malicious websites since.

AVG runs on a schedule twice a week, but for reasons I cannot understand generally updates twice a day.  Spybot runs on a schedule once per week after I manually update it.  Upon someone, somewhere's recommendation I installed Advanced System Care and update and run that weekly.  I used a tune up utility on that program to good effect.

Yahoo toolbar claims to be protecting me, and I'm not sure I disabled the stock Windows security tools. There may be additional programs that I don't recall or recognize.

It seems silly to buy new computer just because I've bollixed up this one, but another trip to a tech shop to unstick it will bring me darn near the cost of a low-end replacement.

Can anyone tell me what additional information you would need to walk me through this?

Thanks in advance,
Dave

[Shawn]

I run free Malwarebytes on my home computer and use CA antivirus as my virus protection. I have not had any troubles. On my new laptop, which is very nice I must say, I bought the CA full protection. I dont see any pop ups and as of now no viruses. When you buy CA I believe it carries license for three computers.

When I did get my laptop it came with Microtrend and from the start it was conflicting with another program from factory. Micro was the first thing to go.

As for me I do not use or recommend the added toolbars or the protection they say they offer. I truly believe you get what you pay for (dont get what you dont pay for).

[BlueBee]

Dave,

We can all sympathize with you, but we probably can’t help you out as much as you would like.  You might get a more satisfactory response to an exact problem you’re having. 

It sounds to me like you’re frustrated that your computer is slowing down and you’re not confident all the stuff you loaded on is protecting you.  I know the feeling.  I’m a techie, I used for design computers in the 90s.  I avoided all these virus scanning programs myself for years and years because they slowed my computer down so much.  However the viruses finally got smarter than I was, so I caved in and tried AVG. 

For me, AVG (paid and free) did not work well at all with my hardware (XP).  It would constantly hang the computer and it was slow.  I emailed for support, never heard a peep back from AVG.  Will never use them again.  I tried the trial version of Norton and was happy enough with it, that I bought in from Amazon.   

ALL virus programs are going to significantly slow down a 1 core CPU, there’s no way around it.  Norton has gotten better over the years, but I still see it slowing down my computer.   If the slowness of your system is what is really eating at you, then a new computer with multiple cores will make you FEEL a LOT better.  Not only are the CPUs MUCH faster now than a couple of years ago, they typically have multiple cores in them.  With multiple CPU cores, the anti virus software can run on one core while your applications run on the other cores. 

For the cost of technical support you can practically buy a new machine. 

If you want to keep your old hardware and try to speed it up, hardware is probably more effective than wasting money on more software.  You can install more RAM if you’re low.  That can make a significant improvement in your old hardware for a modest cost.  You can buy more RAM from online stores like Newegg and TigerDirect.  A new video card will also speed up you system by off loading work from the CPU to the video card.  On old hardware, I would never spend more than about $50 in total to upgrade though.  If you need to spend more than $50, bite the bullet and buy a new machine.  Again NewEgg and TigerDirect are good places to get low cost new machines.

We hate to see you wasting time with your computer when you could be working your bees!

Good Luck
   

[Vetch]

For the cost of technical support you can practically buy a new machine. 

That is a good point. I do all my email and browsing on a machine running the Linux operating system (machine is quite old and probably has a value of $50, but it works fine and I have never had issues with security). My wife needs Photoshop/Dreamweaver/etc. and there is another newer machine running Windows for those applications, but it is insulated from viruses/spyware/malware by our usage policy (and a subscription to a reputable security program). 

[Picobrew]

Thanks for the replies.  I'll give some thought to what I need this computer to do, and the best way to get there.

Dave

[BeeFriended]

Hi--

I read Irwin's Malware thread below.  The forum program suggested I start a new thread as opposed to replying to the old one.

I've been looking for someplace to ask my anti-malware questions.  I'm reluctant to use a dedicated techie site as I will really need a layman's explanation.  I use computers everyday, but without really understanding how they work.

My efforts to protect my computer have evolved as I tried to address the most current problems.  I'm to the point that I do not know what is redundant and simply slowing down my system.  Frankly, I'm not even certain what is still installed/enabled.

I'm using a several years old PC with Windows XP home edition, and IE8.  I have installed Spybot and AVG.  When I was plagued with a bogus security program a year ago I bought the paid version of Malwarebytes.

When I upgraded from AVG 9 to AVG 2011 (a 15 hours marathon of loading, installing, hang ups, uninstalling, reloading....) I eventually learned that Malwarebytes and AVG 2011 don't play well together.  I disabled Malwarebytes, but it seems to running in some capacity as it has not scanned but has blocked some malicious websites since.

