Anti virus & registry cleaner am I right?

[emttaff]

just the firewall medium setting

 

i posted the a square results on here

[Maxxwire]

emttaff- So you are now running the Comodo Firewall Pro and you will also need a good antivirus like Avast if you use an unvirtualized browser. Avast has a great boot time scan which may reveal even more infections on your computer.

 

Is there a reason that you did not install Comodo Defense+ HIPS because it watches everything that goes on in your computer like a hawk and using it will allow you to turn off the Vista UAC because its Hostbased Intrusion Prevention System tracks all programs and not just the .exe's as UAC does.

 

~Maxx~

[SJSF]

PC freezing is usually caused by disk fragmentation.If your PC continues to freeze try changing Advanced System Care disk defragmentation settings to a lower percent or to always defragment because the PC sometimes needs defragmentation even if ASC in recommended settings or Windows defragmenter tells you there are no problems.

It has happened to me several times and defragmenting the disk helped stop the freezing even when ASC with recommended settings and Windows defragmenter said I did not need to defragment.

[garybear]

Hi

 

Hi. There are many things that cause your PC to freeze. I run XP3 and it use to freeze. I doubled my RAM to 1GB and have not had that problem since. I run the Smart Ram in my tray. I always have enough RAM and it never shows red like it use to. Ram is very cheap now days.--garybear

[emttaff]

thanks everyone. only installed the firewall cos thats what i was advised to do will download avast now cheers ;-)

what should i do with ccleaner results?

[wozofoz]

Avast is a good choice

 

Avast is a very good AV and simple to use, I recommend it to my friends who just want protection without having to learn computer programming ;-)

There are only 2 things I didn't like about it but even then they are just annoyances rather than problems.

 

1) When you run a scan you must stay close because if/when it finds a virus it will scream and stop scanning, then you must quarrantine (or whatever) the virus before it will resume the scan.

 

2) The default interface looks like a music player, in my opinion it is ugly and difficult to work with.

I downloaded the much nicer looking and easier to use aVist skin @

http://www.avast.com/eng/skins.html

 

All the best, woz of oz

[Maxxwire]

Avast is a very good AV and simple to use, I recommend it to my friends who just want protection without having to learn computer programming ;-)

All the best, woz of oz

 

Exactly! Its much better to recommend a computer security system that someone can readily understand and use effectively rather than to go off grandstanding and leaving them with some kind of experimental computer security set up that is not practical for them.

 

~Maxx~

[itsmejjj]

Exactly! Its much better to recommend a computer security system that someone can readily understand and use effectively rather than to go off grandstanding and leaving them with some kind of experimental computer security set up that is not practical for them.

 

~Maxx~

 

well put max! yes i total agree sorry ,to interfere, i had to say this..i leave it to you lads..

[Maxxwire]

thanks everyone. only installed the firewall cos thats what i was advised to do will download avast now cheers ;-)

what should i do with ccleaner results?

 

There are many ways to protect a computer from Malware besides the traditional Firewall, Antivirus and HIPS or Behavior Blocker method that has been recommended to you and is used by most of the Members here on the Forum. Once you have your Vista computer running smoothly and efficiently there will be time enough to augment your computer security, but there is a long way to go before you have Vista tweaked into the high performance Operating System that it can be.

 

The virtually bulletproof non traditional security that I run for Vista uses only 20 MB of RAM and frees up plenty of Memory for running programs at lightning speeds, but that is not what I am recommending here because turning Vista into the blazing fast and shrewdly economical Operating System that it can be is a long and procedural process and a simple yet effective traditional security system will fill the bill well for you while you are working on areas of more immediate need like trimming the resource consuming programs and services that are currently dragging down your computer's performance.

 

We must first and foremost lay a solid foundation and painstakingly build the house before the unique hand carved oak door is hung for the ultimate security of what we have labored so hard to build.

 

As far as the CCleaner results go I over the years I have learned just to delete them because they are mostly just temp files or thumbs.db, but you may want to go over them and check to see if there are any important items like log files that you may want to keep and then write exclusions for them in CCleaner so they will not be candidates for deletion in the future.

 

~Maxx~

[emttaff]

ok im ready to start digging the foundations. obviously you are aware of what has been done to date. installed avast this am. didnt have time to scan as i was on my way to work will do that when i arrive home.

[usefullll]

ok im ready to start digging the foundations. obviously you are aware of what has been done to date. installed avast this am. didnt have time to scan as i was on my way to work will do that when i arrive home.

 

Remember to set the settings correctly,or my thread for recommended settings too. ;-). Have a nice day dude.

[garybear]

Hi friend.

