Wiping out viruses on notebooks!

Adrian Wong · 28th Jun 2008, 08:06 AM

Arghhhhhhhhhh.... I hate wiping out viruses on notebooks.

My brother-in-law is a real "PEBKAC" case. He ALWAYS gets his notebook infected with viruses. I've had to reformat and reinstall his notebook several times and he keeps getting infected.

After the last reformat, I told him in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS not to click all those porn adverts and install every single thing he comes along. And he now complains that his notebook is infected AGAIN... Even the anti-virus software I installed for him was "killed in action".

UNBELIEVABLE.

I hate repairing notebooks because unless you have a PC and IDE adaptor at hand, it's impossible to clean the hard drive using the PC. That's why I have had to reformat his notebook in the past and reinstall everything. What a hassle....

Anyone has any solution for this problem? I could reinstall the anti-virus software but I'm pretty sure the virus will just infect it the instant I do so. Arghhhhhhhhhh.....

The_YongGrand · 28th Jun 2008, 09:40 AM

I've seen those BitDefender Thumbdrives which are equipped with those antivirus as well - not sure how does it work. Maybe you pop the thing into the PC and let it scan without it getting infected.

Or you can get those portable anti-virus scanners and put it into an empty thumbdrive and let it scan in safe mode.

I guess he needs to install firewall as well. A full-fledged software firewall.

Zenphic · 28th Jun 2008, 10:25 AM

My friend does that as well. He doesn't get viruses though, but his system just gets terribly laggy. I could only find a portable version of ClamWin antivirus, and it isn't all that good: ClamWin Portable | PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB drives

Which antivirus did you install?

You might want to install some real-time anti-spyware software as well next time. Those pesky spywares can get pass antivirus' and wreak havoc afterwards

lee_what2004 · 28th Jun 2008, 10:39 AM

if you really want to stop all those, try to use DeepFreeze, then set it to restore every restart

(no more virus unless your brother-in-law thaw it

)

or other way, format the notebook, install everything, done the tweaking, then make the image of the windows ( using acronis or ghost, etc). Next time got virus, just restore it, takes up around 15 minutes for acronis, if the image source is on a hdd, 30 minutes if from dvd.

p/s as for the porn, why not just install some porn filter

pfelelep · 28th Jun 2008, 12:38 PM

give her a windows-like LINUX distribution such as Kubuntu or Linspire?

I dunno, but when I hear "I'm tired of getting those spams and virus!", I just think of linux.

mikegas · 28th Jun 2008, 12:48 PM

Ghost the whole fresh drive of the notebook. When get infected then just ghost back the drive .. taddaaa fresh meat again for infection ..

The_YongGrand · 28th Jun 2008, 07:23 PM

I usually use this:

Comodo firewall
Avira AV
Spywareblaster
CCleaner

And it's protected full-time, with the help of the hardware router as well!

Also, there could be thumbdrive versions of those AV programs. If i'm not mistaken, AVG (grisoft) has this kind of stuff.

iModAMD · 29th Jun 2008, 08:15 AM

I use AVAST who really kicks ass... an about the virus facts ... i noticed with times somes processors are more vulnerable than others...

Adrian Wong · 29th Jun 2008, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zenphic

My friend does that as well. He doesn't get viruses though, but his system just gets terribly laggy. I could only find a portable version of ClamWin antivirus, and it isn't all that good: ClamWin Portable | PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB drives

Which antivirus did you install?

You might want to install some real-time anti-spyware software as well next time. Those pesky spywares can get pass antivirus' and wreak havoc afterwards

I installed Symantec Anti-virus for him and set it to auto-scan. But he just keeps infecting his system.

Mac Daddy · 29th Jun 2008, 11:54 PM

I use these two I never install an OS without them and both are freeware.

Search And Destroy - Top AntiSpyware Software 2008
CWShredder - Defeat CoolWebSearch - Download CWShredder Free

As for AV I have just been using the free Antivir AV/Firewall haven't had any issues here

(Xoftspy is good to but its not free)

28th Jun 2008, 08:06 AM	#1 (permalink)
Adrian Wong Da Boss Join Date: 10 Oct 2002 Location: In front of my ASUS F8V notebook! Posts: 30,146 Reputation: 3081 Rep Power: 67	Wiping out viruses on notebooks! Arghhhhhhhhhh.... I hate wiping out viruses on notebooks. My brother-in-law is a real "PEBKAC" case. He ALWAYS gets his notebook infected with viruses. I've had to reformat and reinstall his notebook several times and he keeps getting infected. After the last reformat, I told him in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS not to click all those porn adverts and install every single thing he comes along. And he now complains that his notebook is infected AGAIN... Even the anti-virus software I installed for him was "killed in action". UNBELIEVABLE. I hate repairing notebooks because unless you have a PC and IDE adaptor at hand, it's impossible to clean the hard drive using the PC. That's why I have had to reformat his notebook in the past and reinstall everything. What a hassle.... Anyone has any solution for this problem? I could reinstall the anti-virus software but I'm pretty sure the virus will just infect it the instant I do so. Arghhhhhhhhhh..... __________________ Dr. Adrian Wong Tech ARP \| Blog @ Tech ARP \| The Free Trade Zone DYKT : The only offshore account I have is at the sand bank? Keep Tech ARP free! Visit our sponsors! We need PROGRAMMERS and TECHNICAL WRITERS! Contact us if you are a hot shot programmer or technical writer! My items for sale : 50x SD Card \| Memory Stick PRO \| Cyclone Energy Saver \| Seiko SS watch \| Tiger/Carlsberg beer jugs \| Travel Speakers \| Motorola V600 \| Nokia N90 SOLD! \| New Lowepro Mini Trekker AW Other items for sale @ the FTZ : Zalman CNPS9500 LED @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7700 Cu @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7000 Cu @ $20 \| Swarovski bracelet watches \| Dell 17" LCD \| Hi-Fi speakers \| English DIVX movies \| HP LaserJet toners! \| Office chairs

