This is a guide I'm writing that should help most Windows Users get the tools they need to detect, remove, and prevent infections from spyware and/or viruses. It will also provide tools to help you all secure your PC.

Likewise, Installing both Spybot & Ad-aware along with a virus scanner and a firewall will help make your PC very secure. However one of the biggest problems is with Internet Explorer itself. Switching to a new browser will GREATLY reduce your risk of being infected with Spyware or Viruses.


If you are trying to remove spyware/virus be sure to do it in SAFE MODE. Just hit F8 right before the Windows logo appears durring boot up.
If you are on Windows XP or ME you will need to disable system restore before you scan.

An Overview
What Is Spyware? - Spyware is a general term used for software that performs certain behaviors such as advertising, collecting personal information, or changing the configuration of your computer, generally without appropriately obtaining your consent. You might have spyware or other unwanted software on your computer if:
• You see pop-up advertisements even when you're not on the Web.
• The page your Web browser first opens to (your home page) or your browser search settings have changed without your knowledge.
• You notice a new toolbar in your browser that you didn't want, and find it difficult to get rid of.
• Your computer takes longer than usual to complete certain tasks.
• You experience a sudden rise in computer crashes.


What Is A Virus/Trojan - A program written with a malicious intent to cause a computer to be infected and change its behavior unexpectedly without the user's permission. A Virus can do many things which include but are not limited to: Deleting Files, Infecting Other Computers, and Allowing People to Access Your Computer. A Virus has similar symptoms to spyware including:
• Your computer takes longer than usual to complete certain tasks.
• You experience a sudden rise in computer crashes.




Detection, Removal

Spyware / Adware Removal Tools


The following programs will scan for and remove most types of Spyware/Adware. MSAS and SpySweeper usually have the best results.

(Public Beta) - Microsoft Windows Defender (Author Recommended) (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx) - Antispyware program for XP

(Trial) - Spy Sweeper (Author Recommended) (http://www.webroot.com/downloads/) - Antispyware program

(Free) - Spyware Doctor (http://www.download.com/1200-2018-5139934.html) - Antispyware Progarm

(Free) - Spybot Search & Destroy (http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022-10289035.html?tag=lst-0-3) - Antispyware Program

(Free) - Lavasoft Ad-aware (http://www.download.com/3000-8022-10045910.html) - Antispyware Program

(Free) - Hijack This (http://www.download.com/3000-8022-10227353.html) - Advanced Antispyware Tool


Virus Detection / Removal Tools

Both AVG NOD32 and Norton are excellent Anti-Virus tools.

(Free) - Kaspersky Personal Pro (Author Recommended) (http://www.kaspersky.com/) - Free Virus Scanner

(Free) - AVG Anti Virus (http://www.grisoft.com/) - Free Virus Scanner

(Trial) - NOD32 (http://www.nod32.com/) - Virus Scanner

(Trial) - Norton Antivirus (http://www.symantec.com/index.htm) Virus Scanner

(Trial) - Panda Seciruity Products (http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/) Virus Scanner

(Free) - Symantec Online Database (http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html) - *Online Virus Database + Removal Tools*
(Free) - Trend Micro Online Scan (http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_corp.asp) *Online Web Virus Scan*




Prevention

In this section I am going to go over a few of the ways you can protect your PC from being infected with Adware, Spyware, & Viruses.

The following are optional, but could make a huge difference on Spyware/Adware/Virus prevention


Change Your Browser - Microsoft Internet Explorere 6 is limited in features and sometimes security. Many people find the following browsers to be great alternatives. Using a browser such as Firefox instead of IE6 will also reduce your risk of getting a virus or spyware infection while surfing the web. Remeber though, the computer is only as smart as its operator:

(Free) - Mozilla Firefox (http://www.mozilla.org/) - A web browser that offers many features that are not found in IE6.

(Free) - Opera (http://www.opera.com/) - Another browser that offers many features not found in IE6.





Install a Firewall (not needed but may help) - Windows XP with SP2 by default has a average firewall, but if you feel the need monitor every aspect of your system and keep logs you can try some third party software. Zone Alarm & Sygate are great Free Firewalls. If paired with AVG Anti Virus & an Adware Scanner, you would have a secure PC without paying anything.


