How Malwarebytes Pro and SuperAntiSpyware Pro keeps me safe!

Malwarebytes and me!

I’ve been using Malwarebytes Pro for the past few years.   Ever since 2009, I’ve used Malwarebytes Pro has always been my go to for getting rid of those really hard to get rid of viruses and malware!  I must say I haven’t had a virus or malware on my system yet.   I often travel to libraries and other such places where you never know what may happen.  Even though I use VPN4ALL, also to help protect my privacy, it doesn’t make me invisible to viruses and malware!

Over the Past 4 years!

I’ve had to disinfect my sisters computers and some other family members who have yet to learn that you have to keep your antivirus up to date and current.   The problem is AVG and other are only valid for one year.   Unlike them, Malwarebytes Pro is a lifetime license.   No matter how long you use your laptop or desktop you keep getting updates on software and virus definitions.  

SuperAntispyware and Malwarebytes!

I use SuperAntispyware Pro and Malwarebytes Pro in tandem when I need to remove a virus or malware.   Both of these are sponsors of the blog, and I earn a little commission when you buy using these links.  With each of these you get a lifetime license and this saves me money because I don’t have to worry about buying a anti virus license every year or two.   I’ve probably saved several hundred dollars from not having to buy new licenses.  Although I am probably one of the few who know about what could happen if you click links your not sure of.   So by saying these have stopped me from getting a virus may be a overstatement on my part. 

I could go on!

If I just kept talking about these two products you would probably get tired of hearing me.   I have had much success with both of these products to keep and also help get rid of those really troublesome viruses and malware that may be hidden on your system.   This isn’t going to be over but this will be coming back.   If you know someone who might need to know about a good Antivirus Software or Antimalware software.   Send them to these two sites and I am sure there problems are going to go away quickly.

Internet Security 2013 Scareware and You!

Interesting Story

My Brother-in-Law had this come up on his computer and he needed help getting it removed.  Some of the symptons were it would constantly say the file being executed had a virus and it would prevent you from loading any and all programs.   Anything you do with your computer whether trying to remove this from your desktop was a hassle.   I did have to do some things to remove it but I will talk about that in a few minutes!

Malwarebytes And SuperAntispyware!

If it was for Malwarebytes and SuperAntispyware, this would of been even harder remover than previous.  I must say when I first install these a few years back, I didn’t know how well these guys worked and kept my system clean.   I decided to try these two on my broather infected system to try to remove this scareware.

Removal of this virus!

If you are like me you probably used Google to find out how to remove this virus but I think the virus makers are getting smarter because it wasn’t as easy as it was a few years ago.   They made it virtually impossible to find the answer with the computer you have that is infected.   So you have to hope that you have another system to do the searching for the answer of the removal.   Here is what I did to help remove this malware and scareware:

• Startup in Safe Mode [LINK]
• Login as Adminstrator
• USE MalwareBytes and do a FULL SCAN, this will take a while and once done remove what you see.
• Do a System Restore [LINK].  The Earlier the Better.  

Once you have did those restart your computer then you should be able to install Malwarebytes to all users.  When you can do that you are basically home free.   Just install it again and do a full system scan, to help make sure you get rid of this scam and scareware malware.  Once you do all this, if Malwarebytes did what you needed, it might be time to upgrade to Buy Malwarebytes Now!

I really am glad I had a full version of Malwarebytes to remove this annoying little scam and scareware.   My brother is happy and I am happy.  

Paul Sylvester

Why Self-Fulfilling Malware causes problems!

Self-fulfilling malware? Yea Right!

A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior.

Via Wikipedia

It's not really a prophecy but yet it is to a point.  I'm not saying that it is self-replicating or anything of that nature, but I am talking about how it has evolved over the last few years.  If your like me, you get a lot of calls from customers who insist that they have a virus because of a various number of reasons.   Some fo them could saying, they are getting warnings, others that I've seen just said that their system is really slow and thus they think they have a virus slowing down their system.  I'm sure you have many examples of this  and thus you know what I am talking about.   There have been many customers that I've had to deal with about just that.   They think it is a virus are pretty much won't accept anything else but that, I'm sure I am not alone when it comes to you own small business.

Dealing with the Customer!

In many ways you probably like me, you try to insist that they don't have a malware but yet they are coming up with ways why they do.  I've got a few tips to help deal with those types of customers who think they HAVE to of gotten a virus or malware along the way!  I'm going to share a few with you that might help you with your own customers.

Customer is always right! (And some that are just not right!)

The first thing I do is tell them it will cost them a certain amount of money to diagnose the problem and thus this will likely turn them away from you and help you help those who really might need the technical help.   I do recommend not charging a lot because if they do have a virus and don't know how to remove it then you could be loosing a value loyal customer.   Consider charging something like a 30 minute fee to diagnose the problem, what ever you hourly fee is probably about right.  Something else you might want to consider, is to make it free if they have a virus or malware!

