Genealogy Chat

Help which is best programme to use to get rid of spyware.
Carol

Two of the better known freebies are Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy. You might also need Anti-virus such as Antivir too.

You can download from File Hippo.

http://www.filehippo.com/

Incidentally, what make you think you are infected with something?

Hi Inspector Green, Well on reflection I don't think it is infected. I was on Facebook when suddenly the whole screen filled with messages to download this programme as I had a Trogen virus etc. started to download, and then thought it was a scam. Have since looked up SPCMDCOM and see (I think) that it may be genuin!! Feel bad as it is on my husbands new computer.
Carol

I had particularly bad experiences with Norton, which I also think is overpriced. In the end I kept getting errors all the time and despite several contacts with their help desk they could not get it fixed. It was just too much of a pain so In the end I ditched it altogether.

Microsoft also have their own offering, Microsoft Security Essentials, which costs nothing and provides real time protection.

lainie,
I have McAfee, which I have found satisfactory for past 5 yrs. but I have been on google and found out more about SPCMDCOM appears that even people who obviously know about computers have been caught out. Apparently one chap was doing same as me looking at a vidio on Facebook, suddenly before you know where you are you have clicked on it as it suddenly says your computer is infected with all manor of things and two security tool icons are installed on taskbar. From what I have read I need a real expert to look at computer, all I know is how to find ancestors.
Carol

if you have mcafee, then I suggest you goto the virus information page and see what Mcafee have to offer..........

Bob

It sounds like you have picked up,

malware.......

go on Computeractive site and see if its listed you can get many free downloads from there aswell....one to lookout for on FB is,,,Koobface....its a worm virus and has been talked about on here.

malware is like spyware just malicious but can come with worms attatched,,,,,,,

Bob, Kay thanks for the advice, will find a friendly neighbour who understands these things.
Carol

If you are infected with Malware (as opposed to Spyware or a Virus) then this product is specifically designed to get rid of it. Go to

http://www.malwarebytes.org/

and download the free version

I agree with lainie39, you get what you pay for
free antivirus/malware/spyware is ok but IF you still get infected you may wish you had payed for protection against these infections.
whilst Norton is a good program i have used and prefere NORMAN for the last 5 years and find it is better for me,
i just renew my sub's and it only cost me £33.95 with my 20% discount for 12 months and i can download and install on upto 3 pc's for that price so my main pc at home plus my laptop and my wifes laptop all for less than 70p a week

http://www.norman.com/en-uk

Roy

A lot of independent computer retailers recommend AVG as superior to McAfee and Norton. You can get a freebie version but for total protection it's better to buy the the full program. Details from www.avg.com

I suppose it also depends on how aware you are of your surroundings................ what and when to "click"

Unfortunately there are now find a lot of frightening episodes where warnings and rapidly mutiplying screens tell of trojans, viruses etc ultimately trying to encourage you to purchase the "cure" on offer!

If you take time to think about it, these nasties are out to achieve several different things.

1. Destroy your computer...........It will just attempt to kill your system!
2. Mess up your computer...................Unpredictable text, mouse control, screens.
3. Steal your data, passwords etc................It will do this without telling you!

So to have a program informing us of infection then offering to fix it for a price should raise suspicions.
If all else fails to clear your screen.............pull the plug!

Don't download anything unless you know you want it.
That is why Windows Vista always "annoyingly" asks if you are sure you want this download!
That facebook video may look fun but when a second click offers multiple downloads....what are you really downloading, do you know......ooops!!!

I was a stalwart Norton user for several years before it began eating all my resources.
Lately it appears to be a reformed character and I have had no problems with it. In fact it stopped my wife from infecting us with Koobface whe she was on Facebook.

I quite agree with IGP that malwarebytes should help with the problem, perhaps saving the download onto a memory stick on another computer then trying to run it on yours.

...................Be careful out there !

I use Kaspersky which is brilliant the only thing I can't get it to do is to stop me getting Viagra etc emails from this site ;;
I know they come from here as its always names thats in my tree, and have tried adding odd names to tree to prove it ;;lol
but other than that Kaspersky does every thing and all for £17 for 3 computers from amazon site ;;

Babs

And while we're on this sort of topic, beware of hoax e-mails. Some of them are simply annoying and relatively harmless but others can upset your system. There was one going the rounds a few years ago which warned of a "virus" and told you how to remove it - but if you followed the instructions what happened was that your computer could no longer handle long file names. Doubtless there are others that have more serious effects.

