anti-virus & other stuff

On Sun, 21 Dec 2014 21:44:39 GMT, mick wrote:

In the past I have uploaded many web pages for different sites only to
find that different browsers have not always cleaned out the cache
properly and the new pages will not display. CCleaner has at times
been invaluable for doing that.

IE and Firefox, and I assume the other major browsers, make it easy to empty
their respective cache folders from within the program. Above and beyond
that, what is CCleaner doing with regards to the browser cache?

--

Char Jackson

On Sun, 21 Dec 2014 22:32:28 GMT, mick wrote:

On 21/12/2014 21:50:48, Ken Blake wrote:
On Sun, 21 Dec 2014 21:44:39 GMT, mick wrote:

CCleaner is useful for cleaning out unwanted files from the temp
folders.

Yes, it is a useful program, if you don't use its registry cleaning
functionality.

Leave it set on the default settings and it does not harm.
If ever it is used on the registry then it is very mild.

Yes, it is less dangerous that most other registry cleaners. But that
does *not* mean its registry cleaning functionality is risk-free.

I agree with you about not being risk free, but then is any other
program like word processors, image editors, newsreaders, etc. risk
free. Sometimes you have to try these things out of curiosity and if
you don't try you don't learn, even if it means making mistakes. To
keep saying do not use registry cleaning is like saying to someone, do
not clean your room. I run a tight and organised ship here and to know
that my registry is dirty does not sit happy with me.

Interestingly, a fairly large proportion of the systems that pass through my
hands for tech support are owned by people who want to run a tight and
organized ship. They always seem to be deleting things that shouldn't have
been deleted.

Its not a pop at you Ken, but I see so many people jumping on the snake
oil bandwagon.

I think there's a very good reason for that. There's no benefit, only risk.

--

Char Jackson

On 12/21/2014 8:13 PM, Al Drake wrote:
On 12/21/2014 10:58 PM, David E. Ross wrote:
On 12/21/2014 11:12 AM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
"firestorm31" wrote in message
...
just curious....

what's the best software for antivirus, malware and other
anti-windows stuff I didn't mention & cleaning windows registry.



You'll get a lot of different opinions on this.


I've not had any trouble on 7 with AVG, and found it easy to use.

I've been using AVG Free for years. I really like it, but it apparently
allowed a virus onto my PC that required reinstalling Windows 7. A week
later, I am still reinstalling various applications and trying to
remember how I tweaked Windows 7.

I still have AVG Free 2015 running in the background, but now I also run
(per manual request) Microsoft's Security Essentials and Malwarebytes
Free.

What? No backup plan?





I do backups regularly. However, restoring from a backup requires that
I be able to boot my PC. The virus prevented me from booting. This
week, I plan to create a boot CD.

--
David E. Ross

The Crimea is Putin's Sudetenland.
The Ukraine will be Putin's Czechoslovakia.
See http://www.rossde.com/editorials/edtl_PutinUkraine.html.

On 12/21/2014 10:44 AM, Bruce Hagen wrote:
"firestorm31" wrote in message
...
just curious....

what's the best software for antivirus, malware and other anti-windows
stuff I didn't mention & cleaning windows registry.



You'll get a lot of different opinions on this.

As far as freeware, I have no problem using MSE, but if you want
something else, I would suggest Avira or Avast.

Avira Free Antivirus
http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus

Avast Free
http://www.avast.com/index

This is a good program to have handy. The free version is not real-time
so it won't interfere with your security program.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

When offered, uncheck: Enable free trial of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
Premium.


As far as a registry cleaner, I wouldn't suggest ever using one even to
my worst enemy.

MSE?

--
dilbert firestorm

On 12/21/2014 10:44 AM, Bruce Hagen wrote:
"firestorm31" wrote in message
...
just curious....

what's the best software for antivirus, malware and other anti-windows
stuff I didn't mention & cleaning windows registry.



You'll get a lot of different opinions on this.

As far as freeware, I have no problem using MSE, but if you want
something else, I would suggest Avira or Avast.

Avira Free Antivirus
http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus

Avast Free
http://www.avast.com/index

This is a good program to have handy. The free version is not real-time
so it won't interfere with your security program.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

When offered, uncheck: Enable free trial of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
Premium.
what's the reason for unchecking it?
--
dilbert firestorm

On 12/21/2014 10:28 AM, firestorm31 wrote:
just curious....

what's the best software for antivirus, malware and other anti-windows
stuff I didn't mention & cleaning windows registry.

anyone use/try ESET AV?

--
dilbert firestorm

On 12/22/2014 1:15 AM, David E. Ross wrote:
On 12/21/2014 8:13 PM, Al Drake wrote:
On 12/21/2014 10:58 PM, David E. Ross wrote:
On 12/21/2014 11:12 AM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
"firestorm31" wrote in message
...
just curious....

what's the best software for antivirus, malware and other
anti-windows stuff I didn't mention & cleaning windows registry.



