In which I Encounter a Virus

[the_deep_magic]

First item of business: gryffin_draco is a goddess among mortals and should be fanned with palm leaves while sitting upon a velvet-cushioned throne and being fed the exotic fruit of her choice.  I can't say for certain that, without her, my computer would have died a slow and painful death of e-syphilis, but it was sure as hell looking that way.  All praise and accolades her way, etc.

Which leads me to my next point: obviously McAfee, despite the ridiculous price I pay for it (even when I don't remember signing up for automatic renewal, but whatever), is insufficient, even though I know what I did that caused me to get the virus, and it was stupid and I will try not to make the same mistake twice.  I know many of you are computer-oriented, and I'd like your opinion on the best anti-virus, anti-malware, anti-cootie software out there.  Obviously, I would prefer that it be free or low-cost, but I'd love to hear your best recommendations.

Secondly, my family's wireless internet signal is currently unprotected, and I know enough about the Magic Computer Boxes to know that's dangerous, but not enough to know what to do.  I know some type of firewall is needed, but -- and here you may laugh at my ignorance -- I have no idea what that entails.  Purchasing software?  Lead-lined shingles?  A poorly-reviewed Harrison Ford movie?

Anyway, I don't mean to treat you all as my own personal IT team, but I know that you all are a far better resource than, say, the average stockmonkey at the Best Buy.  Much better looking (and smelling), too! [/flattery]

Comments

[pikasafire.livejournal.com]

I've found Microsoft Security Essentials does a pretty good job, and I do a lot of downloading, so I tend to come across a lot of viruses. It's always caught them. More importantly, it's FREE, (as long as you have a genuine copy of Windows)

[zjofierose.livejournal.com]

i know nothing about computery nonsense, but Boy says he uses Avast!, which is indeed free, and seems to work well. as to the wireless thingies, he says he would rather poke around on your computer than try and explain in a comment how to make it better, LOL.

[angelrox040.livejournal.com]

I second the Avast! :)

What do you mean unprotected? As in it has no password? In which case DDDDDD: x a million

[beederiffic.livejournal.com]

Avast! thirded: http://www.avast.com

McAfee is a horrible memory hog. Your computer will thank you once it's free from wading through the molasses of McAfee's running processes.

*toasts own metaphor*

Protecting your wifi network: http://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/protecting-your-wireless-network.html

[beederiffic.livejournal.com]

Also useful for general upkeep and protection from malware:
http://www.piriform.com/CCLEANER
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/

[medea-fic.livejournal.com]

Dude! McAfee totally got me this year too with the Surprise!Automatic!Renewal! Bastards. I had it on my old laptop and had no idea I'd apparently signed up for auto-renewals. I suspect I didn't, frankly, or not consciously. I was going to make a fuss at them but my Norton had just run out anyway on the new laptop and I am lazy.

But I had forgotten how much McAfee sucks balls as far as failing to catch viruses and making my computer slow and freezey, and a month on I'm wishing I had made a fuss, got a refund and bought Norton again.

When I used free antivirus software I usually went with AVG but it wasn't great. I've never had a problem with Norton, just a problem getting my act together and renewing the software...

If you mean your wireless is unsecured because it lacks a password, I'm pretty sure you just need to put a password on it...through the modem page thingie? I think?? If you're not sure how to do it your ISP should have instructions on their website or be able to walk you through it over the phone. Or I could ask Personal Helpdesk BFF to write out some instructions? But Ewin or someone else among us will probably know what to do.

[therumjournals.livejournal.com]

I'd like your opinion on the best anti-virus, anti-malware, anti-cootie software out there. ....get a Mac!

okay, not really, 'cause that is definitely not a free or low-cost option. but it had to be said ;-)

[babykid528.livejournal.com]

*LIKE*

(Shhh I'll pretend this is FB when I want to even though I hate that site! XD)

[theofenraven.livejournal.com]

Free: MalwareBytes at CNet
Free: SuperAntiSpyware; this one also offers the advantage of a portable download, which you can put on your jump drive. Often, the virus won't let you start an anti-virus from your hard drive and one running on a jump drive can sometimes sneak past its defenses.

I've used the above two programs at work in tandem to knock out some serious crap. However, viruses are getting more lethal every second. I now have an affordable computer geek on speed dial, just in case.

About the wireless router: There should be instructions that came with it that tell you how to access the web settings of your router. USE THEM. Set a password asap! No one should be surfing these days on an open connection unless there is no help for it.

[verizonhorizon.livejournal.com]

How to stop getting viruses. Ever. Again.

[plot-h0les.livejournal.com]

Microsoft Security Essentials gets some of the best reviews out there, and it is free! If you have windows. If not, Avast! and AVG are both great free programs as well.

As for the password on your wireless, it is actually pretty easy to do, but possibly hard to explain. I'd be willing to write something up in a pm if you want! Just, make sure you use a WPA2 password ecryption, not just WEP, because that is not secure enough to save ou from scary things like the firefox ad-on that makes it so a 4 year old could steal all your passwords to bank accounts and such...

[ewinfic.livejournal.com]

From year to year, go to google and do a few searches on best antivirus anti-malware software packages.

A few years back, AVG was the total shit, and then it started to get bulky and eat my computer. I switched to Bit Defender for awhile after checking the reviews (there are some very detailed reviews on antivirus software) and when they got annoying with renewals etc. I switched to Avast which is getting very good reviews right now. Basically, just check once a year to make sure the antivirus you're using is still awesome.

[gryffin-draco.livejournal.com]

haha you're welcome bb! I'm glad everything worked out for you. <3 So many words I can say about that virus. Not a single one of them polite. I think I have a case for justifiable homicide should the name of its creator ever get leaked (I will hunt that bitch down and terminate with extreme prejudice).

As for maintenance, as ewinfic said, AVG used to be the be all, end all but it got too popular and became a target for hackers. Right now the best I can recommend is manually updating and quick scanning with Malwarebytes once a week or every other week to clear your computer of malware while using the free version of Avast! Antivirus and running virus scans every so often. It's currently top of the class for anti-virus programs, autoupdates its virus definitions seemingly hourly, and has a number of good security features. You can choose to pay for it and get even more advanced features, but if you're diligent you don't really need the paid for version.