Deleted my Anti-Virus

[usvi]

I've actually been happy with ESET NOD32.  I'm surprised you had a problem with it Ink. 

Same here,I have it on two systems and have had 0 problems with it.

[zack1234]

The threat of virus infection increase's depending on what type of sites you visit i presume

[Ghosth]

Threatfire and safe browsing habits here.

Threatfire isn't typical AV, it doesn't scan, just very small sits in the background and watch's for the kinds of changes virus's make, rootkits, registry changes, etc.

I've been very happy with it for several years.

If I am concerned that I might have picked up a bug then Trend Micro's housecall, or malwarebytes anti malware.

[Skuzzy]

It is not just user error anymore.  Sites you think you can trust can be infected.  For a while there were tens of thousands of Windows based servers that got infected due to a security problem in Windows.  There are still thousands of those sites running.

I hit a banking site the other day that was infected.  My computer was not bothered by it, and I do not run any anti-anything software.  Government sites are also prone to dishing out viruses.  Here is a clue.  If they use Java (script or language), or ActiveX controls, they could be delivering an unwanted program to your computer.  Never trust a site that hides its source from you.  At least, with access to the source of the page, you can see where the problem is.

This gets us to the big problem of knowing where a virus/worm/malware came from.  Most will lie dormant on your computer until some event happens that will cause them to go active.  While dormant, they quietly replicate themselves on your computer and any other computer on your LAN.  Most people trust the computers on thier LAN and that is a big security failure.

Enabling basic file sharing, with no security, is what most viruses count on.  People prove every day they are lazy about security and do not want to be bothered with it.  Thus the market for anti-xxx software.  I am not saying anti-xxxx software is a bad thing.  I am saying if you depend on it for 100% protection, you have left yourself open for all manner of bad things.

Take some time to configure the security settings in Windows as the defaults leave the computer wide open for anything.

[gyrene81]

Well need a replacement for sure. Still though AVAST was throwing off dozens of errors. Wouldn't let me into the AH bbs and several other sites. Said AH was a virus and the list went on. Since then my number of kills of gone up and my number of assists have gone down.

i've been using avast free version for a couple of years now and never seen any behavior like that.

[DREDIOCK]

.  While dormant, they quietly replicate themselves on your computer and any other computer on your LAN.  Most people trust the computers on thier LAN and that is a big security failure.

Enabling basic file sharing, with no security, is what most viruses count on.  People prove every day they are lazy about security and do not want to be bothered with it.  Thus the market for anti-xxx software.  I am not saying anti-xxxx software is a bad thing.  I am saying if you depend on it for 100% protection, you have left yourself open for all manner of bad things.

Take some time to configure the security settings in Windows as the defaults leave the computer wide open for anything.

This is true too. Not that the other stuff isnt. I havent come across it yet.

I have 4 computers at my house. Not one can access anything on any of the others. So if anything happens. Its isolated and I can use one of the others to help me resove the problem machine.

I've had one on my machine that was from my own stupidity about a year or so ago.
The other have had several. Mostly due to people doing things I told them not to do.

My daughter was the worst culprit. For a while there she thought if it looked cool she should just go ahead and download it. She's getting better and more savvy lately though.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

This is true too. Not that the other stuff isnt. I havent come across it yet.

I have 4 computers at my house. Not one can access anything on any of the others. So if anything happens. Its isolated and I can use one of the others to help me resove the problem machine.

I've had one on my machine that was from my own stupidity about a year or so ago.
The other have had several. Mostly due to people doing things I told them not to do.

My daughter was the worst culprit. For a while there she thought if it looked cool she should just go ahead and download it. She's getting better and more savvy lately though.

Actually you're still at risk just by having the computers on the same lan. If you have an unpatched flaw that a worm can exploit, your computers will all get infected once one catches it. You would need to have a dual nat layer isolating the computers to be safe from that.

[Getback]

I need to read up on security I think. I have a lan. Only the other comp is out right now.

[TwinBoom]

I use Avira, but good surfing habits are much more important than a good anti-virus.

this tip from fugi helped me been good ever since free + small footprint= happiness

[jimson]

Well need a replacement for sure. Still though AVAST was throwing off dozens of errors. Wouldn't let me into the AH bbs and several other sites. Said AH was a virus and the list went on. Since then my number of kills of gone up and my number of assists have gone down.

Iv'e been running AVAST for years and never experienced these issues. Sounds like you may have an issue with something other than AVAST.

I also periodically run a scan with Malware bytes.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

My parents just got hit with XP security 2011 malware. Yes, they had an updated AVG running. So much for 'anti' virus.

After malware removal all file associations (including .exe) were broken

Needless to say I installed Ubuntu and spent a few minutes teaching them how to use it instead of windows. Going to save a lot of my time in the future.

