I use AVG and Clamwin, Spyware Terminator and Ad-Aware, and Comodo Firewall. I also use Firefox with NoScript. Between them, they seem to deal with almost every problem. I should look into anti-rootkit programs too, but I just haven't had the time yet.

AVG 8 does both
 

AVG8 does both, which is why I am recommending it now instead of Avast! or AVG.

It works incredibly well. Running both AVAST! and AVG will kill machine performance.

Oh, I see.

Thanks for your help!

And BTW,

Using more than 1 good AV or AS program is overkill and gives you little return. Using Firefox with NoScript gives you better protection than IE with a ton of AV/AS programs because the major root cause of infections is bad DLLs that run code as LocalSystem. Putting a ton of protection up via multiple AV/AS programs and using IE is like using a condom while putting holes in it.

You're not fixing the root cause of the issue, and you're making your system run like crap with mostly useless protection.

One good AV/AS program like AVG, Firefox, NoScript, FlashBlock, and keeping your products updated will make your system run well and well-protected.

As I noted, if what I saw was a latest virus, then both Microsoft's Automatic Updates and the manual updates using www.windowsupdate.com do not work. If what I saw was a virus, then Microsoft's patches to avoid this latest malware do not get detected as missing and therefore do not get downloaded from Microsoft.

If Conflcker is as prevalent as predicted, then some here should have seen their anti-virus software detect it. As I understand from what is not being said, some anti-virus softwares do not detect or do not remove this widespread new worm.

TW, the latest MS patches guard against Conficker
 

TW,

The latest MS patches from January guard against Conficker.

Some AV programs do not detect it. I believe AVG does.

Conficker exists because some did not download the MS patches. The problem gets worse, as I understand it. The latest patches would not download if Conficker has already disabled Microsoft Automatic Updates, downloads using www.windowsupdate.com, and a few other Windows programs. A conundrum.

Apparently Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal tool and Symantec do detect Conficker. But that means the January version of the Malicious Software Removal tool must be downloaded manually from www.microsoft.com/downloads .

Above is what I have read; not confirmed. However this could be a benchmark for which anti-virus products are better.

If you're going with a free product, I like Avast much better than AVG. If you're willing to cough up a few bucks, NOD32 and Kaspersky are the best.

Also make sure you've got Microsoft Defender installed and updated. Recently my mother got something pretty screwed up and I ended up installing a product a friend recommended called SuperAntiSpyware and it worked really well and detected and cleaned stuff that other products couldn't.

Microsoft Defender
 

Microsoft Defender, honestly, is not that good.

AVG, in my experience, has had the best track record at removing the really nasty viruses. I have used it to clean up things Symantec and Trend Micro (usually the gold standard) would not and could not clean up (AntiVirus 2008 Spyware/Malware). Avast! is a step behind.

I use it integrated with the Ultimate Boot CD on a USB stick to boot into with the latest definitions to clean up malware-laden machines, and it works really well. It will pick up things that other programs will not.

AVG 8.0 also has anti-spyware built in (it's nothing but additional definitions for a virus scanner when you get down to it), and that works incredibly well. Doing things such as having really long HOSTS files and a lot of manual ActiveX blocks actually causes your machine to run slowly (think several minutes for a DHCP lease).

Windows Defender, in my experience, has been pretty weak. If you want a free anti-spyware program that works, I recommend AVG, SuperANTISpyware, or Spybot. The latter two don't run in real-time (like AVG, McAfee, or other products), but they work well.

I outright recommend you run away from Webroot SpySweeper. It was good at one time, but is now a POS.

As an IT Professional with over 20 years experience in the field, I can say without a doubt that Avast is better at getting rid of viruses and spyware than AVG. This isn't debatable, it's a fact.

Microsoft Defender is not a bad free product. Who knows better how your Microsoft system should run than Microsoft? That being said, it's also a free product, so they obviously aren't to spend a huge amount of time or money developing something that really cleans you up like SuperAntiSpyware.

I recommend you don't use AdAware.

Spybot is weak, but I do like the tool they include to edit your startup processes.

the...

??

Shawnee123. I'm not trying to come off like an arrogant douche or anything. I've just tested both products and I'm speaking from experience. If you don't believe what I'm saying google "avast vs avg" and read what people say.

Avast has boot time scans, scans in the background when the screensaver is running, is better at detecting and removing trojans, has several small updates per day rather than one huge one every week, etc.

Obligatory ISCA Labs Link
 

Radar,

http://www.icsalabs.com/icsa/topic.php?tid=b220$1ba2cc09-52eb29d6$8979-a7f252c0

http://www.icsalabs.com/icsa/product.php?tid=dfgdf$gdhkkjk-kkkk

http://www.av-comparatives.org/seite...se_2008_11.php

http://www.av-comparatives.org/seite...se_2008_08.php

http://www.av-comparatives.org/seite...se_2008_02.php

Both products are listed here. Both will work, and it's a trade-off depending on what reviews that you read. The reason I recommend AVG is because it does both and because I have seen it find and remove things that Symantec, Trend, and other products won't. Think very specific, targeted malware.

I also, when I find an infected machine, power it off and use Ultimate Boot CD with no networking on a USB stick to scan it so that I can get the machine in a state where I can scan it using a known good OS (I use a signed ISO downloaded from Microsoft's Volume Licensing Site), drivers, and anti-virus, and where I can scan and check for malware without using a compromised OS.

AVG actually publishes Plug-ins for their full version for the Ultimate Boot CD. Avast! only publishes a little "virus cleaner" like McAfee does for the Ultimate Boot CD/BartPE. Spybot Search & Destroy has a full version, as does SuperAntiSpyware. Their little "startup" tool works with BartPE/UBCD installations too.

Maybe if Avast! did what AVG does for those of us who scan infected machines that way, I'd be as bombastic in supporting them as you :).

It's been quite obvious from the torrents of malware out there that Microsoft has had major issues with security over the past few years. I wouldn't trust an AV or AS product from them because it's not fixing the underlying issues causing the infections in the first place. Vista/Windows 7 and IE 7/8 are good first steps, but nowhere near where Linux or FreeBSD are at this point (Mac OS X has the same issues, too).

Oh I didn't think you were. When I first read your post it stopped at "the" and was unfinished. I wondered what came next. It said "but I do like the" and stopped. You never got to "tool..." :blush:

I appreciate all the advice and opinions.

I have AVG, SuperAnti Spyware, Spybot, Malwarebytes, Crap Cleaner and they work very well with each other and together they catch everything and they are free!