Is paying for antivirus a waste of money?

Hi I also run AdwCleaner often. Great program and used on every help forum by all malware hunters. @Kenny94 is trained to clean PC's and the tools he uses will determine which tools need to be run. Kenny may want to check first before advising AdwCleaner ,but to those that are familiar with malware, Adwcleaner is a greet tool to use. There are a lot of tools that can be run, but for novice users, @Kenny94 should have a look first IMHO

 

I see where you are coming from, Gary.

It is quite safe to run all the normal scanning Tools without compounding the problem, ADW Cleaner included.
If that doesn't resolve the issue completely,then by all means seek our Malware Professionals advice.

We always recommend that anyway.

It all depends what the problem is and how it is affecting their computer.
Often the OP thinks they have a virus when it is something simple or vice versa.

Great we have the caliber of Kenny and his associates on board if called upon.

 

Hi Dougie! Are there other tools you use and you can suggest before letting @Kenny94 take a look at your PC?
I have some I use, I will post one of them. That's ESET on line scanner. This will take a couple of hours to scan, but it is also recommenced by malware fighters and does a great job!

 

The only thing I wonder about is many Malware professionals used to say that they would prefer you do nothing
because what you do before the Pro takes a look may throw them off by using your own scans.
BTW I know Kenny is on this thread and I would like to know why Sec Mods always suggest you download various cleaners
like Adw Cleaner to the desktop before running as I have always instructed users not to download anything to the desktop and I think it is a bad habit
to suggest unless there is a real reason.

 

There is nothing wrong with any of my computers, Gary .
You must have misunderstood me, sorry.

I use amongst others ADW Cleaner. I include ADW Cleaner in my monthly maintainence, and was asking Kenny what his thoughts were.
Just normal routine maintainence, full scans, Disk Cleanup and Have a look at MSCONFIG from time to time, etc etc etc.
I haven't had a virus in 18months.
The last time I got hit badly was a download from CNET. That was a long time ago. I remember MBAM picking up 253 P.U.P.'s and viruses and everything else you could imagine. Took 3 scans to clear the system.
Now only Author's site, Filehippo and Major Geeks.

With ESET on line scanner you must set it up correctly before commencing scan. Slow but accureate.

 

Hi Dougie! I know you are well aware of how to maintain your Computers. I was just asking if there were other tools that you would like to recommend to forum members. Adwcleaner is excellent! Not aware of any thing that needs to be set up before running ESET on line scanner. There is a utility tool for browsers other then IE.
Optimized for Internet Explorer. Chrome and Firefox users will need to download and run a small utility file before starting scan. Need help? Click here

 

There are advanced settings in ESET online scanner that I always check off, but it does take longer when doing that.

 

I go into advanced settings as well before commencing scan.I meant that when I said it needs to be set up correctly. Yes it is slower but does a better scan.
At least we agree on this online scanner.

 

One reason why we have users to save it to the desktop so they can find it... But the main reason is Some tools will not really won't work properly unless it's on the users desktop. A good example would be Combofix. When the helper ask a user to drag a CFScript.txt into the ComboFix.exe. So, meaning a lot tools by developers are designed for the desktop.

 

I'll ask one of the developers that question as well Rich. Because there's a lot New programs that came out and I'll ask that question.

 

Hi Here's my thoughts. They may be a little off topic, but I think they fit really well on this thread.
When you have the PC in front of you that you are trying to clean up; and that PC has all the symptoms of being infected, it's a whole different ball game then trying to clean up a PC the way a malware fighter like @Kenny94 has to do. When you have the PC setting in front of you, you can see things that @Kenny94 can't see. That's why Kenny needs you to run a program like FRST, so that he can see what a person sees that has the PC in front of them. Then Kenny can suggest the best programs to run to clean up the PC. I wish I had the knowledge to read a FRST log. I clean infected PC's up regularly, but I have the PC in front of me and I know what to look for just like Dougie said in his reply. I think it's great to try to clean up a PC with all the 2016 programs that are available. Then if you still have a problem, I'm betting the farm Kenny can fix you up.
I'll let Kenny correct me if he disagrees with any of this. We are fortunate to have a malware fighter like Kenny on the forum.
I'm going to be good now and hit the hay! These are my thoughts tonight. I hope this message is approved!

 

I agree Gary that the circumstances are different when we are at a client's home or business as we don't have the time to do it the right way
we know Kenny would however often times the generalist cures can muddy the water for the professional which is why they generally want to
see everything for themselves......again the problem is timing of course. There are always more than 1 way to do things though where Windows is concerned.
Thanks Kenny your answers so far are very helpful and I look forward to more response if you find it.
My only concerns is if users get in the habit of downloading programs to their desktop and start doing it regularly, as we both know the more
on the desktop other than shortcuts the slower the system will boot is all.

 

You're right Rich. Most of the tools are Standalone programs for one. The disinfection tools that are used are removed ( Delfix is the clean up tool) after the users system declared clean. The reasons to 'save on the user desktop. Other than the reasons I posted. There are or were some infections (when root-kits came out) back in day prevent the tools to run if the tool is ran in the C: drive (hard disk) for example.

But the main reason it's the simplest method when you are helping different users and different operating systems... Especially when a user might have 5 drives and My Documents is loaded with text files and so forth. Some users tend to rush, and ask I can't find the program or logs..Desktop is the keyword.

 

The only way of doing it is to do a complete analysis of the log and then try to untangle the fix one step at a time.

Edit. Everyone should read this post. The Topic here mentions Ransomware several times.

CryptoLocker Ransomware Information Guide and FAQ

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/cryptolocker-ransomware-information