 

Hi Maxx. Are you using the paid version of sandboxie? I can see how it can protect you from bad stuff on the net. I never visit a site that has a bad reputation and I've never had a virus or malware. I use WOT. I know they have given our IObit360 a bad name, but don't think they had a choose and will soon give us back our excellent rating. Your sandboxie looks very interesting to me, just don't know if I need to go that way. Thank you for all your knowledge my friend.---garybear "The virtually bulletproof non traditional security that I run for Vista uses only 20 MB of RAM and frees up plenty of Memory for running programs at lightning speeds, but that is not what I am recommending here because turning Vista into the blazing fast and shrewdly economical Operating System that it can be is a long and procedural process and a simple yet effective traditional security system will fill the bill well for you while you are working on areas of more immediate need like trimming the resource consuming programs and services that are currently dragging down your computer's performance."

[Maxxwire]

garybear- It sounds like you have found a safe and now familiar method of navigating the web that has been working well for you with no Malware infections. I started out with pre-installed Norton on my computer so I needed to find a safer and less bloated freeware security system that had Firewall that didn't leak like the Windows Firewall does so profusely in Leak Tests. This search led me to the top of the Matousec Proactive Security Challenge ratings where I found Comodo Internet Security. After hanging out on the Comodo Forums for a few weeks I found some members on the bleeding edge of 21st century computer security technology using a virtualization software called Sandboxie to eliminate all risk of Malware infection which was freeware at the time I began using it.

 

Since then the Sandboxie software has been upgraded and it is no longer freeware with a $30 lifetime license fee. If you are perfectly happy with your computer security system that so far has been 100% effective there is no reason to add additional invincible virtual layer of protection that runs for only 5 MB of RAM to it especially since you have XP and don't need to be concerned with high RAM usage as we are in Vista and Win 7 unless you would enjoy experimenting with what it is like to confidently surf the internet without having to use outmoded 20th century default allow Antivirus 'black list' software and its required bulky definition database and frequent updates.

 

Otherwise if the security system that you are using is working to your satisfaction then there is no reason to change it because it is impossible to get less than the 0% infection rate that you already have!

 

~Maxx~

[garybear]

Hi Maxx

 

Hi friend. Thank you for your post. Just because I have never had a virus, probably just means I have been lucky. I have researched sandboxie and may give it a try in the future. I read and listen to all your threads and posts. I hope I have not offended you with my comments. Here are some neat videos on sandboxie.--- gary http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&oi=video_result&ct=res&cd=4&ved=0CBsQtwIwAw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DGueXMq-Vyi8&rct=j&q=sandboxie&ei=u9X9SqC-KI2GnAeclZGXCw&usg=AFQjCNHGBAMkPCl2cOps723utS3hAbtatw

[emttaff]

ok so whats next for my vista laptop i still having the occasional popup but speed has increased. would like an opinion on the a-squared results i posted yesterday if anyone has the time.

 

thankyou

 

emttaff

[Maxxwire]

emttaff- I would suggest keeping winferno in quarantine for the time being.

 

Having run Vista for quite some time I would suggest that you not go forward until you upgrade the diluted protection of Vista UAC to the far superior protection of Comodo HIPS which will then allow you to turn off the annoying and comparatively ineffective UAC after Comodo HIPS is installed.

 

To do this simply run Comodo CIS again and have it uninstall the Comodo Firewall. Then run the program again and choose the Comodo Firewall Pro and Defense+ HIPS to install. Having the Comodo HIPS will very much improve your Vista computer's security because it will alert you to any program that tries to run which you have not previously approved not just warning when an .exe tries to run as Vista UAC does plus it remembers your instructions unlike the redundantly prompting Vista UAC. Comodo HIPS has such strong detection that it can equal or exceed the detection rate of any Antivirus so it is well worth having on your computer!

 

~Maxx~

[emttaff]

doing it now. ok comodo is done and the file in quarentine what do i do with the rest of the files.

[Maxxwire]

doing it now.

 

Sorry for the hassle, but this is an essential upgrade in order to enable Vista to be all it can be! Let us know when you have completed installing HIPS and I will show you how to set it so that it will pass any Leak Test! We can also talk about using the Comodo Firewall's Pro's Port Stealth Wizard which can be set up in less than 60 seconds...

 

'Stealthing a port effectively makes it invisible to a port scan. This differs from simply ‘closing’ a port as NO response is given to any connection attempts (‘closed’ ports respond with a ‘closed’ reply- revealing to the hacker that there is actually a PC in existence.) This provides an extremely high level of security to your PC. If a hacker or automated scanner cannot 'see' your computers ports then they will presume it is offline and move on to other targets. You will still be able to connect to the Internet and transfer information as usual but remain invisible to outside threats.'

 

~Maxx~

[emttaff]

what does hips stand for

[Maxxwire]

HIPS, Host Intrusion Prevention System

 

A host intrusion prevention system allows a user to stop malware and other viruses from being installed onto a PC. Once HIPS is activated, a user receives a warning of every unknown executable file that attempts to run a command. If that file or program is not listed as being safe, the user will be notified and can then choose to block the file from running. A user can also submit questionable files for analysis; this is very useful for filtering out false positives. Unlike the basic anti-virus tools, a host intrusion prevention system isn’t required to constantly scan a user’s PC. Instead, it creates one database, checking to see if executable files are listed there or not. Suspicious files that may or may not be infected can be easily blocked from running on the system. It also differs from typical anti-virus software because it doesn’t require daily updates and runs on less memory.