Give Customers Free Resources!

If your see my site, you will see that I offer a free Antivurs URL for anyone who might not want to remove their virus themselves but then again.   I warn them that they do this at their own risk and maybe give them some more resources if you know of any.   This will help you with the customers that might need the extra time with their problems.   I don't like doing this option but it is a good option if you don't have the time to worry about those customers.   

These are just my few options that I have come to use, maybe you have another way to do it and would love to hear your stories.   

Paul Sylvester

How computer viruses use word of mouth to infect systems!

Social Networks Hype Cycle (Photo credit: fredcavazza)

Social Network is Culprit!

I remember some very interesting Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites used in the past to get people to click on an infected link.  This is one of the oldest techniques.   The virus post something on your twitter account or your Facebook account about something really interesting.   Even if you trust your friend, sometimes the friend or twitter account that you know aren't really in control of what they post.   This is the first line of trust that the virus makers use to spread their viruses until other computers and systems.   You should never click any link unless you know where it is going.  Although this is becoming less and less troublesome, I am sure it isn't going away but just biding it's time to come out and strike another day.

Some tips to remember when your using social media sites are to use url expanders such as:

• LongUrl - http://www.longurl.org/


• Where Does this URL Go - http://www.wheredoesthislinkgo.com/


• Clybs URL Expander - http://www.clybs.com/urlexpander


• URL X-ray Checker - http://urlxray.com/


• Link Peeler - http://linkpeelr.appspot.com/

These are some great little url expanders that if your have a question about what the URL is then by all means use these.   I also like to use Bit.ly extensions for Chrome but it won't expand all and is only available on Chrome.   I don't know if there are other apps for Firefox like this but at least you have a starting place!

Emails are Second!

It is just like Social Networks but in this case you are getting an email to you.  A few years ago, we had some really interesting emails with either warnings or saying you have a picture on the internet to click it.  There are a dozen or so ways someone could fool you into downloading malware or viruses but these are the most common because most users will click links and they feel safe because they have built up trust.   Lately though they haven't been doing this much but it could be a very good possibly, so you must be careful!

Some things to remember when using emails, if your not expecting a link don't click it!  If your thinking it was sent to you for that purpose, it might be high time to email your friend and ask them if the y knew they sent that to you.   Sometimes the person or account involved doesn't know that they sending links that might be infectious.

If you follow these steps and consider using Malwarebytes [Affiliate Link] you are less likely to get infected but that doesn't mean that you are a 100 percent immune to computer viruses.  No Operating system is immune even Linux but that is just my opinion others  have said that you can't possibly get infected on Mac OS or Linux!

Paul Sylvester

Try Malwarebytes, the Leader in Malware Removal

Related articles

• 20% of Facebook links lead to viruses (infographic) (zdnet.com)


• Where Are You Picking Up All Those PC Viruses? Facebook (businessinsider.com)


• What Is Ransomware and How to Protect Your Computer (techtools4us.wordpress.com)


• MyCuredComputer.com Combats the Ever-Changing Facebook Virus Koobface (prweb.com)

AVG 8.5 Free Version Best on my system

Pcworld has a released there top free Antivirus software picks.     Now let's be clear on this, I am an a average user, and have tested these products out on my own laptop plus others and here is what I find.

According to Pcworld, Avira Antivir Personal is the top pick and claims to block 98.9 percent of samples:

Such less-than-friendly default behaviors make Avira AntiVir Personal a better choice for tech-savvy users who know how to muck about in the settings. If you're willing to put up with a somewhat clumsy interface and the recurring pop-up ads, in return you'll enjoy top-notch, free protection against malware. It's not a bad trade-off by any means.

[Via Pcworld : Avira Antivir Personal Antivirus]

[ad]Now with Pcworld saying it isn't a bad trade-off to have the Pop-ups and the default behaviors of this program, it doesn't make me want to use this program since I am a gamer and the pop-ups would interfere with playing online games, not to mention if your not that tech savy person you'd have a lot of head scratching to  figure out this program.

Then we go to the Second pick and Avast Antivirus Home in this pick Pcworld claims to blocking 98.2 percent of samples tried with this program:

Avast Antivirus will do a decent job protecting a PC from malware, but if you're willing to put up with a less-than-perfect interface (and some ads), you're better off going with Avira's top-notch blocking.

[Via Pcworld : Avast Antivirus Home Edition]

Now unless you want to be scratching your head on this product you have to go through the Tutorial that pop-ups after installation to walk you through how to use this product.   Then there are some more ads that popup during the day that reminds you that this is a free program and suggesting you pay for it.   Also you will have to register with Avast  to get a personal free license to be able to keep this program running on your system.  The interface of this Antivirus makes you think you will be playing music, which can cause some confusion when it comes to understanding this product.