(Free) - Zone Alarm (http://www.zonelabs.com/) - Firewall Software
(Trial) - Kerio Personal Firewall 4 (http://www.kerio.com/) - Firewall Software
(Free) - Sygate Personal Firewall (http://smb.sygate.com/) - Firewall Software
(Trial) - Norton Personal Firewall (http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/npf/) - Firewall Sofware

Thanks Luna. Very helpful for those that are having problems. Fortunately, I have Spybot and Norton Firewall. But for some reason pop-ups are starting to come through and I haven't changed my settings. Hmmm...gotta go fix:rolleyes:

Thanks Luna. Very helpful for those that are having problems. Fortunately, I have Spybot and Norton Firewall. But for some reason pop-ups are starting to come through and I haven't changed my settings. Hmmm...gotta go fix:rolleyes:

If you are getting pop up's from your browser, then you can do three things. Get a 3rd party pop up remover, Switch to Firefox, or if you have XP you can upgrade to Servicepack 2 RC2 which will give a few big updates to IE, one of which is a built in pop up blocker that works wonders.

If they are just random pop up's, maybe other adware tools will detect it. I don't have very many listed on here as of yet. You should install Ad-aware as well, and do a scan with that.

By the way everyone, I would like to add more programs to this list, so if you know of any good ones, let me know.

I need:

Adware scanners
Anti-Virus Software
Web Browsers (anything more secure than IE)
Firewalls


Would prefer if they were Free, but commercial software is accepted as well.

So if you can help me out that would be great. :)

I use this online virus scanner from Trend Micro, which wasn't in your list. It's online and free. Thought it might be useful. It's solved quite a few problems for me.

http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_corp.asp

Added *Trend Micro Online Scan* to A/V

Remake of an old thread?

Hell, this is 12313562346 better then the first.

And now, people are going to field their questions in YOUR direction! Haha!

Yeah, nice job btw :p

Only other browser I would add is Opera.

One thing that I discovered recently about spywares, if they get installed via those annoying windows that you can select to always trust that source. You know, that little check box with the Yes and No buttons. They get installed in the windows\Downloaded Program Files folder also. Only problem is that if you selected to always trust that source, the spyware will always come back without asking. So after a cleanup with Adware and Spybot, check that folder out. If you right click on the item listed and select properties, you can see the CodeBase, usually a web adress, if you never heard of it and seems bad, delete it! Worse that can happen is that you'll get that windows poping up again, so this time click NO!! Remember that it only works with Internet Explorer, so if you use something else like FireFox or Opera, you'll forget about popups soon enough :)

Ok added opera.


As for spyware and those pop up boxes, you don't get those with Firefox. It blocks them for you.

If a plugin is needed (like flash or quicktime), it will display an icon on the page, and if you click it, it will tell you all about the plugin you need and what it really does, and where you can get it.

I use this online virus scanner from Trend Micro, which wasn't in your list. It's online and free. Thought it might be useful. It's solved quite a few problems for me.

http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_corp.asp


good choice! PC-cillin always catches the stuff that nortons doesn't... i would definately scan with this after you scan with any of the others

ok if i install the fire fox i will see the web as always or its gonna be diferent and some pages cant be open??

ok if i install the fire fox i will see the web as always or its gonna be diferent and some pages cant be open??

It depends on the website.

Things like MSN Broadband video will not work.


But, installing Firefox will not uninstall Internet Explorer. If I find a site that does not work in Firefox (which is very rare), then I just open up IE and load it in there.

Not to mention you need IE to do Windows Update

By the way everyone, I would like to add more programs to this list, so if you know of any good ones, let me know.

I need:

Adware scanners
Anti-Virus Software
Web Browsers (anything more secure than IE)
Firewalls


Would prefer if they were Free, but commercial software is accepted as well.

So if you can help me out that would be great. :)
Like I mentioned in another thread, Panda Antivirus Platinum 7 is a good security tool. It's better than McAfee and Norton, imo, because it has more options and stuff that you can set. Comes with a pretty good firewall too.
Windows users get a 90 day free trial of it, by clicking here (http://www.pandasoftware.com/microsoft/english.htm).

i recommend PeerGuardian. it's not the strongest program out there but it's been known to block things that have gotten past my other firewalls. particularly good for anyone using a P2P ( not that i encourage that sort of thing :p ) as it stops those cute little back-door connections. i've started to run it with Spybot S&D and a few other protective systems and i haven't had a problem since. it's free at www.methlabs.org

Added Panda Security Products.


