Computer NOT fixed...

Noname · **on:** July 10, 2009, 10:47:46 PM

... the same virus struck again.

Now, I've taken it back to Best Buy, and I purchased a copy of Norton antivirus 2009... they say that this specific virus is totally blocked by Norton, so, if I can get it to work for 1 full hour without problems in an area NOT protected by Best Buy's firewall, it is good...

If it DOES return, I am getting a new computer... and getting Norton Antivirus installed on it before I take it out of the store... in any case, I will be on MSN in due time... Chiletrek, Metadude, I have NOT forgotten about you.

They have guaranteed that this virus will be blocked by Norton, and that, because they are reinstalling windows on my computer, there will NOT be a virus still on it... I cannot get another anti-spyware/anti-virus system while Norton 2009 is on...

No malwarebytes or superantispyware for me... and AVG, while free, is crap. You get what you pay for... as it is, not a day has gone by since the incident that I have not been on the GoF, and it looks like I will be back up to full speed on the 20th of July at the latest...

Sorry for getting anyone's hopes up, with the false news of a full repair. I will only announce a full repair a few days after it begins to work again...

Also, they say that it was probably NOT a website that this came from... that it probably came from a program like AIM or MSN... if you have heard anything about either of those programs, please let me know...

I personally think that AIM was to blame.

metadude1234 · **Reply #1 on:** July 10, 2009, 10:52:16 PM

damn it! dude that sucks! you pay for it to be fixed and...it isn't....that really sucks for you dude

DarkHououmon · **Reply #2 on:** July 10, 2009, 11:09:15 PM

It's not a good idea to rely on just one antimalware program. That's why I have more than one installed on my computer. Installing something like Malwarebytes or Superantispyware is a good idea because it increases protection. Antivirus alone won't keep you completely safe.

Noname · **Reply #3 on:** July 10, 2009, 11:15:09 PM

As much as I'd like to think that, I was told by two different men that it is unwise to have conflicting programs on my computer of this sort... and one of those two individuals was a TECHNICIAN.

Alex · **Reply #4 on:** July 10, 2009, 11:23:38 PM

Quote from: Noname,Jul 10 2009 on 09:47 PM

and AVG, while free, is crap.

Amen.

Well, I think you getting that virus is just a stroke of bad luck. It didn't come from MSN. AIM, probably, it's always just seemed cheap to me. Personally, I don't have any firewall or antimalware programs installed on my computer (I do have malwarebytes, but not installed on this partition), so I don't have much protection from anything like that, and I haven't had a virus for years (never on this computer).

EDIT: And Darkhououmon is right. The people at Best Buy probably just have a contract with Norton, so they only want you to use Norton products.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #5 on:** July 10, 2009, 11:24:54 PM

Not necessarily true. Two antivirus programs will conflict with each other, but many antimalware programs will not interfere with an antivirus program. I can assure you Malwarebytes will not interfere with an antivirus program. It's not wise to have two active scans running at the same time (although some antimalware programs, like Threatfire, don't cause a problem), but programs like Malwarebytes do not have an active scan running, and thus cannot interfere with an antivirus program. Running a scan will not cause a problem either.

When someone tells you it's a bad idea to have two antivirus programs installed because they will interfere with one another, they are referring to antivirus programs only (Norton, Panda, AVG, Avast, BitDefender, etc). Malwarebytes and Superantispyware, for example, are not antivirus programs; they are antimalware programs. From what I've seen, an antimalware program differentiates from antivirus programs in that they usually do not have an active scanner and thus cannot conflict with antivirus programs.

tempestwheel · **Reply #6 on:** July 10, 2009, 11:28:07 PM

Noname, what was the name of the virus you got? Cause I got one on July 4th too.

Noname · **Reply #7 on:** July 10, 2009, 11:37:31 PM

I will take the technicians's advice on this... that will be the final word on the matter...

And it was a fraudulent "windows security system" which prevented me from using any of my programs...

DarkHououmon · **Reply #8 on:** July 11, 2009, 12:03:12 AM

Well, okay. I was only trying to help.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #9 on:** July 11, 2009, 02:23:05 AM

Best Buy rips people off and makes them spend TONS of money they don't need to. Seriously....an external hard drive and a windows disk is all you need to make this problem go away for good.