Third place was AVG 8.5 Free edition according to PcWorld.   With there being no pop-ups reminding me this is a free product.   Also the easy to understand interface also makes this very user friendly.   I also like the Linkscanner and blocked 95.8 percent of the samples meaning it is still rather good to use for the daily user who wants a less intrusive  pop-ups or ads.   AVG has not yet done a pop up with me but it is far less annoying than the others because of the interface and the ads that are shown in the main program.

Now if you want to add even more security to your system and keep it cheap as possible I would suggest Downloading and using  SUPERAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes.  These with AVG 8.5 Free edition to better protect your system and these don't interfere with AVG and actually helps boosts the removal of virus, Trojans, and Malware.



Download Malwarebytes

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If your current antimalware software let an infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the PRO version of SUPERAntiSpyware or Malwarebytes License to protect your computer in the future. SUPERAntiSpyware Professional or Malwarebytes License features highly advanced Real-Time Protection to ensure protection from installation or re-installation of potential threats as you surf the Internet (Both are trusted Vendors by CCSS Forums).

Buy Lifetime Subscription SUPERAntiSpyware For $30, save $8.90 if you order now. This is a special offer from this website.

Fighting 'Scareware' One List at a time

Techworld has published an article that describes how the AV Vendors are compiling a Whitelist of AV Vendors who are really trying to keep there users safe and not trying to '[intlink id="3805" type="post"]Scare[/intlink]' the user into buying a rogue look a like.  They've published a Preliminary set of real Antivirus Softwares along with there Company:

As you can see there are at least to that are not listed.  I've contacted [intlink id="3884" type="post"]SUPERAntiSpyware[/intlink] about this and they turned right around and started to ask to be added and should be Added in the coming months.   The other is [intlink id="3851" type="post"]Malwarebytes[/intlink] and I am hoping they jump aboard and get in contact with this forum.

The Guys over at [intlink id="3884" type="post"]SUPERAntiSpyware[/intlink] were really grateful that I came across this.   This list will soon help fight the [intlink id="3918" type="post"]SCAREWARE Tactics[/intlink] of the Cyber Criminals.   Truth of the matter is educating oneself and doing a little bit of research can help you determine if the program or company is real or just another rogue company out there.   If your looking for some good Antivirus Software check out my [intlink id="2205" type="page"]Antivirus Page[/intlink] and see some of the FREE Antivirus Software out there that can help protect your system.

Why you can't run Antivirus or Taskmanager!

Photo by : Kristi Evans

As you know there has been more and more virus writers and scammers who don't want you to interfere with the ultimate plan.   You see the two major plans these people have are:

1. [intlink id="2811" type="post"]To use your computer as a Botnet[/intlink] --  This is most common because the Command and Control server is where they tell these other computers what to do weather send spam or do a denial of Service attack on a website.  Although this is the most common it isn't however the easiest to get rid of rid.   Far be it from being easy these virus writers want to keep a foot hold on your system.   This is like the SG-1 the "Foothold" Situation, they try to look like there is nothing wrong.


2. [intlink id="3805" type="post"]Fake Antivirus software[/intlink] -- This is the other common reason why you can't load up Taskmanager or SUPERantispyware/Malwarebytes.   It could even prevent AVG,  Norton Antivirus, and Other Antivirus software from being loaded at boot up.  Because most Antivirus software can detect this type of scareware.   The scammers want to make as much money as they can so they don't want the End user to be able to stop the program from scaring you into buying the fake product.  It could also have a [intlink id="3872" type="post"]Scareware Adviser[/intlink] trying to get you to buy the fake product!

As you can see these are what I call the Prime "2" reasons why you can't run your Antivirus software, although there is a way around this.   I have found loading up in Safe Mode to be the easiest way to run antivirus scans on an infected system.   Although this can be difficult to do it, however it helps prevent these programs from loading up in more ways then one.  If you can go download the Antivirus programs from another computer and have them to install once you load up in safe mode.   You should also think about installing other software like a [intlink id="2205" type="page"]Firewall even the Free firewalls[/intlink] are the better than Microsoft's Firewall.

[ad]The other options for those tech savy people who know what a hard drive is and how to remove it, is to mount it onto another system as a slave and then run your antivirus software on the hard drive in question.   This however shouldn't be done unless two conditions are met:

1. You Know what you doing --  Again if you don't know what your doing please don't try this.  It could hurt your system far more than you can know.   If you don't know how to do this you should take it to a professional and let them do the work for you.