Not sure about PeerGuardian. Could not find a download link, and it seems to just be an IP blocker.



On another note, Ad-Aware was updated to SE Personal Edition 1.02

One thing I can't recommend enough is to update your Windows OS.

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

Scan for updates and install any critical updates that it finds. The critical updates will patch any security holes that are recognized in Windows. You can also install any other non-critical updates that you think would affect you. You can pick and choose which ones to install.

I've downloaded Service Pack 2 but I'm not sure if its openly available to the public yet. I've heard of some that have installed it and it works fine, others have had it crash their systems.

One note, I use Mozilla Firefox and the Microsoft updates site requires using IE. Go figure. :)

I have servicepack 2, and it installed / works fine.


Also has a built in firewall that most users will enjoy ( I mean a real firewall )

I have servicepack 2, and it installed / works fine.


Also has a built in firewall that most users will enjoy ( I mean a real firewall )
Same here. Didn't change much for me though. I already have security software, and all this SP did was add security stuff. Pop-up blocker? Pfffft. It's too late for IE. A tiny little popup blocker isn't going to make me want to give up Firefox.

The firewall is still shite. It still doesn't let you open port ranges, just individual ports. So to open, for example, bit torrent ports 6889-6900, you would have to open them individually. Won't make me stop using my existing firewall. :|

This update is good for those who use IE, and have no firewall, but those people are usually too ignorant to bother checking Windows Update at all, so the chances of them actually downloading this service pack are remote. :/

I subscribe to both of these fine computer news sites:

The latest newsletter from PC Mag is about disinfecting your computer:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1626132,00.asp

Win XP News is at: www.winxpnews.com (http://www.winxpnews.com/)

And here's their latest:

http://www.winxpnews.com/?id=137

I save all these newsletters as I find their info very helpful and informative.

Andy:cool:

I use this adware removal program called ad-aware...it's really easy

Same here. Didn't change much for me though. I already have security software, and all this SP did was add security stuff. Pop-up blocker? Pfffft. It's too late for IE. A tiny little popup blocker isn't going to make me want to give up Firefox.

The firewall is still shite. It still doesn't let you open port ranges, just individual ports. So to open, for example, bit torrent ports 6889-6900, you would have to open them individually. Won't make me stop using my existing firewall. :|

This update is good for those who use IE, and have no firewall, but those people are usually too ignorant to bother checking Windows Update at all, so the chances of them actually downloading this service pack are remote. :/

Well it blocks just as well as other firewalls. For people who can't afford / don't want to install anything, it will work just fine.

I have not had to unblock any ports with this firewall to get bittorent to work all the way. All I do is allow the BT application access and the firewall opens up all the ports the program may need. As far as my client, I use the latest version of bittornado which uses ports 10,000 - 60,000. I do however have to forward them through my router.

oh wow i have never heard of hijack-this, but im going to look into it. i have the lop.com spyware thing and NOTHING has gotten rid of it. its very annoying---tons of pop ups, adds sponsers links to my favorites and desktop, adds its own blue toolbar, hijacks the homepage constantly, etc. i have the lava soft one and the spybot one, but neither has totoally gotten rid of it, they just help the problem for a limited amount of time, but then the blue toolbar pops up again and the problems start. i am definetly checking out hijack this. thanks!

oh wow i have never heard of hijack-this, but im going to look into it. i have the lop.com spyware thing and NOTHING has gotten rid of it. its very annoying---tons of pop ups, adds sponsers links to my favorites and desktop, adds its own blue toolbar, hijacks the homepage constantly, etc. i have the lava soft one and the spybot one, but neither has totoally gotten rid of it, they just help the problem for a limited amount of time, but then the blue toolbar pops up again and the problems start. i am definetly checking out hijack this. thanks!
I don't know if this will help the LOP, but I found these:

http://seeberfamily.org/Family/freeware/

http://www.free-web-browsers.com/remove-lop.shtml

Andy

oh wow i have never heard of hijack-this, but im going to look into it. i have the lop.com spyware thing and NOTHING has gotten rid of it. its very annoying---tons of pop ups, adds sponsers links to my favorites and desktop, adds its own blue toolbar, hijacks the homepage constantly, etc. i have the lava soft one and the spybot one, but neither has totoally gotten rid of it, they just help the problem for a limited amount of time, but then the blue toolbar pops up again and the problems start. i am definetly checking out hijack this. thanks!

