stirling

Hi

First question: AVG (free) has just scanned and reported 2 trojans which it reckons it's deleted. So am I safe or do I have to go through the HJT log bit?

Second question: Prior to AVG running today I'd used my credit card online, so should I be cancelling my card?

Third question: If AVG can detect it on a scan why the f**k didn't it stop it entering in the first place?

Fourth question: Why am I paying AVG all this money? - oh I'm not - it's free - curses.

Glaswegian

Hi

I would also scan with something like Ad-Aware or AVG Anti Spyware as a precaution, but you are probably OK. What firewall do you have? Did it report any attempts by the Trojans to access the Internet?

It all depends on the Trojan and if they were active, how long they had been there etc, etc. Keep an eye on your card statement for now and be prepared to cancel if at all suspicious.

Since we probably don't know how long they had been on your system, it's possible that their details have only recently been added to AVGs definition files. When did you last run a full scan? Don't forget, no AV will catch everything.

Have a read here, if you haven't already...

PC Safety and Security--What Do I Need?

stirling

Hi Glaswegian - thanks

this morning:

AVG reports clean
Ad-Aware reports clean
Just installed SnoopFree - nothing reported at the moment.
Zonealarm - nothing suspicious attempting access or given permissions under program control.

last AVG scan around a week or so ago reported clean. (have a bad habit of stopping it when I'm busy - hammers performance of CAD) must reschedule, always seems to start up when I'm busy - curses.

card cancelled last night for belt and braces.

regards

Stirling

Glaswegian

Hi

All sounds good. As I said, it looks like they had not been activated, but cancelling your cards is still a wise precaution.

Done_Fishin

Do I need to say more .. it's like going bungey jumping and ensuring that your your safety ropes are tied securely at the top only to get bored carrying them as you dive into the abyss so you cut them loose ..

stirling

Hi Done_Fishin, - I always have the resident shield, shell extension and email scanner parts running. All I've occaisionally stopped is the scheduled scan. Not the smartest idea in the world I know, but is that as bad as you suggest in your analogy?

koala

Stopping the scheduled scan won't do any harm at all. You might want to reschedule it to a more convenient time though.

Done_Fishin

No it's not bad at all .. but you have to remember that a lot of other people are browsing these pages looking for solutions .. so it has to be brought to their attention as much as yours that scans are important as a method defense ..if only as discovery after the fact.

I must apologise for the tone of my previous post .. it was not supposed to be as brutal as it looked, in fact it was your original message tone plus your later admittance to not always fulfilling a scan that I thought amusing, and prompted my post ..

I also frequently find myself stopping a scan in the middle when I want to work .. but I also have a router with firewall, plus Zonealarm on each PC AND I run AVG anti-spyware / Anti-virus on my downloads before I use them or as soon as possible after the download finishes. At the end of the day I leave my PC on to run a full scan in spite of the number of times I have already checked the files .. for me running a scan doesn't mean I am clean .. it means I haven't found anything yet!

stirling

Hi Koala - thanks - I was beginning to wonder. Done_Fishin - hey no problem, I hadn't taken any offence, my post was intended to be lite - I run a free firewall, free AV and now a free anti adware and a free keylogger checker thinger. Can't complain. I just thought that if AVG can find something on a scan why can't it stop it when it first comes in? I feel an analogy coming on... How about a body guard that points out to his boss that he's just been hit. Mr Corleone's going to love him - not. Well then again - maybe, if he's free.

Done_Fishin

I was thinking about your post earlier today whilst walking back home from work .. it's about 2,5 km so I had plenty of time to think .. well about 30 minutes anyway ..

Any security system is based upon 3 main aspects and one variable ..
DESIGN
INSTALLATION
OPERATION

and the variable is UPGRADE

At any time that a system is designed, it's designed according to certain criteria relevant to the era, taking into account historic events that have effected the evolution of the product.
The installation is done according to the needs of the design and the requirements of the operation.
The operation is dependent upon what has been designed and the way it was installed .. hence the necessity to have the variable .. the UPGRADE.

Upgrade is a way to install new options that weren't available at the time of design or installation ..

On a daily basis the security people are searching for new issues & ways to
combat them .. and the operator is usually advised to download the revised method of working if he she wants to maintain maximum security. However that maximum security CANNOT guarantee that you won't get a security breach, it will only ensure that it will provide a shield against known security problems for which an upgrade option has been supplied and applied.

About a year ago A friend if mine sent me a program to try out which I AV checked before installing, with a well known popular AV software . About 6 months later I was doing some PC housekeeping, and copying files across my network to another PC to which I had installed a different AV software. The new software picked up this file as infected. I checked with my friend who told me that he had checked his version and found it clean. I then did several on-line LIVE checks of the same file to which some said infected and others said NOT .. I deleted the file .. I also removed the well known popular AV software and installed the other AV software .. because it occurred to me that being well known and popular also made it a test case for the virus writers to get past ..

I believe that there is no single Security program that will protect us 100%. Most programs will want us to believe that we have full protection.
There are weak links throughout, from design through install and including operation .. even to the point that upgrades aren't implemented quick enough. ALL companies find solutions to new threats but the time it takes them to find a solution and get it to the user varies drastically, as does the time it takes for them to become aware of the problem in the first place.

don't rely upon a single AV solution .. but also don't try running more than one installation on your PC .. I think that McAfee had the right approach years ago with the separate boot disk and clean environment .. the closest we can get to that today is to boot into Linux Live CD ... I would have said the UBCD & UBCD4WIN LIVE CD's but it seems that the anti virus software that is available there is already outdated and without support .. at least that is the message that I got every time I tried to use them .. The closest now would be a Linux Live CD that incorporates something like ClamAV which is kept up-to-date .. if you have broadband you can even download install to your RAM disk .. but you'll need to do that every time .