2. Out of Warranty -- Yep that is right if this has a 2 year or longer warranty and you open up the hardware you automatically void the warranty on anything to do with your system.  So it is best to have someone who is qualified warranty specialist to open it up.  This way you still have your warranty on the system and if something does go wrong in the shop, they can fix it easier than a novice.

If you know what your doing this can be an easy process or it can be a hard process it only depends on how knowledgeable you are and how far you are willing to go.   Although there are [intlink id="2955" type="post"]some viruses that require you to just start over[/intlink].  This is because they have embedded so deeplyinto the system that removing them will ruin your Windows system and prevent it from booting in the first place.  This is the last option, if you have a system who has been overrun with virus and spyware it might be time to reinstall the Operating system.  This is what I call the end all way to get rid of the Virus, Trojan, Or spyware on your system.   If you do this you will need to make sure to install all the Microsoft updates before you do anything else.  Also you will need to [intlink id="2205" type="page"]re-install any Firewalls and Antivirus[/intlink] software to better protect your system from having the virus in the first place.

Using Malwarebytes to get Rid of Malware

I have been using Malwarebytes for quite some time.  I have the Installer for Malwarebytes in place on a  USB drive so i can use anywhere I go. I have seen several computers with very old Viruses and this actually detected them.

[ad]How Malwarebytes useful

• Malwarebytes has a really good protection module to help prevent infections in the first place, but that requires you to buy it.  It should never be used without at least a [intlink id="2205" type="page"]firewall installed[/intlink] but it is a good defense against what I like to call a Drive by install.


• Automatically create logs of Malware that is found -- This is good to for people who want to be able to check out what might be infected.   Also good to help identify the virus or Trojan, and find out how to uninfected it.


• Cheaper than buying AVG -- Cost $24.95 which is half of the cost of buying AVG.

As you can see buying Malwarebytes can be cheaper than buying AVG or Norton and protects your almost as if you have a brand name.   I think if a customer can't afford $50 this would be the next best thing to suggest being that it will at least protect the system.   You can always install a [intlink id="2205" type="page"]Free Anti-virus[/intlink] along with Malwarebytes to better protect your system.   This is one way to not have to buy expensive antivirus and yet still protect your systems from Malware.

No matter if you Buy Malwarebytes or use the Free version you are better off then not having it.  With the Free Version you can't unlocks real-time protection, scheduled scanning, and scheduled updating.  These can be done manually without the having any Real time Protect.   You can scan manually and Schedule manually without buying the full version.  This is still a good buy, I recommend this to all my customers.

AVG detected trojan ; Generic11.BEOG

I had a Friend tell me his system detected  this Trojan GENERIC11.BEOG.  I did my research and right now.  It looking like Adobe added something to there recent updates *see updates below*.   I'll  Have to check with some other sources but it looking like AVG over did it again and found something that might just be an AVG issue.  (correction)


[ad]

I usually wait before updating something like adobe.  It is sure to be some minor change to adobe but if your are worried here's the link to watch and see what people are asking or talking about this false positive:

Malwarebytes Security Forums

It seems that AVG is calling this possible virus but yet it looks like it is a false positive.  So don't you worry.  If it was a true virus you'd probably would never know!! ;)

[ad]

*UPDATE*

I installed Adobe 9.0 and updated the virus scan database for AVG.  It hasn't found any thing yet but I am still scanning my system.  I'll let you know if it finds this false positive on my Vista machine!!  I'm doing this to test it out!!!  Come back later to find out the results of the test.  (if you like this website by all means google this website so it too can be on google trends.   I want to see it be up on google trends for a day or two.)

*UPDATE #2*

Just did a whole system scan.  It did not find anything.  So I will be doing a reboot and scanning again.   It might be something that is attached to a PDF, if you went to a malicious website.   So I will do another scan.

*Update #3*

I just rebooted and almost finished scanning with AVG.  I still haven't found anything wrong.   I have did some more digging into what might cause it.   I just did a look registry look up on {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A90000000001} and I found out something really interesting.   It's a PDFFile_8.ico File.  This is tells me this is an Icon for the desktop.   I'm using one of the examples from Malwarebytes Security Forums to try to figure out what might be infected.

Here's what AVG said after it finished scanning my system:

So I must assume that it is neither Adobe or AVG who have anything to do with this.  I will have to say that it must be a real infection as to not having any viruses after an install of Adobe.  How do you get this type of virus.  Check out my article on : Some Important programs to prevent yourself from having viruses and Malware!!

There you will find some useful tips on how not to get infected and other useful tools to help restore you system to it's glory days.

So I will tell my friend to do a full virus scan and double check the results.  I can't replicate the so called virus but I am sure there is something going on with the HASH files of the AVG Database and something might be coming back from the adobe install that has the same HASH files.  That also might be making AVG flag it as an Virus or Trojan.  I might never know though.