You'll get a lot of different opinions on this.


I've not had any trouble on 7 with AVG, and found it easy to use.

I've been using AVG Free for years. I really like it, but it apparently
allowed a virus onto my PC that required reinstalling Windows 7. A week
later, I am still reinstalling various applications and trying to
remember how I tweaked Windows 7.

I still have AVG Free 2015 running in the background, but now I also run
(per manual request) Microsoft's Security Essentials and Malwarebytes
Free.

What? No backup plan?





I do backups regularly. However, restoring from a backup requires that
I be able to boot my PC. The virus prevented me from booting. This
week, I plan to create a boot CD.

What? No boot CD?

On 12/22/2014 3:12 AM, firestorm31 wrote:
On 12/21/2014 10:44 AM, Bruce Hagen wrote:
"firestorm31" wrote in message
...
just curious....

what's the best software for antivirus, malware and other anti-windows
stuff I didn't mention & cleaning windows registry.



You'll get a lot of different opinions on this.

As far as freeware, I have no problem using MSE, but if you want
something else, I would suggest Avira or Avast.

Avira Free Antivirus
http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus

Avast Free
http://www.avast.com/index

This is a good program to have handy. The free version is not real-time
so it won't interfere with your security program.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

When offered, uncheck: Enable free trial of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
Premium.
what's the reason for unchecking it?

Checking the free trial would probably mean it will expire and is not
the free version you might want. That's what "Premium" means.

On 12/21/2014 11:43 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Sun, 21 Dec 2014 21:44:39 GMT, mick wrote:

In the past I have uploaded many web pages for different sites only to
find that different browsers have not always cleaned out the cache
properly and the new pages will not display. CCleaner has at times
been invaluable for doing that.

IE and Firefox, and I assume the other major browsers, make it easy to empty
their respective cache folders from within the program. Above and beyond
that, what is CCleaner doing with regards to the browser cache?

It gives you a choice of what to clean before it does it's job. All in
all I like it but like has been pointed out it does nothing that can't
be done by other means. Like so many other applications I see that do
what can be done from withing Windows at the CMD level such as
partitioning, etc.

firestorm31 wrote:
On 12/21/2014 10:44 AM, Bruce Hagen wrote:
"firestorm31" wrote in message
...
just curious....

what's the best software for antivirus, malware and other anti-windows
stuff I didn't mention & cleaning windows registry.



You'll get a lot of different opinions on this.

As far as freeware, I have no problem using MSE, but if you want
something else, I would suggest Avira or Avast.

Avira Free Antivirus
http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus

Avast Free
http://www.avast.com/index

This is a good program to have handy. The free version is not real-time
so it won't interfere with your security program.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

When offered, uncheck: Enable free trial of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
Premium.
what's the reason for unchecking it?

MBAM has two operating modes.

We use the "free" operating mode, for one-time-scan purposes.
Say you have virus symptoms (PC behaving strangely) and you
want to know why, you can run MBAM to scan the PC and identify
the cause. Once the scan is finished, MBAM is no longer running.

The "paid" operating mode of the program, provides real-time
protection. That means MBAM runs all the time, uses definitions,
that sort of thing. If you operate the product in "trial" mode,
that is for the real-time protection. "Trial" mode is "paid" mode
for a limited testing time period.

If you don't select "Trial", it stays in the desirable one-time-scan
way of doing things.

Your regular (free) AV provides the real time protection. MBAM
is valued as a one-time-scanner, because it covers the things
that get through the free AV. You can use sites like AV-comparatives,
to evaluate how good all the real-time protection products are.

MBAM uses a bit of heuristic detection, which is why it is run
on an operating computer. While some things you do on a computer,
they recommend operating from Safe Mode, MBAM is recommended to
be run from regular operating mode. Some regular AV products
have poor or non-existent heuristic detection, and MBAM fills
in the gaps.

If you want an offline scan, the Kaspersky rescue CD is the way to
do that. It does signature based analysis. Since Windows is not
running, and Linux on the Kaspersky CD is running, that's all it
can do is signature analysis. Whereas MBAM is suggested to
run in regular Windows mode. While some people try to run
MBAM in Safe Mode, that would not be quite as effective as
using it on a running system. People use Safe Mode, when they
get frustrated because they can't get MBAM started.

On the other side of the coin, the bad guys know about
MBAM, and they have a million and one ways to stop it from
starting to run. So the hard part about using MBAM in a
one-time-scan situation, is getting the program to start.
(In fact, the mere ability to start MBAM running first time,
tells you that you aren't infected :-) ) But once it's started,
you can get some value from it. MBAM added "Chameleon" features,
to change the name and try to evade the malware, but it can
still be hard to get it to run. There are things like RKill
on Bleepingcomputer, you could run first to try and
"tame" the crowd of processes trying to stop MBAM.
For the average new user to MBAM, this aspect of it can
be pretty annoying. Most people can't stand the "how do
I get this to run" phase, of dealing with a real infection.
So if MBAM does run the first time you execute it,
probably all you've got is a PUP and not a virus/trojan/worm.