And of course there are phishing e-mails which are attempts to get hold of your bank account details - I had to close down one e-mail address when I started getting several e-mails a day asking me to update or confirm my account details. I knew they were bogus because they claimed to come from banks I don't have(and never have had) accounts with. And btw if you get any purporting to notify you of a tax rebate (in the UK), they're definitely bogus; if possible forward them to [email protected]

How to spot an Email Hoax - Guide to Recognizing Hoaxes

(From the Hoax-slayer website - http://www.hoax-slayer.com)

Spotting the latest email hoaxes may be easier than you think!

There are thousands of email hoaxes moving around the Internet at any given time. Some may be the latest email hoaxes around. Others may be mutated versions of hoax messages that have travelled the Internet for years. These email hoaxes cover a range of subject matter, including:

Supposedly free giveaways in exchange for forwarding emails.
Bogus virus alerts.
False appeals to help sick children.
Pointless petitions that lead nowhere and accomplish nothing.
Dire, and completely fictional, warnings about products, companies, government policies or coming events.
The good news is that, with a little bit of foreknowledge, email hoaxes are easy to detect. Hidden within the colourful prose of your average email hoax often lurk telling indicators of the email's veracity.

Probably the most obvious of these indicators is a line such as "Send this email to everyone in your address book". Hoax writers want their material to spread as far and as fast as possible, so almost every hoax email will in some way exhort you to send it to other people. Some email hoaxes take a more targeted approach and suggest that you send the email to a specified number of people in order to collect a prize or realize a benefit.

Another indicator is that hoaxes tend not to provide checkable references to back up their spurious claims. Genuine competitions, promotions, giveaways or charity drives will usually provide a link to a company website or publication. Real virus warnings are likely to include a link to a reputable virus information website. Emails containing Government or company policy information are likely to include references to checkable sources such as news articles, websites or other publications.

A third indicator is often the actual language used. Email hoax writers have a tendency to use an emotive, "over-the-top" style of writing peppered with words and phrases such as "Urgent", "Danger", "worst ever virus!!", "sign now before it's too late" and so on, often rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS for added emphasis. Paragraphs dripping with pathos speak of dying children; others "shout" with almost rabid excitement about free air travel or mobile phones. As well, some email hoaxes try to add credibility by using highly technical language.

Before forwarding an email, ask yourself these questions:
Does the email ask you to send it to a lot of other people?
Does the email fail to provide confirmation sources?
Is the language used overly emotive or highly technical?
A "yes" answer to one or more of the above questions, should start some alarm bells ringing. These indicators do not offer conclusive evidence that the email is a hoax but they are certainly enough to warrant further investigation before you hit the "Forward" Button.

Wow, Genes Reunited are doing Viagra now, whatever next ??

Just trying to make sure we keep up with things, I suppose :))

Frank O6, what you stated is exactly what happened to me, it was so fast. I have used a computer for 10 yrs. at work and home, and have never encountered anything like it before. I stopped downloading as soon as I realised what was happening, and Windows has now shut down it said 'to prevent damage to computer' Will see neighbour who worked in IT to see if he can help. So annoying as the computer is only 2 months old and I am now back on old one that is so slow.
Carol

Yes Carol, that was one I caught my wife with a few months ago and it would not allow itself to be cancelled.
I just pulled the plug and although ctrl / alt / delete would have brought up task manager which may have allowed deletion, the plug was immediate!
My wife didn't click on the downloads, she just screeched...............
It started up fine and I ran malwarebytes,spybot, spywareblaster and a Norton scan which all showed up clear and has been fine since.

Is the computer starting up alright, if so you could try Malwarebytes.

http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Also Windows own scanner for Vista and 7 from Windows Live...........

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-gb/center/whatsnew.htm

In the worst case scenario your hubby can always use the restoration disc to send the computer back to factory fresh condition.
You then have to reinstall all the software but at least you can be sure it's clean.

Just be careful with Facebook, Bebo etc.

I have used Panda Internet Security for several years and it has not let anything nasty through, but I run Adaware as well, just to make sure.

Malwarebytes is good for a deep clean occasionally.

And of course make sure that Windows updates are downloaded automatically.

Not forgetting to back up data regularly to an external medium, another computer, CD or memory stick.

Iobit security 360 is another good free one.
Just disable any real time protection or it will conflict with your AV,& just use it as a standalone scanner.