SRL Archive - Discussions & Debates

I have had several bad experiences with spyware and viruses. Let me just start off by saying that I have used many of the traditional anti-virus scanners that scan your entire hard drive for malicious programs and update regularly i.e. norton, avg, mcaffee, etc.

Well anyways, I'm of the opinion that these do not work worth a SHIT. It seems every time I've run into spyware/malware, the only permanent solution that removed all of it was either to wade waist-deep through the registry, use hijackthis and about 1000 other programs, or just to reformat.

Which leads me to my point: I think that most anti-virus systems that scan your entire hard drive for viruses are worthless and a waste of system resources, with the exceptions of ones that solely look for a few common types and don't scan your entire hard drive like malwarebytes and spybot S&D.

A humorous example is one time I started getting redirects on my web browser and random windows advertising fake products appeared, too. Then AVG told me I had a bunch of trojans and other crap, so I clicked the 'heal' button, but nothing happened! I found that rather comical.

Work for me :).

You might want to use a more Secure system than Windows.

If you hate them so much, delete all antivirus programs on your system and surf the internet, get viruses and then :
you'll love antivirus programs !

From: Dr D. Dervish
If you hate them so much, delete all antivirus programs on your system and surf the internet, get viruses and then :
you'll love antivirus programs !

I'm just trying to say that the case with most of the viruses you get is the antivirus doesn't do squat to help/prevent it, in many cases it's simply easier to reformat.

meh, I ran windows for years without any type of anti-virus and nothing happened to me. You just have browse safely.

From: Brain
meh, I ran windows for years without any type of anti-virus and nothing happened to me. You just have browse safely.

Nothing that you know of…..


If you use a good anti virus program that covers a wide variety of things, not just scanning your HDD. It will help you a lot. I personally have Avast! and adore it. It has numerously saved me from bogus sites from Google. I would be Googling something and I would run into a site where it would try to execute some code and install a virus. Avast! stops the connection right there and blocks all connections from the site and stops any executing of code. Saved me many times. Also it monitors all uploads, downloads, and any file movement at all times. I have found it is a great program, without many false positives.

If you want to be the safest run a hardened version of Linux. You'll be fine.

From: Mr.Klean
It has numerously saved me from bogus sites from Google. I would be Googling something and I would run into a site where it would try to execute some code and install a virus. Avast! stops the connection right there and blocks all connections from the site and stops any executing of code. Saved me many times.

Lol, websites can't install stuff. You're thinking of a bug in IE5/6 that would let websites install programs without user permission. That's never been possible in Firefox. Then there was also that IE bug which affected all of the IEs (including 8 beta) that let people steal Steam accounts, which probably could have been used for a lot worse things than stealing Steam accounts if the people who wrote it wanted to be.

If you want to be safe, don't pirate crap, instead use open-source software or widely used free software, and never use LimeWire/FrostWire.

I don't use an antivirus simply because my computer is too slow for it. They aren't useful for much anyway unless it's used on a school/business computer. Plus it tends to block a lot of my apps (Cain etc.) that I use to screw around with my own computer when I get bored.

Step one to a virus free computer:
Use common sense
Two:
Firewall
Three:
antivirus.

From: Brain
meh, I ran windows for years without any type of anti-virus and nothing happened to me. You just have browse safely.

Same, I've been running windows for the last 5 years without an antivirus, antispyware or firewall and no problems here

From: Hermpie
Step one to a virus free computer:
Use common sense
Two:
Firewall
Three:
antivirus.

From: The Claw
Same, I've been running windows for the last 5 years without an antivirus, antispyware or firewall and no problems here

Like I said, You just need a common sense and an updated web browser like firefox.

From: Mr.Klean
Nothing that you know of…..


I personally have Avast! and adore it.

+1! :eek:

NOD32 here.

From: Ruroken
NOD32 here.

co-sign, I have it too.