Paul

Char Jackson wrote:
On Sun, 21 Dec 2014 21:44:39 GMT, mick wrote:

In the past I have uploaded many web pages for different sites only to
find that different browsers have not always cleaned out the cache
properly and the new pages will not display. CCleaner has at times
been invaluable for doing that.

IE and Firefox, and I assume the other major browsers, make it easy to empty
their respective cache folders from within the program. Above and beyond
that, what is CCleaner doing with regards to the browser cache?


One thing they may not be clearing, is DOM storage.

I now delete a certain file on my Flash equipped
browser, for this reason.

webappsstore.sqlite seems to grow, after viewing Flash
video on news sites.

And you can test how good your cleaning of browser storage
is, by using Evercookie testing. And see whether you're
clearing DOM storage or not. Flash also keeps cookies,
but they can be deleted from the Flash control panel.

http://samy.pl/evercookie/

The webappsstore.sqlite on my non-Flash browser, does
not grow.

I have no idea whether CCleaner handles that, because
I don't use it.

Paul

On Sun, 21 Dec 2014 23:11:53 -0500, Al Drake
wrote:


If you want to see how many uninstalled apps leave registry entrees
behind try looking at MSCONFIG.


Yes, I'm well aware of that. However all those leftover unused
registry entries don't hurt you. Access to the registry is random, and
the unused ones do not slow down your computer.


I'd say to browse the registy (regedit)
if you have real courage. One thing I like about CCleaner is the option
to back up the registy before anything is "cleaned".


If you use a registry it's certainly wise to first back it up. However
if the result of using the registry cleaner is an unbootable computer,
a backup isn't of much help.



I recently removed
many programs I found I never use and saw how many entrees were still
showing in the STARTUP when I ran MSCONFIG. The ONLY way to get rid of
many of these is to edit the registry.



True. But it doesn't matter. They take up a tiny amount of disk space
and don't hurt you in any way.

In message , David E. Ross
writes:
[]
I do backups regularly. However, restoring from a backup requires that
I be able to boot my PC. The virus prevented me from booting. This

It's not a proper backup if you can't use it to restore to a PC that
won't boot (-:

week, I plan to create a boot CD.

What are you planning to create it from - your OS (presumably Windows 7
since you're posting here), or the software you think you've been making
backups with (I've found Macrium's OK, and the boot CD will fit on a
mini-CD)? Just curious. (Well, I'd say using the boot process associated
with your backup software is probably better in that it will probably be
easier to use the backups it made when you've booted from it, rather
than trying to use them having booted from something made from Windows
7.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

"It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it's
the part that I do understand." - Mark Twain

In message , Char Jackson
writes:
On Sun, 21 Dec 2014 22:32:28 GMT, mick wrote:
[]
Its not a pop at you Ken, but I see so many people jumping on the snake
oil bandwagon.

I think there's a very good reason for that. There's no benefit, only risk.

Some people are nagged at by the knowledge that their registry contains
(for example) pointers to nonexistent files. While such nagging may be
baseless, the benefit of freedom from it can't really be quantified by
those who don't experience it. Call it OCD if you wish. It's like those
who are bothered by a picture-frame (mirror, etc.) not hanging straight
on a wall; not straightening it doesn't hurt anybody, but knowing it's
skew bugs some people.

(FWIW: I suspect there's _lots_ wrong with my registry. I occasionally
run a cleaner in XP, but only involving s backup first and having
checked that I can restore from it to a non-booting system.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

"It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it's
the part that I do understand." - Mark Twain

On 12/22/2014 1:02 PM, Ken Blake wrote:
On Sun, 21 Dec 2014 23:11:53 -0500, Al Drake
wrote:


If you want to see how many uninstalled apps leave registry entrees
behind try looking at MSCONFIG.


Yes, I'm well aware of that. However all those leftover unused
registry entries don't hurt you. Access to the registry is random, and
the unused ones do not slow down your computer.


I'd say to browse the registy (regedit)
if you have real courage. One thing I like about CCleaner is the option
to back up the registy before anything is "cleaned".


If you use a registry it's certainly wise to first back it up. However
if the result of using the registry cleaner is an unbootable computer,
a backup isn't of much help.



I recently removed
many programs I found I never use and saw how many entrees were still
showing in the STARTUP when I ran MSCONFIG. The ONLY way to get rid of
many of these is to edit the registry.



True. But it doesn't matter. They take up a tiny amount of disk space
and don't hurt you in any way.

All of what you say is true but it makes debugging a lot simpler if you
have a clean and simple install.