Re: IMMORTAL SPYWARE!!!!
From: bullwinkel J. Moose (quincey.nyc_at_verizon.net)
Date: 06/13/04
- Next message: bullwinkel J. Moose: "Re: Service Packs"
- Previous message: David Candy: "Re: SnapIn not created"
- In reply to: Shenan Stanley: "Re: IMMORTAL SPYWARE!!!!"
- Next in thread: zeretul1: "Re: IMMORTAL SPYWARE!!!!"
- Reply: zeretul1: "Re: IMMORTAL SPYWARE!!!!"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ]
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 00:02:11 -0400
Have you tried symantec's on line firewall check? It's free and will tell
you which ports are open and where you are vulnerable. Obvoiusly something
is getting through. You may have a program that is opening up and calling
out saying hey here I am I want you to visit. I don't hold much stock in
MacAffee products or symantec products. But ZA 4.5 which is free will close
all ports so you are protected.
you didn't mention if you are disconnected from your broadband (remove the
phone plug while you check using adaware and spybot. Also run CWS which will
check out those trojans/worms and adware/malware. The idea is to be
disconnected physically. then reboot and run these programs again. Some of
these problem s are in memory and need to be rerally cleaned out. Then
install ZA 4.5 (free_ and you should be clean. It takes persistence.
Good luck
-- Regards, Werner quincey.nyc@nospam.verizon.net Remove "Nospam" when e-mailing "Shenan Stanley" <news_helper@hushmail.com> wrote in message news:e8tyWCMUEHA.3332@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl... > zeretul1 wrote: > > Have tried several posts on spywareinfo.com, and have > > gotten no! replies. This sucks. I have used: > > Aluria's spyware eliminator > > Pest Patrol > > Spybot search and destroy 1.2 > > Ad-aware 6.0 > > Spysweeper > > Reg Mechanic > > > > None of these programs have helped. I am constantly > > finding new reg keys, spyware progs and the like, but the > > problem is on-going. > > > > This is my main symptom. Randomly, IE windows, full > > windows, will open with advertisements ranging from anti- > > 0spyware progs to singles site. These occur whether or > > not I am browsing the internet, and often occur 3-4 times > > at once. > > > > I am on a cable broadband connection, and am using McAfee > > virusscan 7 and firewall 4. > > > > I need some help here. Either I eliminate the problem, or > > re-format the C: drive. > > Do all of the following.. ALL for your case.. > > If you don't wish to follow all of the advice immediately, just want to > get rid of your current dilemma, then you are welcome to scroll down to > the section titled "SPYWARE/ADWARE/POPUPS", where your problem as > stated should be resolved by the applications and suggestions found in > that section. If this helps solve your problem then I again HIGHLY > suggest you follow the rest of the advice below (matter of fact, I > suggest it either way.) > > Suggestions on what you can do to secure/clean your PC. I'm going to try > and be general, I will assume a "Windows" operating system is what is > being secured here. > > > SPYWARE/ADWARE/POPUPS > --------------------- > > There are annoyances out there you can get without > trying. Your normal web surfing, maybe a wrong click on a web page, maybe > just a momentary lack of judgment by installing some software packages > without doing the research.. And all of a sudden your screen starts filling > up with advertisements or your Internet seems much slower or your home page > won't stay what you set it and goes someplace unfamiliar to you. This is > spyware. There are a whole SLEW of software packages out there to get rid > of this crud and help prevent reinfection. Some of the products already > mentioned might even have branched out into this arena. However, there are > a few applications that seem to be the best at what they do, which is > eradicating and immunizing your system from this crap. Strangely, the best > products I have found in this category ARE generally free. That is a trend > I like. I make donations to some of them, they deserve it! > > One side-note. Never think one of these can do the whole job. > Try the first 5 before coming back and saying "That did not work!" > > Spybot Search and Destroy (Free!) > http://www.safer-networking.net/ > > Lavasoft AdAware (Free and up) > http://www.lavasoft.de > > CWSShredder (Free!) > http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html > > Hijack This! (Free) > http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/ > ( Tutorial: http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/htlogtutorial.html ) > > SpywareBlaster (Free!) > http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/ > > IE-SPYAD (Free!) > http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~ehowes/resource.htm > > ToolbarCop (Free!) > http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/toolbarcop.htm > > Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner (Free!) > http://kephyr.sureshot.xaviermedia.net/spywarescanner/ > > Browser Security Tests > http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/BrowserSecurity/ > > The Cleaner (49.95 and up) > http://www.moosoft.com/ > > That will clean up your machine of the spyware, given that you download and > install several of them, update them regularly and scan with them when you > update. Some (like SpywareBlaster and SpyBot Search and Destroy) have > immunization features that will help you prevent your PC from being > infected. Use these features! > > Unfortunately, although that will lessen your popups on the Internet/while > you are online, it won't eliminate them. I have looked at a lot of options, > seen a lot of them used in production with people who seem to attract popups > like a plague, and I only have one suggestion that end up serving double > duty (search engine and popup stopper in one): > > The Google Toolbar (Free!) > http://toolbar.google.com/ > > Yeah - it adds a bar to your Internet Explorer - but its a useful one. You > can search from there anytime with one of the best search engines on the > planet (IMO.) And the fact it stops most popups - wow - BONUS! If you > don't like that suggestion, then I am just going to say you go to > www.google.com and search for other options. > > One more suggestion, although I will suggest this in a way later, is to > disable your Windows Messenger service. This service is not used frequently > (if at all) by the normal home user and in cooperation with a good firewall, > is generally unnecessary. Microsoft has instructions on how to do this for > Windows XP here: > http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp > > > UPDATES and PATCHES > ------------------- > > This one is the most obvious. There is no perfect product and any company > worth their salt will try to meet/exceed the needs of their customers and > fix any problems they find along the way. I am not going to say Microsoft > is the best company in the world about this but they do have an option > available for you to use to keep your machine updated and patched from > the problems and vulnerabilities (as well as product improvements in some > cases) - and it's free to you. > > Windows Update > http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ > > Go there and scan your machine for updates. Always get the critical ones as > you see them. Write down the KB###### or Q###### you see when selecting the > updates and if you have trouble over the next few days, go into your control > panel (Add/Remove Programs), match up the latest numbers you downloaded > recently (since you started noticing an issue) and uninstall them. If there > was more than one (usually is), install them back one by one - with a few > hours of use in between, to see if the problem returns. Yes - the process > is not perfect (updating) and can cause trouble like I mentioned - but as > you can see, the solution isn't that bad - and is MUCH better than the > alternatives. (SASSER/BLASTER were SO preventable with just this step!) > > Windows is not the only product you likely have on your PC. The > manufacturers of the other products usually have updates as well. New > versions of almost everything come out all the time - some are free, some > are pay - some you can only download if you are registered - but it is best > to check. Just go to their web pages and look under their support and > download sections. > > You also have hardware on your machine that requires drivers to interface > with the operating system. You have a video card that allows you to see on > your screen, a sound card that allows you to hear your PCs sound output and > so on. Visit those manufacturer web sites for the latest downloadable > drivers for your hardware/operating system. Always (IMO) get the > manufacturers hardware driver over any Microsoft offers. On the Windows > Update site I mentioned earlier, I suggest NOT getting their hardware > drivers - no matter how tempting. > > Have I mentioned that Microsoft has some stuff to help secure your computer > available to the end-user for free? This seems as good of a time as any. > They have a CD you can order (it's free) that contain all of the Windows > patches through October 2003 and some trial products as well that they > released in February 2004. Yeah - it's a little behind now, but it's better > than nothing (and used in coordination with the information in this post, > well worth the purchase price..) > > Order the Windows Security Update CD > http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/cd/order.asp > > They also have a bunch of suggestions, some similar to these, on how to > better protect your Windows system: > > Protect your PC > http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/ > > > FIREWALL > -------- > > Let's say you are up-to-date on