[Houdini]

Got a problem w/ invasive software, to be exact a viral problem w/ windows defender which has blocked the ability to DL updates and provide malware cover. 

Till I can root out the problem w/ Defender, does anyone have recommendations for anti-malware freeware?

Thx

[Bubba]

Malwarebytes anti-malware is very good.

[Houdini]

Thanks.

That found 4 infections AVG did not.

[Houdini]

Still got the irritating tabs opening up though.  No idea where they come from [they're not FFox, the logo on the left of the tab is different] and I can't get any info RE the source, and no URL is present so I can't block them dirrectly w/ Adblock.

Suggestions?

Is it possible to uninstall windows defender and reinstall afresh?  I'm getting this error message from defender when I try updating:   0x80070002.

[Bubba]

What's in the tabs?

[Houdini]

Mostly nothing [usually never loads].  It's some advert for something.  The icon on the tab/pop-up or false pop-up is an odd multi-coloured device, never seen such a thing before.  I don't get the option to reveal properties or anything.

I think the problem lies in the Auto Update center, which even though it's apparently ON, when I follow instructions to fix 0x80070002 errors [run services.msc  etc..] I find there is no Auto Update service option to click on.

Much of the advice even on the vista forums is conflicting &/or unhelpful. 

[Matters not, this is my brothers' laptop and I'll be on a plane in a while so I can't help him any further]

[Serpico]

This is very good but should probably be considered as a last resort.

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix

[Serpico]

...and then run this afterwards.

http://www.ccleaner.com/

[GCW]

I use SuperAntiSpyware as well, seems to work pretty well.

[Houdini]

CCleaner seems to offer everything that Tune Up Utilies does, which I've installed.


Man, that bleepingcomputer program looks like some kind of Doomsday Device, and I'm a bit afraid of it. I might try it on an old laptop at home which is utterly spazzed.

[slackline]

Suggestions?

[Houdini]

Not everything works w/ linux, and I'd probably plum for a Mac had I the dough.

[slackline]

Yeah I know, but its like mentioning quarried slab problems, I just can't help myself.

[slackline]

A new free AV is now available for those who have to worry about these things, perhaps worth adding to the repertoire.

[butters]

A new free AV is now available for those who have to worry about these things, perhaps worth adding to the repertoire.

"BitDefender Free Edition is an on-demand virus scanner which omits real-time protection against viruses or other forms of malware. Users wanting anything beyond vanilla virus scanning and removal are advised to use a standard antivirus product, such as BitDefender Antivirus 2009 (or comparable suites from Symantec, Panda, Trend Micro, Kaspersky et al.)"

It is somewhat useless as a day to day AV product really for the reason highlighted above!

bluebrad

[slackline]

"BitDefender Free Edition is an on-demand virus scanner which omits real-time protection against viruses or other forms of malware. Users wanting anything beyond vanilla virus scanning and removal are advised to use a standard antivirus product, such as BitDefender Antivirus 2009 (or comparable suites from Symantec, Panda, Trend Micro, Kaspersky et al.)"

It is somewhat useless as a day to day AV product really for the reason highlighted above!

bluebrad

Fairy-muff, I don't use any AV so didn't bother digging deeper that the news article I found.

Still might be useful for scheduled periodic scans as I see people mentioning that one AV package rarely catches everything, so another one in the repertoire wouldn't do any harm.