I had to pay to get rid of viruses

[Swede]

All that free shit just didn't quite do it. I smell something.

[Carolab]

1. I KNOW! I was just pitching a fit yesterday over this same thing!

What is up with that? I paid McAfee for security with updates and NOW they want me to pay for protection against some worms/viruses. That's like having health insurance and when you have something catastrophic go wrong having them tell you "oh, you're covered, all right, just not for that!"

[Cronus Protagonist]

2. There's a nasty one out there now that I cured for a client

Not like any other worm, virus or Trojan. Took me 7 hours to kill it the first time. And I know others have it too. It's too complicated to explain, but it was one of the hardest dust-offs I've done because of the novel methodology.

I hope it's not getting around much, although it seems perhaps you might have got it.

[Gabi Hayes]

3. so how do you protect against it?

I have norton, lavaware.....that's it, plus stupid Windows firewall stuff

don't scare me like that.

I had to get a new computer last time

[Cronus Protagonist]

7. It's not a virus, nor a worm, it's a trojan horse

And none of the major antivi vendors work against it. None. It's easy to fix once you know what it is, though. I can fix any infected computer now in an hour or so now, but the first shot at it was lengthy.

You would know if you had it. Your antivirus software might recognise a trojan or a worm or whatever, but that's not the infection, that's the infection this trojan puts on your hard drive and when you delete that one, another virus or worm or trojan is installed, and it goes on for ever.

It's too long to describe here, but it uses windows normal functionality and your internet connection to install crap on your machine, and since it's not a virus itself, you can delete all the viruses it brings in, but they come back because the loader loads them in from another infected machine on the Internet.

[JDPriestly]

4. Do you use Mozilla? And Norton?

[Autumn Colors]

5. This is cheap but good

A few years back, I heard about a program called Trojan Remover that was written by a guy who doesn't work for AOL but who ended up becoming the "virus/worm guru" on their virus message boards. He just ended up being the one who answered everyone's questions all the time.

I downloaded his program for 30 days and decided to pay the $25 which was a one-time fee (not annual like with Norton and McAfee) - it's now $29.95, but still cheap by comparison. This thing has caught trojans that Norton didn't on more than one occasion AND FIXED THEM.

The guy who created the program answers all his own email personally -usually within 24 hours. We have bought new computers since buying his program and he has given us new key codes each time with no hassle at all. Great guy. He also updates the virus definitions almost daily, too.

The program does a scan of system files when you boot up but you have to do a manual scan of your computer yourself - there's no clock to set it for a weekly automatic scan and you have to check for updates yourself, too. (When you run a full system scan, you have to disable Norton -- so I just unplug my cable modem while Norton is disabled since the firewall and antivirus seems intertwined).

Anyway, I have no connection to this guy or this company whatsoever, but I've turned a lot of people on to this program.

You can download and use it for free for 30 days here:
http://www.simplysup.com/

EDIT: The guy's name is Nigel Thomas.

[nashbridges]

6. You smell nothing

The best protected system - client firewall, antivirus, updated subscription, etc. will not protect anyone against an attack if they don't know what to look for.

Three seemingly unrelated events can make your computer an open playground for an organized crime contingent in East Europe (or whatever country of your choosing):

1) You get an email from a friend (OR NOT) purporting to be about something you care about. They ask you to click on a link or download and run a program.

2) 2 days later, your security software asks you a question, and you answer incorrectly because you haven't done anything right then and there to make you think you've screwed your computer.

3) Once you've answered incorrectly, traffic floods in. A compromised machine, even protected, is never safe. It's comparable to having a guide to make your house keys on the web. You don't know that anyone has done it, but you know it's possible.

There are people on this planet who will take every advantage they can. They will use your computer to make money for themselves.

Most importantly, they will almost always use a cause you care about to do so. Just like all fraudsters.

Be careful, but take a clean computer seriously. You can lose credit card numbers, or even worse, your identity. You didn't spend wasted money.

[Seabiscuit]

8. Join the crowd.