Sunday, March 27, 2011

Anti-Virus Experiences

Okay, this topic could not have come up at a more opportune time. We have a desktop that is about 7 years old and runs windows XP. We have had issues with it in the past and have tried a variety of anti-virus programs. We started with McAfee, since that was the program that was installed on delivery (you got a free year with purchase). Then we started having issues and got the dreaded blue screen of death, even after scanning multiple times a day. We had the computer wiped and then used AVG and Webroot Spysweeper with more success. However, we have been experiencing a lot of problems lately, AVG seems to be able to find viruses when it does a scan, but it doesn't seem to be preventing any (it is regularly finding and removing a number of viruses on each scan) So I took this opportunity to try a new program. I uninstalled AVG and installed a free trial of Vipre Anti-Virus Premium to see what it could do. The reviews all said that it was rated high when it came to preventing viruses from getting through in the first place. I installed it and tried to run a scan - I got a message that said it needed to update the definitions, so I did that. The definitions still said "0", so I did it again. I uninstalled the program and then reinstalled it, with no success. So I accessed the help desk - good way to see their customer support first hand. I got a pretty quick response and we tried a number of things for about an hour. Then the tech. person gave me a link to completely uninstall the program and re-start my computer. Upon restart, I have no icons whatsoever. I can't access anything. I have used the right-click on the desktop, control-alt-delete, etc. and the computer just shows my wallpaper. So....., any thoughts? Was this a problem with the anti-virus software, or was my computer just too far gone for it to help? Maybe the viruses already on the computer where battling with the program and keeping it from installing all of the components. This was not quite what I was hoping for from the experiment. If any of you have suggestions, please let me know. I am at a loss right now!
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7 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 31, 2011 at 10:37 AM

    I don't envy your virus experience at all. I experienced something to what you describe when I purchased my first Windows computer. Growing up on a Mac I never had to worry about them, but as soon as I bought a PC it was loaded with viruses quickly.

    I would give Windows Security Essentials a try after a complete system wipe (back up important files first!). I use it on my Windows computer at home and it integrates nicely into the system without slowing it down.

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMarch 31, 2011 at 10:37 AM

    Here is a link to a Windows Recovery Linux Distribution.

    http://trinityhome.org/

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMarch 31, 2011 at 11:11 AM

    I've tried posting this three times but it always goes away???

    Hope I can help. Hope you have been doing your Linux assignment and at least have a bootable live Linux on a USB stick or CD.

    - Boot your live Linux.
    - Find the file manager application and look for your Windows drive. It won't be labled c: but it is there. Linux can read Windows file systems but the reverse is not true.

    - From there, look for the folder "Documents and Settings".
    - Find the folder named the same as your login name.
    - From there, you should be able to find all of your files if you have been saving to "My Documents"

    - Now you can burn your files to a CD/DVD or save to a USB stick from within Linux.

    *****Important****
    After you have saved all of the files you want to save, you need to put the CD/DVD or USB in another computer that has good Antivirus and other programs such as Spybot and AdAware.
    ***** Do a scan on your saved files before you open any of them!!!!!! If you are scanning a CD/DVD you will need to write down any files that may be malicious so that when you transfer the files back to a working computer you need to remember not to copy/transfer those bad files.

    There is a Linux disrtibution made specifically for rescuing a broken Windows computer. I haven't ever used it but here is the link.

    http://trinityhome.org/

    After you have somehow gotten your compter up and running again there are some simple precationary and proactive things yu can do.

    - Back up! Back up! Back up! CDs/DVDs and even 8GB USB sticks are cheap or else start utilizing online storage or Google Docs and photo sharing sites.

    - Use a built in feature of Windows to create a safe restore point to boot into a good working condition Windows. This will let you boot into a last known good working system because it saves important system settings and should boot into a working system. Once in, you can immediately do a scan and find malicious files with your security software.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownMarch 31, 2011 at 11:44 AM

    I just checked out the Linux / Windows recovery. It looks like a lot of command line stuff which I'm not sure you are up to or not. I'll keep looking for other alternatives.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownMarch 31, 2011 at 11:49 AM

    Try this in a Google Search:

    bootable antivirus rescue disk

    it gives you many options

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownMarch 31, 2011 at 11:51 AM

    How to Fix a Windows Infection Using Linux at:

    http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/208720/how_to_fix_a_windows_infection_using_linux.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownMarch 31, 2011 at 11:54 AM

    If you have your original Windows CD, you can try booting with that and then choose the option of "Repair" rather than "Install" when the disk boots.

    ReplyDelete

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