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gfdiamond Regular user sweden 198 Posts |
Hi guys,
I noticed a few posts about people being hit by spyware, adware, unwanted toolbars, trojans, etc. here is something I did to restore my pc. if you have been virused, here is a good way of getting rid of all the crap. do a system restore. go to start on desktop go to all programs go to accessories go to system tools go to go to system restore it will ask you to restore the computer to an earlier date. then choose an earlier date when you know the computer was in good shape. the system will restart. then your system should be ok. its frustrating getting virused, but this should work and remove all the rubbish, spyware, adware,unwanted toolbars, etc. this is often the way computer specialists fix your system and then charge you 100 bucks for the service. regards, geoff diamond http://www.tvmagicians.com
Check me out on Google. Geoff Diamond Magician.
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Sir Pharaul Regular user 140 Posts |
I finally got fed up with all that stuff and bought a mac, problem solved.
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gfdiamond Regular user sweden 198 Posts |
Hi sir pharaul,
yes I might join you. regards, geoff.
Check me out on Google. Geoff Diamond Magician.
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ClintonMagus Inner circle Southwestern Southeast 3997 Posts |
I have a friend whose Mac got taken down by a virus, so what's the difference? Are the Macs unpopular enough that no one bothers developing viruses for them?
Things are more like they are today than they've ever been before...
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BRodgers Special user 543 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-07-09 14:53, ClintonMagus wrote: That is correct. The majority of the population use PC's, while only a relatively small number use Mac's. The people who create these viruses go for the majority.
Creator of The Phantom Band 360
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tom_stamm Loyal user Los Angeles 248 Posts |
Macs are less likely to suffer Malware for a couple of reasons:
1) Macs are about 8% of the market. Virus writers want to target the larger PC market. 2) Mac is currently based on BSD Unix. It has a more robust security model than past versions of Windows. I do not have enough exposure of Vista to comment on its security model. 3) Historically Microsoft has been reluctant to draw a line in the sand and orphan older systems. Businesses love backward compatability. Apple has done this THREE TIMES already (68000 processors to Power PC to Intel and OS 9 to OS X). This means the Mac could abandon old weaker technology for the next gen stuff. (It is a bit hard on developers though). Remember: Regularly backup or system (at LEAST once a week). This goes for Macs too. Don't open unexpected email attachments. BE REALLY REALLY careful downloading music and movies from Peer networks (LOOK at the FILE SUFFIXES). Practice SAFE computing.
Just Some Guy.
"For Seven Tons of the King's Tea, Six Fine Ladies to Fight a Great Jackass -- me." |
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Futureal Inner circle 1695 Posts |
1) Switch from IE to FF.
2) Install, update and run Adaware, Spyware Blaster and Spybot Search and Destroy weekly. 3) Don't run .PPS, .EXE, .COM or other executable email attachments. Videos and images are fine. 4) Be wary about downloading things. You can pretty much trust things from reputable sites like download.com, shareware.com etc, but otherwise be careful. If you use your head you'll be fine. I've never had a virus in 15 years. |
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Joshua Barrett Inner circle Cincinnati, Ohio 3631 Posts |
FDISK c:/
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Law New user 94 Posts |
I wouldn't fdisk unless you understand the consequences:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255867 It's good for a clean slate though! I'd include an antivirus app with Futureal's suggestions above - there are several decent free ones (Avira, AVG, avast!). I also wouldn't assume that videos and images are fine - all attachments are suspect, even those from trusted sources. Some viruses are crafted to go through your email contacts and send an email from you with a virus attachment. Be wary of attachments unless you know that someone is sending you one (reinforcing what tom_stamm said above). |
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Futureal Inner circle 1695 Posts |
The format thing was clearly a joke.
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gfdiamond Regular user sweden 198 Posts |
Hi
yes, I find avast is a very good anti virus program. its completely free and updates itself on a regular basis. regards, geoff.
Check me out on Google. Geoff Diamond Magician.
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Daegs Inner circle USA 4291 Posts |
Why struggle with Windows?