[Tigger29]

My parents just got hit with XP security 2011 malware. Yes, they had an updated AVG running. So much for 'anti' virus.

After malware removal all file associations (including .exe) were broken

Needless to say I installed Ubuntu and spent a few minutes teaching them how to use it instead of windows. Going to save a lot of my time in the future.

My Dad got hit with the same.  He simply installed a recovery disk I made for him and he was good to go.  I didn't even know about it until all was said and done.  AND I didn't have to spend time showing him how to use Ubuntu and I don't have to worry about random phone calls from him asking me how to do things with an operating system he's not familiar with.

He would FLIP if I tried to make him use Ubuntu.  Many older people are very resistant to change and he would inundate me with phone calls to whine and cry and complain until I put Windows back on for him.  I think most people's parents would be like this.

It's great to hear that your parents accepted what you did with open arms, but most people aren't like that.  Also there are few programs that are natively supported by a Linux environment so your solution would actually work for very few of us.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

My Dad got hit with the same.  He simply installed a recovery disk I made for him and he was good to go.  I didn't even know about it until all was said and done.  AND I didn't have to spend time showing him how to use Ubuntu and I don't have to worry about random phone calls from him asking me how to do things with an operating system he's not familiar with.

He would FLIP if I tried to make him use Ubuntu.  Many older people are very resistant to change and he would inundate me with phone calls to whine and cry and complain until I put Windows back on for him.  I think most people's parents would be like this.

It's great to hear that your parents accepted what you did with open arms, but most people aren't like that.  Also there are few programs that are natively supported by a Linux environment so your solution would actually work for very few of us.

Actually nowadays you can do most things on linux that you can do on windows. While your recovery solution was admirable your solution required you to spend the time proactively and you leave yourself open for another and another attack. The worst ones being malware that remains hidden and just silently steals data (internet banking, credit card purchases).

Knowing my parents usage patterns I knew they'd have no trouble switching to linux. My mother was very much against the change, she claimed she won't be able to learn to use it at this age anymore. About 15 minutes later she could do everything on linux she used to do on their old XP.

Receive/send e-mail: Check
Watch/edit pictures: Check
Watch/edit digital home movies: Check
Sync phone with computer: Check
Play flash games: Check
Handle office documents: Check
Skype: Check
Facebook: Check
General internet browsing: Check - and as added bonus no 'scary' sites anymore. Installed noscript on linux too though.

My step-dad has always been interested in coding and now he has multiple open source tools available through Ubuntu app store. They have multitude of music options through Ubuntu One (commercial and free).

To be honest I would have bought them a mac if I couldn't do this free of charge.

[Vulcan]

Actually nowadays you can do most things on linux that you can do on windows. While your recovery solution was admirable your solution required you to spend the time proactively and you leave yourself open for another and another attack. The worst ones being malware that remains hidden and just silently steals data (internet banking, credit card purchases).

Knowing my parents usage patterns I knew they'd have no trouble switching to linux. My mother was very much against the change, she claimed she won't be able to learn to use it at this age anymore. About 15 minutes later she could do everything on linux she used to do on their old XP.

Receive/send e-mail: Check
Watch/edit pictures: Check
Watch/edit digital home movies: Check
Sync phone with computer: Check
Play flash games: Check
Handle office documents: Check
Skype: Check
Facebook: Check
General internet browsing: Check - and as added bonus no 'scary' sites anymore. Installed noscript on linux too though.

My step-dad has always been interested in coding and now he has multiple open source tools available through Ubuntu app store. They have multitude of music options through Ubuntu One (commercial and free).

To be honest I would have bought them a mac if I couldn't do this free of charge.

Heh famous last words. You can't blame windows for peoples ignorance/stupidity. I see there's a fake AV java thing going around for mac's now too (seems to be hooked into google image poisoning). OH and a nice DIY Botnetter for mac's.

My house: layer 7 firewall, gateway AV, AS, IPS, App management, Content filtering, integrated with SSO/AD for user rights. Works a treat, keeps the bad stuff out. Plus the usual desktop AV (I like mcafee corporate).

My 6 year old's on the net regularly, never had a problem.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Heh famous last words. You can't blame windows for peoples ignorance/stupidity. I see there's a fake AV java thing going around for mac's now too (seems to be hooked into google image poisoning). OH and a nice DIY Botnetter for mac's.

My house: layer 7 firewall, gateway AV, AS, IPS, App management, Content filtering, integrated with SSO/AD for user rights. Works a treat, keeps the bad stuff out. Plus the usual desktop AV (I like mcafee corporate).

My 6 year old's on the net regularly, never had a problem.

Mmkay. 20 000 weekly new attacks against windows and 1 DIY botnetter for mac in the last 20 years. Clearly I should start to panic now.

My house: NAT router, no av and no troubles. I no longer live at my parents so I have no control over their habits though