the OS (operating system) and you have > Windows XP.. You should at least turn on the built in firewall. That will > do a lot to "hide" you from the random bad things flying around the > Internet. Things like Sasser/Blaster enjoy just sitting out there in > Cyberspace looking for an unprotected Windows Operating System and jumping > on it, doing great damage in the process and then using that Unprotected OS > to continue its dirty work of infecting others. If you have the Windows XP > ICF turned on - default configuration - then they cannot see you! Think of > it as Internet Stealth Mode at this point. It has other advantages, like > actually locking the doors you didn't even (likely) know you had. Doing > this is simple, the instructions you need to use your built in Windows XP > firewall can be found here: > > http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=320855 > > If you read through that and look through the pages that are linked from it > at the bottom of that page - I think you should have a firm grasp on the > basics of the Windows XP Firewall as it is today. One thing to note RIGHT > NOW - if you have AOL, you cannot use this nice firewall that came with > your system. Thank AOL, not Microsoft. You HAVE to configure another > one.. So we continue with our session on Firewalls... > > But let's say you DON'T have Windows XP - you have some other OS like > Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT, 2000. Well, you don't have the nifty built in > firewall. My suggestion - upgrade. My next suggestion - look through your > options. There are lots of free and pay firewalls out there for home users. > Yes - you will have to decide on your own which to get. Yes, you will have > to learn (oh no!) to use these firewalls and configure them so they don't > interfere with what you want to do while continuing to provide the security > you desire. It's just like anything else you want to protect - you have to > do something to protect it. Here are some suggested applications. A lot of > people tout "ZoneAlarm" as being the best alternative to just using the > Windows XP ICF, but truthfully - any of these alternatives are much better > than the Windows XP ICF at what they do - because that is ALL they do. > > ZoneAlarm (Free and up) > http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp > > Kerio Personal Firewall (KPF) (Free and up) > http://www.kerio.com/kpf_download.html > > Outpost Firewall from Agnitum (Free and up) > http://www.agnitum.com/download/ > > Sygate Personal Firewall (Free and up) > http://smb.sygate.com/buy/download_buy.htm > > Symantec's Norton Personal Firewall (~$25 and up) > http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/npf/ > > BlackICE PC Protection ($39.95 and up) > http://blackice.iss.net/ > > Tiny Personal Firewall (~$49.00 and up) > http://www.tinysoftware.com/ > > That list is not complete, but they are good firewall options, every one of > them. Visit the web pages, read up, ask around if you like - make a > decision and go with some firewall, any firewall. Also, maintain it. > Sometimes new holes are discovered in even the best of these products and > patches are released from the company to remedy this problem. However, if > you don't get the patches (check the manufacturer web page on occasion), > then you may never know you have the problem and/or are being used through > this weakness. Also, don't stack these things. Running more than one > firewall will not make you safer - it would likely (in fact) negate some > protection you gleamed from one or the other firewalls you ran together. > > > ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE > ------------------ > > That's not all. That's one facet of a secure PC, but firewalls don't do > everything. I saw one idiot posting on a newsgroup that "they had > never had a virus and they never run any anti-virus software. Yep - I used > to believe that way too - viruses were something everyone else seemed to > get, were they just stupid? And for the average joe-user who is careful, > uses their one-three family computers carefully, never opening unknown > attachments, always visiting the same family safe web sites, never > installing anything that did not come with their computer - maybe, just > maybe they will never witness a virus. I, however, am a Network Systems > Administrator. I see that AntiVirus software is an absolute necessity. You > can be as careful as you want - will the next person be as careful? Will > someone send you unknowingly the email that erases all the pictures of your > child/childhood? Possibly - why take the chance? ALWAYS RUN ANTIVIRUS > SOFTWARE and KEEP IT UP TO DATE! Antivirus software comes in so many > flavors, it's like walking into a Jelly Belly store - which one tastes like > what?! Well, here are a few choices for you. Some of these are free (isn't > that nice?) and some are not. Is one better than the other - MAYBE. I > personally love Symantec AV. > > Symantec (Norton) AntiVirus (~$11 and up) > http://www.symantec.com/ > > Kaspersky Anti-Virus (~$49.95 and up) > http://www.kaspersky.com/products.html > > Panda Antivirus Titanium (~$39.95 and up) > http://www.pandasoftware.com/ > (Free Online Scanner: http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/) > > AVG 6.0 Anti-Virus System (Free and up) > http://www.grisoft.com/ > > McAfee VirusScan (~$11 and up) > http://www.mcafee.com/ > > AntiVir (Free and up) > http://www.free-av.com/ > > avast! 