:

Paradise Bird · **Reply #10 on:** July 11, 2009, 02:40:55 AM

You got a virus on the 4th of july?
I got one called Jitri or somthing like that.

metadude1234 · **Reply #11 on:** July 11, 2009, 02:45:03 AM

nearly everone in America got a virus on 4th july? strange?

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #12 on:** July 11, 2009, 02:48:02 AM

Quote

nearly everone in America got a virus on 4th july? strange?

Not me.

AVG keeps you pretty well protected. The problem with AVG is that once you're actually infected, you're screwed. It can stop almost any virus before it penetrates your system, but if you choose to override it's warning and the file actually is a virus you could have just screwed yourself royally. But I'm not afraid of viruses, spyware, malware, rootkits.....any of it. Why? Because I've got two things; a Windows disk and an external hard drive.

Alex · **Reply #13 on:** July 11, 2009, 07:54:05 AM

Quote from: landbeforetimelover,Jul 11 2009 on 01:48 AM

Quote
nearly everone in America got a virus on 4th july? strange?

Not me. AVG keeps you pretty well protected. The problem with AVG is that once you're actually infected, you're screwed. It can stop almost any virus before it penetrates your system, but if you choose to override it's warning and the file actually is a virus you could have just screwed yourself royally. But I'm not afraid of viruses, spyware, malware, rootkits.....any of it. Why? Because I've got two things; a Windows disk and an external hard drive.

What like, you got back ups on your external, then reinstall Windows? :!

Petrie. · **Reply #14 on:** July 11, 2009, 08:06:56 AM

Unfortunately, the "technicians" at Best Buy are there to sell sell sell. If they can unload Norton on you, they will. Norton's ok, its not terrible, but it won't block everything...no antivirus does, but it matters how quickly they can update the software to block whatever you got hit with.

And Kacie is correct too...anti-spyware programs will not conflict with each other no matter how many you have installed. They will also not conflict with any anti-virus programs in most cases. However, the technicians there are correct in the fact anti-virus programs do conflict with each other. Maybe they weren't very clear on that. These aren't the same types of bad programs, and anti-virus programs like Norton are not designed to watch and catch spyware, rootkits and all that garbage.

There is an exception here. If they're selling you the security suite, it might include anti-spyware protection. What I would do in that case if anti-spyware protection is included in Norton's security suite, is try it out and see if its blocking stuff. Run something like malwarebytes or another program and see if the freebies catch anything Norton doesn't (it happens, the programs aren't designed the same and will not catch the same bugs). If the freebies say you aren't getting any spyware, uninstall the freebies and use Norton exclusively.

These seems like a lot of work, but honestly, is it worth the time put in to stay protected and keep your computer home and out of a repair shop? Oh yes. Take it from me...I've been virus free for years using a multitude of programs (and just staying away from crap sites helps too!).

I hope you get your computer back soon and are up and running again. I suspect the stuff you're getting is from AIM too, but you never know. There's all sorts of ways to get garbage on your machine unknowingly.

Noname · **Reply #15 on:** July 11, 2009, 10:10:08 AM

What about MSN messenger? Can that also be a liability for this? I think it is AIM... and yes, this version of Norton also has Anti-spyware protection as well...

DarkHououmon · **Reply #16 on:** July 11, 2009, 10:29:41 AM

Yeah, MSN can distribute viruses, usually in the form of transfers and infected links. They are usually easy to spot, though. One way to avoid them for sure is to ask the person if they themselves had sent it. So long as you're careful of what you allow being sent to you, you should be fine.

Petrie. · **Reply #17 on:** July 11, 2009, 11:59:28 AM

Quote

and yes, this version of Norton also has Anti-spyware protection as well...

Then you shouldn't need anything else. Norton's antispyware test results were excellent.

http://internet-security-suite-review.toptenreviews.com/

DarkHououmon · **Reply #18 on:** July 11, 2009, 12:20:30 PM

Yeah. I heard the newest Norton is great at protecting the computer from viruses and such.

Noname · **Reply #19 on:** July 11, 2009, 02:24:12 PM

Good to hear. At least, after TWO fixes, that virus should never been seen on my computer again... and in the extremely off chance it DOES return... I am getting a new computer... mine is already three years old...