 

emttaff- Now that you have Comodo HIPS on board you can open the Comodo GUI and under Defense+> Advanced> Image Execution Control Settings and set it to Normal as in the attachment below.

 

Next go into Defense+ Settings> General Settings and it should be set to Safe Mode by default and check 'Block all unknown requests if the application is closed'.

 

Also in Defense+ Settings> Click on the Monitor Settings Tab and check all of the boxes as shown in the attachment below.

 

If you get a prompt from Defense+ for a program that you trust and are running for the first time just check 'remember my answer' and allow it and you will not get another prompt as UAC does. If you get a prompt for a program that you don't recognize or don't trust you can either temporarily or permanently block it.

 

After doing these settings you will be able to go the Control panel> User Accounts> Turn User Account Count Control if you like.

[emttaff]

seem to be having a problem uninstalling comodo. followed the prompts and it then advised me to uninstall manually which i did. wont allow me to reinstall it tells me its already installed but i can find no trace any ideas.

[Maxxwire]

emttaff- I ran into the same problem once and this program solved the problem...

 

Here is the 15.6 KB Cleanup Tool for Comodo CIS

 

http://www.2shared.com/file/5738312/13929c33/CIS_Clean-up_Tool.html

 

Now unzip it using Windows built-in extractor or a software like WinRAR or 7-zip, and then run it.

 

This is a batch file for removing left-over files and registry entries. It should only be used if:

* You can't uninstall Comodo Internet Security

* You can't install Comodo Internet Security

* Comodo Internet Security is already uninstalled, and you want to make sure everything's gone

 

The batch file will remove files and registry entries associated with the following components:

* Firewall

* Antivirus

* Defense+

* Ask Toolbar and SafeSurf

 

Vista users will have to run the batch file as an administrator. For Windows XP-users, make sure you're logged in on an administrator account.

 

If registered and logged in, download the attachment at the end of this post. Non-registered users can use the following download link:

 

~Maxx~

[emttaff]

hi Max ok comodo was deleted ok. have reinstalled as required and set the settings as u requested. all ok so we are ready to continue.

#regards

 

emttaff

[Maxxwire]

This is great news because the Comodo Firewall and Defense + HIPS not only provide top notch protection, but together they run for only 15 MB of RAM which is going to be a great advantage in getting your Vista computer to run much much more efficiently than it ever did!

 

There is much more to do, but first it will be advantageous to establish a benchmark before we go any further. To do this I would like you to restart your computer and then about 5 minutes after the desktop comes up when Superfetch is done completing the memory cache take a screenshot of the Vista Task Manager in its Performance mode and post it to this thread so that we can see where Vista currently stands as far as overall Computer Memory consumption, Kernel Memory usage and the number of services running are concerned. This will also provide a baseline to judge our progress in taming Vista. If you don't already have a favorite capture tool I like to recommend the freeware FastStone Capture Tool which does a most excellent job.

 

After we analyze the information in the Task Manager Screenshot it will then be time to apply some Emergency Maneuver Technology to your Vista computer!

 

~Maxx~

[solbjerg]

task manager processes

 

Bump - added information to my post -Cheers solbjerg

Hi Maxx

It might be an idea for IObit to add a "save report" for the task manager processes list, as a possibility in additional tools?

Cheers

solbjerg

p.s. by the way one has the possibility to create a macro in Word that will generate a list of the tasks and then one copies that list and insert it in ones post.

Try this macro:

Sub xxx()

For Each t In Tasks

Selection.TypeText t.Name & vbCr

Next

End Sub

(mostly for use in Word)

 

There is a command in command prompt using tasklist, but it does not work in XP Home. >tasklist > "%userprofile%\desktop\t.txt" that will generate a file on your desktop to copy the content from and insert in your forum post or simply attach the file to the post.

 

A good solution if you are using xp home could be to try Process Explorer

Another good one by Mark Russinovich that can replace taskmanager and from which it is easy to save the tasklist.

It is called Process Explorer

And can be found here on Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com

 

 

This is great news because the Comodo Firewall and Defense + HIPS not only provide top notch protection, but together they run for only 15 MB of RAM which is going to be a great advantage in getting your Vista computer to run much much more efficiently than it ever did!

 

There is much more to do, but first it will be advantageous to establish a benchmark before we go any further. To do this I would like you to restart your computer and then about 5 minutes after the desktop comes up when Superfetch is done completing the memory cache take a screenshot of the Vista Task Manager in its Performance mode and post it to this thread so that we can see where Vista currently stands as far as overall Computer Memory consumption, Kernel Memory usage and the number of services running are concerned. This will also provide a baseline to judge our progress in taming Vista. If you don't already have a favorite capture tool I like to recommend the freeware FastStone Capture Tool which does a most excellent job.

 

After we analyze the information in the Task Manager Screenshot it will then be time to apply some Emergency Maneuver Technology to your Vista computer!

 

~Maxx~