4 (Free and up) > http://www.avast.com/ > > Trend Micro (~$49.95 and up) > http://www.trendmicro.com/ > (Free Online Scanner: > http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp) > > Did I mention you have to not only install this software, but also keep it > updated? You do. Some of them (most) have automatic services to help you > do this - I mean, it's not your job to keep up with the half-dozen or more > new threats that come out daily, is it? Be sure to keep whichever one you > choose up to date! > > > SPAM EMAIL/JUNK MAIL > -------------------- > > This one can get annoying, just like the rest. You get 50 emails in one > sitting and 2 of them you wanted. NICE! (Not.) What can you do? Well, > although there are services out there to help you, some email > servers/services that actually do lower your spam with features built into > their servers - I still like the methods that let you be the end-decision > maker on what is spam and what isn't. If these things worked perfectly, we > wouldn't need people and then there would be no spam anyway - vicious > circle, eh? Anyway - I have two products to suggest to you, look at them > and see if either of them suite your needs. Again, if they don't, Google is > free and available for your perusal. > > SpamBayes (Free!) > http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/ > > Spamihilator (Free!) > http://www.spamihilator.com/ > > As I said, those are not your only options, but are reliable ones I have > seen function for hundreds+ people. > > > DISABLE (Set to Manual) UNUSED SERVICE/STARTUP APPS > --------------------------------------------------- > > I might get arguments on putting this one here, but it's my spill. There are > lots of services on your PC that are probably turned on by default you don't > use. Why have them on? Check out these web pages to see what all of the > services you might find on your computer are and set them according to your > personal needs. Be CAREFUL what you set to manual, and take heed and write > down as you change things! Also, don't expect a large performance increase > or anything - especially on todays 2+ GHz machines, however - I look at each > service you set to manual as one less service you have to worry about > someone exploiting. A year ago, I would have thought the Windows Messenger > service to be pretty safe, now I recommend (with addition of a firewall) > that most home users disable it! Yeah - this is another one you have to > work for, but your computer may speed up and/or be more secure because you > took the time. And if you document what you do as you do it, next time, it > goes MUCH faster! (or if you have to go back and re-enable things..) > > Task List Programs > http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm > > Black Viper's Service List and Opinions (XP) > http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm > > Processes in Windows NT/2000/XP > http://www.reger24.de/prozesse/ > > There are also applications that AREN'T services that startup when you start > up the computer/logon. One of the better description on how to handle these > I have found here: > > Startups > http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php > > > That's it. A small booklet on how to keep your computer secure, clean of > scum and more user friendly. I am SURE I missed something, almost as I am > sure you won't read all of it (anyone for that matter.) However, I also > know that someone who followed all of the advice above would also have less > problems with their PC, less problems with viruses, less problems with spam, > less problems with spyware and better performance than someone who didn't. > > Hope it helps. > > -- > <- Shenan -> > -- > The information is provided "as is", with no guarantees of > completeness, accuracy or timeliness, and without warranties of any > kind, express or implied. In other words, read up before you take any > advice - you are the one ultimately responsible for your actions. > >
- Next message: bullwinkel J. Moose: "Re: Service Packs"
- Previous message: David Candy: "Re: SnapIn not created"
- In reply to: Shenan Stanley: "Re: IMMORTAL SPYWARE!!!!"
- Next in thread: zeretul1: "Re: IMMORTAL SPYWARE!!!!"
- Reply: zeretul1: "Re: IMMORTAL SPYWARE!!!!"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ]
Relevant Pages
|
