Spyware/Virus/Registry solutions

[Somedude]

Credited to: Mazer_Rackham on the old forums


Here are some helpful links (very helpful) for all your spyware, malware, and virus problems. Many of these programs are all free and are very ideal for clean-up and prevention. The rest are either demos, trial versions, or online databases/scanners. PLEASE read this sticky before you post a problem with spyware or viruses.

Recommended Programs:

Spybot: Search and Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.org/

Tauscan (Trojan Scanner):
http://www.agnitum.com/

Winpatrol:
http://www.winpatrol.com/

Trendmicro Housecall (Online virus scan):
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp

Zonealarm (Firewall. Get a serial if you want to keep it forever):
http://www.zonelabs.com

Hijackthis (Raw regeditor. Checks for abnormalities):
http://tomcoyote.com/hjt/
http://www.spychecker.com/program/hijackthis.html

The Cleaner
http://www.moosoft.com/

Startup Control Panel (For those who don't know how to use msconfig or for those who don't have Windows XP)
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

Spywareblaster: Prevents spyware from ever being installed
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

Ad-aware: another spyware cleaner
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

AVG Antivirus FREE: Free antivirus
http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php

Smoothwall Firewall:
http://www.smoothwall.org

PC-Cillin and Trendmicro Housecall: Software virus scanner and online virus scanner
http://www.trendmicro.com

CWshredder: kills CoolWebsearch:
www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/cwschronicles.html

Webroot: another spyware cleaner:
http://www.webroot.com

Mozilla, and Mozilla Firefox (Microsoft IE alternative):
http://www.mozilla.org

Best Online Scanners:

Housecall: http://housecall.trendmicro.com
Panda: http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan
RAV AntiVirus Online: http://ravantivirus.com/scan
eTrust AntiVirus Scanner: http://www3.ca.com/virusinfo/virusscan.aspx

Libraries and further information:

Symantec (http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html)
Trend (http://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/virusencyclo)
McAfee (http://vil.nai.com/vil/default.asp)
Sophos (http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses)
eTrust (http://www3.ca.com/virusinfo/browse.aspx)

Security Intelligence (a broad collection of informational sites)

Free fix and removal tools:
Viral:

Grisoft AVG Free Download (http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php) and AVG Update Download Options tip (http://forums.techguy.org/showthread.php?postid=1484135#post1484135)
Specialized Removal Tools from Grisoft AVG (http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_ts_removers.php)
Symantec (http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/tools.list.html)
Trend Micro Damage Cleanup Services (uses the latest definitions, downloadable) (http://www.trendmicro.com/download/tsc.asp)
BitDefender (http://www.bitdefender.com/html/free_tools.php)
McAfee AVERT Stinger (Stinger is a stand-alone utility used to detect and remove specific viruses) (http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger)


Specialized Trojan Removal Applications (trial versions):

Wilders Security Advisors (http://www.wilders.org/anti_trojans.htm)

Parasitic:

Spybot Instalation and Usage (http://tomcoyote.com/SPYBOT/index1.php)
Ad-Aware Homepage (http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware) And Ad-Aware 6: Reference Guide by Winchester73 (http://forums.techguy.org/164245/s.html)
HiJackThis Quick Start (http://tomcoyote.com/hjt) And Tutorial (http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/htlogtutorial.html)
lspfix (Layered Service Protocols) repairs damaged Winsock2 vxd associated with connectivity problems (http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm)
SpywareInfo: Detection, Prevention and Removal Tools, SpywareBlaster and others (http://www.spywareinfo.com/downloads.php?cat=all#s-p)
Parasites (descriptions and removal information from Doxdesk) (http://www.doxdesk.com/parasite/)
RapidBlaster Removal (http://www.wilderssecurity.net/specialinfo/rapidblaster.html)

CoolWebSearch -- Information and Removal Tool (http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/cwschronicles.html)
Kazaabegone and other downloads from Merijn (http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html)

Alternate Download Sites for HijackThis, Spybot, CoolwebShredder (and others):
Lurkhere (http://www.lurkhere.com/~nicefiles/)
Hijack This at spychecker (http://www.spychecker.com/program/hijackthis.html)
Spybot download and Tutorial at Safer-networking (http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=tutorial)
CoolWebShredder From Major Geeks (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4086.html)
Merijn downloads and others at Computer Cops (http://www.computercops.biz/downloads-cat-14.html)

Free Firewalls:
Zone Alarm (http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp)
Sygate (http://soho.sygate.com/products/shield_ov.htm)
Kerio (http://www.kerio.com/us/kpf_home.html)
More FireWall help and infoMore FireWall help and info (http://www.wilders.org/firewalls.htm)

Vulnerability testing, Information and Fixes:
Steve Gibson's Homepage (http://grc.com/default.htm)

Are you safe? Gibson's site is a world of its own, with tests and fixes for many Windows security vulnerabilities.


Microsoft Security Information:
Security And Privacy (http://www.microsoft.com/security/)
Understand and Maintain Security with Internet Explorer (includes latest Critical Updates) (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/security/)
Home Security Risk Assesment and Protection Steps (http://www.microsoft.com/security/articles/assess.asp)
TechNet Security Resource Center: technical information and security updates for IT professionals (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/default.mspx)
Order the Windows Security Update CD (Free!) (http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/cd/order.asp)

Microsoft Network Security Hotfix Checker {aka Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer} (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/tools/mbsahome.mspx)

If you have Windows NT/2k/XP and want to check your current update status without visiting Windows Update, this tool has a graphic interface (no command line action required despite the article) which will give you a detailed scan and analysis of your current configuration

[Lord Kelvin]

I'd also like to add Crap Cleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com/) as a suggestion, since it helps to clean out stuff like registry keys, leftover files from uninstalls, and it works quite fast too. You'll have to set it up a bit so that it won't clean out your Temporary Internet Files or your Firefox cookies, but once you have those set up, it's actually quite useful.