AVG runs on a schedule twice a week, but for reasons I cannot understand generally updates twice a day.  Spybot runs on a schedule once per week after I manually update it.  Upon someone, somewhere's recommendation I installed Advanced System Care and update and run that weekly.  I used a tune up utility on that program to good effect.

Yahoo toolbar claims to be protecting me, and I'm not sure I disabled the stock Windows security tools. There may be additional programs that I don't recall or recognize.

It seems silly to buy new computer just because I've bollixed up this one, but another trip to a tech shop to unstick it will bring me darn near the cost of a low-end replacement.

Can anyone tell me what additional information you would need to walk me through this?

Thanks in advance,
Dave

You stated that you removed Malwarebytes, yet it still seems to be running because web content is being blocked.  First off, have you checked to see what is running in your start-up group?  Anything that is in this group will start as your system starts.  Additionally, do you know how to safely alter you registry?

[buzzbee]

I really cringe at adding search engine toolbars to my browsers. Or any handy tool bar for that matter. A lot of the search engine toolbars consume resources over time by collecting and storing data on sites you have visited to perhaps suggest other sites or pre search for you so when you start typing it tries to find things for you as your typing.
Any thing they offer free usually comes with a cost in resources,processor or memory wise.Not to mention browsing habits that are relayed.
  Don't overload on the antivirus and malware as they can often start to conflict or overlap each other.
 And as previously mentioned,more ram often rectifies the problem as modern web browsers and operating system updates consume more and more of your memory.

[Picobrew]

Digressing a bit...  It's ironic that this thread was reactivated today.  My decision about RAM has probably been made for me.  Power to our house flicked on and off several times Friday and it appears my computer's power supply worked much like a fuse.

So, I don't think I can rationalized that expense on a pretty marginal system.

That has me thinking about my options.  At work I have a laptop, a docking station, a full-size monitor, keyboard and mouse.  I'm hooked up to a network printer, et al.

At home we had the desktop (with it's CRT monitor) and a wireless router allowing us to use a separate laptop throughout the house.  The printer, external hard drive and various Mp3 players and media readers plugged directly into the tower.

The most demanding thing I do with a home computer is occasional arcView/GIS projects where I'm on my own time.  The vast majority of the time the computers are used for basic documents/spreadsheets, email and surfing.  The kids play some low end online games.

What hardware would I need to handle the mechanical connections that were made at the tower?  The router still works but the printer and friends aren't connected to anything.  Is a laptop an expensive luxury if I choose to buy a monitor and use it in the same place most of the time?

And software.  Is XP history?  Will I find that many of the software/applications I have now will not run on Windows 7?

I guess I can ask the same questions at B*st B*y, but I'd rather hear it from someone who is not selling anything. 
 

[BeeFriended]

Digressing a bit...  It's ironic that this thread was reactivated today.  My decision about RAM has probably been made for me.  Power to our house flicked on and off several times Friday and it appears my computer's power supply worked much like a fuse.

So, I don't think I can rationalized that expense on a pretty marginal system.

That has me thinking about my options.  At work I have a laptop, a docking station, a full-size monitor, keyboard and mouse.  I'm hooked up to a network printer, et al.

At home we had the desktop (with it's CRT monitor) and a wireless router allowing us to use a separate laptop throughout the house.  The printer, external hard drive and various Mp3 players and media readers plugged directly into the tower.

The most demanding thing I do with a home computer is occasional arcView/GIS projects where I'm on my own time.  The vast majority of the time the computers are used for basic documents/spreadsheets, email and surfing.  The kids play some low end online games.

What hardware would I need to handle the mechanical connections that were made at the tower?  The router still works but the printer and friends aren't connected to anything.  Is a laptop an expensive luxury if I choose to buy a monitor and use it in the same place most of the time?

And software.  Is XP history?  Will I find that many of the software/applications I have now will not run on Windows 7?

I guess I can ask the same questions at B*st B*y, but I'd rather hear it from someone who is not selling anything. 
 

First of all, my qualifications:
I have been working on PC's since 1989, both hardware and software (DOS 3.11) configuration.  With that knowledge I expanded it until I found myself working at Microsoft.  I have worked on all M$ operating systems from Windows 95 through XP with a little exposure to Windows 7 (Vista was WAY too hack for me).  I also have been working on MAC OS X 10.4 through 10.6.6  I am more than willing to help you in determining what would probably serve you best. Please contact me directly through e-mail, and from there we can schedule a time to talk on the phone.  Due to spam-bots the address will be a mess.

b*r*e*n*t#s#h#i^f^l&e&y at yahoo