28th Jun 2008, 09:40 AM	#2 (permalink)
The_YongGrand Super Active Join Date: 12 Feb 2005 Location: Somewhere in 甲洞... Posts: 2,320 Reputation: 852 Rep Power: 14	I've seen those BitDefender Thumbdrives which are equipped with those antivirus as well - not sure how does it work. Maybe you pop the thing into the PC and let it scan without it getting infected. Or you can get those portable anti-virus scanners and put it into an empty thumbdrive and let it scan in safe mode. I guess he needs to install firewall as well. A full-fledged software firewall. __________________ Intel Core 2 Duo E7200, 2GB DDR2-667 RAM, Gigabyte 945GCMX-S2, Sapphire ATi Radeon HD4850 512MB DDR3 2nd pc under construction! Wolfdale baby!

28th Jun 2008, 10:39 AM	#4 (permalink)
lee_what2004 Active Join Date: 28 Dec 2007 Location: Melaka Posts: 862 Reputation: 558 Rep Power: 6	if you really want to stop all those, try to use DeepFreeze, then set it to restore every restart (no more virus unless your brother-in-law thaw it ) or other way, format the notebook, install everything, done the tweaking, then make the image of the windows ( using acronis or ghost, etc). Next time got virus, just restore it, takes up around 15 minutes for acronis, if the image source is on a hdd, 30 minutes if from dvd. p/s as for the porn, why not just install some porn filter __________________

28th Jun 2008, 12:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
pfelelep Warming up Join Date: 15 Nov 2005 Location: hongkong Posts: 119 Reputation: 318 Rep Power: 7	give her a windows-like LINUX distribution such as Kubuntu or Linspire? I dunno, but when I hear "I'm tired of getting those spams and virus!", I just think of linux. __________________ Pfelelep I'm french, so excuse my english.

28th Jun 2008, 07:23 PM	#7 (permalink)
The_YongGrand Super Active Join Date: 12 Feb 2005 Location: Somewhere in 甲洞... Posts: 2,320 Reputation: 852 Rep Power: 14	I usually use this: Comodo firewall Avira AV Spywareblaster CCleaner And it's protected full-time, with the help of the hardware router as well! Also, there could be thumbdrive versions of those AV programs. If i'm not mistaken, AVG (grisoft) has this kind of stuff. __________________ Intel Core 2 Duo E7200, 2GB DDR2-667 RAM, Gigabyte 945GCMX-S2, Sapphire ATi Radeon HD4850 512MB DDR3 2nd pc under construction! Wolfdale baby!

28th Jun 2008, 10:25 AM	#3 (permalink)
Zenphic Active Join Date: 23 Apr 2006 Location: Quebec, Canada Posts: 961 Reputation: 331 Rep Power: 6	My friend does that as well. He doesn't get viruses though, but his system just gets terribly laggy. I could only find a portable version of ClamWin antivirus, and it isn't all that good: ClamWin Portable \| PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB drives Which antivirus did you install? You might want to install some real-time anti-spyware software as well next time. Those pesky spywares can get pass antivirus' and wreak havoc afterwards

28th Jun 2008, 12:48 PM	#6 (permalink)
mikegas I'm a regular Join Date: 7 May 2008 Posts: 348 Reputation: 206 Rep Power: 3	Ghost the whole fresh drive of the notebook. When get infected then just ghost back the drive .. taddaaa fresh meat again for infection ..

29th Jun 2008, 08:15 AM	#8 (permalink)
iModAMD Warming up Join Date: 14 Apr 2008 Location: Montréal,Québec,Canada Posts: 145 Reputation: 71 Rep Power: 1	I use AVAST who really kicks ass... an about the virus facts ... i noticed with times somes processors are more vulnerable than others... __________________ ---Stealth-Box--- Case: Antec Sonata 3 / Mobo: Gigabyte MA790FX-DQ6 / CPU : AMD ATHLON X2 6000+ w/t Zalman 9700 / GPU : ATI 4850 / Ram: (4X2GB) OCZ AM2 Optimised DDR2-667 / PSU: Antec EarthWatts 500W / HDDs:4X Western Digital 250GB 2500 AAKS SATA2 (RAID 0) / Mouse:Logitech MX1000 / Keyboard: Logitech G11 / Speakers: Altec Lansing Satelite 300.1 (2.1) + Creative CS 120 (2.0)

29th Jun 2008, 11:54 PM	#10 (permalink)
Mac Daddy Pickin' Da Gitfiddle Join Date: 19 Nov 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 2,048 Reputation: 802 Rep Power: 12	I use these two I never install an OS without them and both are freeware. Search And Destroy - Top AntiSpyware Software 2008 CWShredder - Defeat CoolWebSearch - Download CWShredder Free As for AV I have just been using the free Antivir AV/Firewall haven't had any issues here (Xoftspy is good to but its not free) __________________

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