GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(
My home PC is being over-run by adware/malware and I have absolutely no idea how to get rid of it. I'm a complete IT novice. Can someone explain in very simplistic terms what I need to do to get rid of it please?
I have a free AVG and have run a scan and my pop up blockers are on both of which dont stop it.
HELP!
Hi Nosher
I got rid of AVG because it seemed to never find the Malware I use Ad Aware now which I think is better
Download this http://www.malwarebytes.org/ again its free and gets rid of 99% of it.
Are you downloading a lot of stuff? as a lot of those download crap if you dont read the install instructions properly as you have to opt out of downloading extra stuff rather than opting in
Thats my 2p's worth from experience rather than from being a technical boffin
I wouldn't get rid of AVG as it may not stop malware, but it does prevent the really nasty stuff getting onto your computer.
I'd second Ad Aware and Malwarebytes did a fine job of cleaning up an old laptop for me.
Have a look at Gizmo's Freeware Reviews
http://www.techsupportalert.com/
I only got rid of AVG because AVG 13 refused to update or scan
When I first ran Ad Aware it found 2 Trojans ( the virus not the people) that AVG had never detected for about a year
I would second Fenton's advice about being careful about what you download. Even seemingly respectable sources like Microsoft and Apple have jumped on the bandwagon and will lumber you with some crappy search engine if you're not careful.
Easiest thing to do is to type the name of the malware into Google and you will get various sites that will explain how to get rid of it. Some are easy enough with just a few strategic deletions. Others are a little more persistent. I have used Malwarebytes in the past and it seems to work.
I've used AVG, Avast! and Kaspersky at various times - usually depending on who had the best offer at the time! All seem to have their strengths and weaknesses and all seem to to me to be equally good in their own way.
As a backup I do use Ad Aware and/or Spybot to double check.
I also run Firefox with No Script which serves the double purpose of stopping javascript running without me knowing and persuading others not to use my PCs as constantly having to give scripts permission to run drives them crackers :)
I'm fairly tech savvy and will do things like dig around in msconfig to check what's lurking under the bonnet but despite my paranoia I still get caught out occasionally.
I use slim cleaner as well which gets rid of a lot of crap
Bit obvious - but don't run more than one or two protection programs. They interfere with each other. Your box will also appear to run slowly when you run a scan.
ianS
I friend last night recommended me to try 360Amigo ..clean out lots of stuff found old empty files and big left over files from old games etc got 11gb back on my hard drive... It is free as well
Quote from: Fenton on 15 December 2013, 09:58:57 AM
I friend last night recommended me to try 360Amigo ..clean out lots of stuff found old empty files and big left over files from old games etc got 11gb back on my hard drive... It is free as well
Since you mentioned Slim Cleaner, doesn't Slim PC do much the same as 360 Amigo?
Amigo just seems to do a little more in reagards to defrag's etc...Well it works more easily for me anyway
AVAST offers the best perfrmance imho. That sounds like some worm/dropper. Did it hijack your browser aka is your internet startpage still the same or changed?
If you were closer to me I would say, grab the machine, get a decent beer and come over....
Quote from: Fenton on 15 December 2013, 03:31:44 PM
Amigo just seems to do a little more in reagards to defrag's etc...Well it works more easily for me anyway
Worth knowing - cheers Fenton
Yes - downloaded and ran 360Amigo - cleaned out nearly 8GB of rubbish - thank you for the tip!
Good stuff...Glad it helped Robert
Cheers Chaps the malware link seems to have doen the trick ;)
In terms of downloads i rarely download anything more than a PDF or a word file which is the limit of my IT competetence. I think half the issue is my kids who do download all sorts of sh*te and merrily click away at random pages and nonsense :o
Kapersky works for me......
Fecking malware/spyware..... :d :d :d :d :d :d :d :d :d :d :d :d :d :d :d :d :d :d :d :d :d
Back again! and the Malware blocker/scan although deleting a load of threats seems to be not making a difference now although its slowing the number of threats.
Why people get pleasure out of creating these feckin things is beyond me. There should be laws punishable by death or better still, removal of bollocks. I'd happily volunteer to wield the feckin bolt croppers...
Bravo Alpha Sierra Tango Alpha Romeo Delta Sierra >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(
You might want to go through your installed programs manually (via control pannel), and take out the offending programs that way, especially if they are like them annoying sales comparison adware progs.
My missus is always downloading stuff and getting us bogged down with the extra bundled ad/mal ware, so best bet is to go in and root around and see what shouldn't be in your system and remove them (just be careful you just take them out rather than anything important or vital...)
Not much advice for a novice, but I found that its sometimes the only way to get your PC working again other than a total restore!
Totally wipe your system and restore it is usually the best policy, the only reason I dont these days is I dont have a Terrabyte external hard drive to copy all my crap onto. >:( >:(