Goto http://www.ubuntu.com/ and download a free cutting edge operating system with thousands of software packages that are completely free. You can run Firefox and all your flash goodies, can run Photoshop(well not free but still it runs), an open office suite comparable to microsoft's, plus so many more pieces of software without the headache of virus's. You don't even have to install it or change your computer to try it out, just pop the cd or dvd in and it will let you try it out without any changes! |
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mud New user Western NY 66 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-07-12 00:32, Futureal wrote: If you have a virus or spyware, a format, check of the MBR, and complete reinstall is the only way to definitely get rid of it. Anything else and it's possible that the virus is still there. Formatting to get rid of a virus is not a joke, it's the only real 100% sure solution. That is why you need to be so careful and follow basic internet security advice (keep up to date software, make sure you have a firewall, don't run programs from the internet if you don't trust the source, NEVER execute programs or open word documents sent to you by e-mail or IM, etc.). Also, fdisk isn't for formatting, that does something else (it's for if you need to change the partition table)...and also I don't think Windows even comes with fdisk any more. |
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tom_stamm Loyal user Los Angeles 248 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-07-12 02:55, Daegs wrote: Daegs: Ubuntu (Linux) is a good solution, but it may be too geeky for some and others may have Windows software not easy to replace. It depends on each of our needs. If you are stuck with Windows. You just have to practice defensive computing - There is a lot of great advice here. FireFox is great (I use it). IE7 is far superior to EI6. I'm very fond of Adaware for any windows boxes I have to use. And of course avoid all those problems by using Linux or Unix if you don't NEED Windows. And don't forget regular backups.
Just Some Guy.
"For Seven Tons of the King's Tea, Six Fine Ladies to Fight a Great Jackass -- me." |
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chias Regular user 144 Posts |
You don't always have to format your hard disk, or perform a system restore whenever your computer is infected. You'll always have the risk of losing some important data.
Just letting you guys know I run a website with several other security analysts: http://www.parasitedb.com Am willing to offer my services for a subsidized price, or even for free. ( Magicians should help fellow magicians. ) Pm me. |
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Futureal Inner circle 1695 Posts |
Yeah that's totally over the top. I've been a serious computer user for 20 years and that's the first time I've ever heard someone say format your hdd if you get a virus.
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mud New user Western NY 66 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-07-14 04:02, Futureal wrote: That's not what I said. I said that formatting is the only way to be completely sure that the virus is gone. You may or may not care if you're 100% sure, most people don't. Personally, I use my machine for banking and private communication so I would definitely format and reinstall if I ever got a virus (I am relatively security concious and I use Linux so it hasn't come up yet). The point of my post was simply to point out that formatting to get rid of a virus is NOT a joke. Viruses are serious business if you care at all about being in control of your own hardware. |
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Banester Special user 669 Posts |
Use a good Virus program and I would also recomend spybot or similiar programs. Also, make sure your firewall is up and if you have a router LOCK IT DOWN! Your router is open to anyone unless you setup the hardware firewall.
System restore is useful; however, a good virus will stick around while you just erased everything that was most likely clean. Some food for thought: Quote:
Apple's OS X, Microsoft Windows, and Linux operating systems are to be pitted against each other in an ethical hacking contest This was in Vancouver. Vista was broke into in less that 2 min. The Mac was also broke into, but took a little longer. Linux was not penetrated. The exploit that was used came from a hole in adobe software. Make sure you keep all of your software updated, not just the operating system!
The art of a magician is to create wonder.
If we live with a sense of wonder, our lives become filled with joy -Doug Henning- |
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mud New user Western NY 66 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-07-16 12:34, Banester wrote: Every router I've ever seen is set by default with none of the ports forwarded (in other words, the firewall is on and locked down by default). Are there really routers that aren't like this? (I'm honestly curious how that would work, as it seems like the router would have to guess which machine to forward traffic to.) Good advice otherwise. |
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
A few misconceptions exist in the previous posts.
1) Macs are not immune to viruses. There just aren't many Mac viruses. But they do exist. 2) You can send a virus through an image file. 3) The routine where you restore your system to a previous good version works in some cases, but not all. One of the best antivirus programs and ad blockers is AVG. Panda is also very good, but it is way too aggressive for most users. Possibly the easiest version of Linux to install is Mandriva.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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