[mahhag]

These programs help to fix some of the problems your registry may have, keep in mind some may not fix the problems only find them, and in a severe case for theubc, he now gets pop-ups telling him to get regcleaner every like 2 minutes. so USE CAUTION.

http://www.pctools.com/registry-mechanic/download/
seems to be the most popular

http://www.canadiancontent.net/tech/download/Advanced_Registry_Optimizer.html
Advanced Registry Optimizer
http://www.canadiancontent.net/tech/download/Windows_Registry_Repair_Pro.html
Windows Registry Repair
http://www.canadiancontent.net/tech/download/Ace_Utilities.html
Ace Utilities(this one seems to do more than just registry cleaning)
http://www.canadiancontent.net/tech/download/Registry_Repair.html
Registry Repair (is the best from what I hear)

http://www.registryfix.com/?hop=pccleaner2
Registry Fix
http://www.download.com/Pimasoft-Registry-Cleaner/3000-2086_4-10400852.html?tag=lst-0-5
Pimasoft Registry Cleaner
http://www.ccleaner.com/
Crap Cleaner, clears out unwanted stuff (mainly internet cache and the such)

I'm still looking for some more,

[mahhag]

https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?id=722&application=firefox
Good extension for Firefox, lets you specify which java/javascripts you want a page to run

[mongoloido]

http://www.clamwin.com/

clamwin is a nice, free antivirus program.

[Psyche]

www.spywareterminator.com

www.superantispyware.com

[Milkman Dan]

A couple recommendations:

Eset NOD32 is THE BEST, fact, antivirus you can get. Its spyware capabilities are mediocre, but nobody gets it for that.

Sunbelt Counterspy is also THE BEST antispyware you can get.

Also, recent experiences at work by seeing the computers we take in to recommend against anyone who wants to use AVG alone. A lot of the big AV programs have dropped the ball. Norton is really good at detecting, but it bogs down the computer. Trend Micro AV is meh. Webroot 5.5 isn't as good as its previous versions. Avast hasn't been as good at detecting lately, either.

[FaKToR]

By "at work" do I take it you don't mean the supermarket?

[Milkman Dan]

By "at work" do I take it you don't mean the supermarket?
No, I haven't worked there since December. I actually work at Geek Squad now. You'd be surprised how many people rely upon AVG and actually get viruses.

[FaKToR]

No, I haven't worked there since December. I actually work at Geek Squad now. You'd be surprised how many people rely upon AVG and actually get viruses.
Perhaps they do stupid shit? Perhaps they don't keep windows updated? Perhaps they don't have a firewall?

[Milkman Dan]

Perhaps they do stupid shit? Perhaps they don't keep windows updated? Perhaps they don't have a firewall?
Of course people do stupid shit on a computer, but that's what the AV is supposed to filter out. I've seen computers come in with AVG, and picked up multiple trojans with our scanning software. I had a laptop with AVG that had a trojan used to zombie the computer. :| My friend's dad's computer had AVG and it just stopped working all of a sudden. It was greyed out and not responding, so he switched over to Avast. We do just see a lot of computers come in with AVG and multiple infections.

That's why I wish Best Buy carried NOD32, because it has the best heuristics out there (no in-the-wilds get past it). Trend Micro is actually being targeted by certain viruses so people cannot actually register it (thereby disabling automatic updates). It's decent, but the IS is a joke because its AS capabilities are PATHETIC. Norton is a POS (effective, but inefficient), and McAfee isn't THAT good anymore. The Webroot AV is sucky. Hell, I saw someone with the Webroot firewall. It DOESN'T RECOMMEND ACTIONS. So some lady came in with EVERYTHING blocked. The average consumer has so many choices when it comes to antivirus, and they're often given the wrong one. I just don't get why the layman thinks it's better to go the free route with no customer support or proper features when you can spend, like $40 on a piece of software that has all of that and is pretty much guaranteed to protect your computer.

[StandingCow]

hehe, I worked at geek squad for a year.. do you guys use what we used to? Spybot S&D, adaware SE, etc? Its so illegal but everyone did it when I was part of it.

Norton was an absolute pain in the ass when I worked there, I hated it, always caused more problems than it solved. I use Mcafee currently because through comcast we get it for free. Never had an issue or virus that couldn't be fixed.

[Milkman Dan]

hehe, I worked at geek squad for a year.. do you guys use what we used to? Spybot S&D, adaware SE, etc? Its so illegal but everyone did it when I was part of it.

Norton was an absolute pain in the ass when I worked there, I hated it, always caused more problems than it solved. I use Mcafee currently because through comcast we get it for free. Never had an issue or virus that couldn't be fixed.
We still use Adaware SE, but not Spybot anymore. Our MRI has a bunch of programs we're actually authorized to use. That one disc can pretty much fix anything wrong with your computer.

Also, something else on there that should be a tool of anyone having problems on XP. Dial-a-fix. I've seen so many things fixed by that program it's not even funny.

[StandingCow]

We still use Adaware SE, but not Spybot anymore. Our MRI has a bunch of programs we're actually authorized to use. That one disc can pretty much fix anything wrong with your computer.

Also, something else on there that should be a tool of anyone having problems on XP. Dial-a-fix. I've seen so many things fixed by that program it's not even funny.

I have a bunch of the old programs we used to use on my thumb drive, but the official geeksquad disk didn't exist yet.

God, I remember walking in to a queue of about 200 computers at times...