It might be able to remove it, but you have to know how to use the program. It's fairly advanced and can damage your computer if you delete the wrong files / registry keys.

If you know what to delete though it should be able to get rid of it.

i have a question concerning spybot search and destroy.

it works fine for me but it doesnt seem to be getting rid of a certain file, even though its saying it has. it finds it and i fix the problem but if i do another scan afterwards it finds the same file again. the file is called DSO exploit, and i was just wondering why spybot isnt getting rid of it, and is it potentially harmful to my system?

and btw thanks a lot for posting all that Luna. i know it will come in handy.

i have a question concerning spybot search and destroy.

it works fine for me but it doesnt seem to be getting rid of a certain file, even though its saying it has. it finds it and i fix the problem but if i do another scan afterwards it finds the same file again. the file is called DSO exploit, and i was just wondering why spybot isnt getting rid of it, and is it potentially harmful to my system?

and btw thanks a lot for posting all that Luna. i know it will come in handy.

It's part of Windows, and I dont' really see it as a risk. I can't get rid of it either. Ad-aware does not even detect it as a threat.

Safe to ignore if you ask me.

It's part of Windows, and I dont' really see it as a risk. I can't get rid of it either. Ad-aware does not even detect it as a threat.

Safe to ignore if you ask me.
ok, thanks for clearing that up for me. i was pretty iffy about it, but i guess its nothing to be worried about. :)

I have lavasoft adaware, and it found some stuff, but it just keeps coming back! and there is this one file, i try to delete it, but it says its in use. i tryed to delete explorer.exe and run it again and all that, but it still doesnt reset it. is there any hope, or do I just have to back up, reload, and start off with a clean slate again?

my comp has been running slow, and my internet takes forever! i have a 3000k connection, and norton and lavasoft, so whats the deal?
thanks.

I have lavasoft adaware, and it found some stuff, but it just keeps coming back! and there is this one file, i try to delete it, but it says its in use. i tryed to delete explorer.exe and run it again and all that, but it still doesnt reset it. is there any hope, or do I just have to back up, reload, and start off with a clean slate again?

my comp has been running slow, and my internet takes forever! i have a 3000k connection, and norton and lavasoft, so whats the deal?
thanks.
If you back up your files first its best sometimes just to re-format and re-install. Make sure you do all the Updates when you get online.

I have lavasoft adaware, and it found some stuff, but it just keeps coming back! and there is this one file, i try to delete it, but it says its in use. i tryed to delete explorer.exe and run it again and all that, but it still doesnt reset it. is there any hope, or do I just have to back up, reload, and start off with a clean slate again?

my comp has been running slow, and my internet takes forever! i have a 3000k connection, and norton and lavasoft, so whats the deal?
thanks.

Give spybot a trry, and if that fails (and you don't want to use Hijack This), then a reinstall might be the best option.

And please read the first post in thread, that is where I listed out all the Adware / Virus removal programs.

Give spybot a trry, and if that fails (and you don't want to use Hijack This), then a reinstall might be the best option.

And please read the first post in thread, that is where I listed out all the Adware / Virus removal programs.


Thanks. I read that, and was looking through them. When I try to delete the file, it says it is in use though.. =/

Thanks. I read that, and was looking through them. When I try to delete it says it is in use though.. =/

Try going into safe mode (restart, and hit F4 right before the windows boot screen comes up).

After that try doing a scan / removal.

Ok thanks..
I finally got the file deleted.. now i'll do a system scan again.. and try to get rid of them for good..

if that is possible.. i get new ones every day.

edit- w00t! 60,000 files, and 0 files found.
my internet is running faster now, i deleted all my cookies, so.. heh

thanks for the help, i'll come back here if i have another problem..

check this post:
http://www.evboard.com/showpost.php?p=511803&postcount=22 (http://www.evboard.com/showpost.php?p=511803&postcount=22)

Dump AOL, you surf through their proxy servers and they suck. Turn on your XP firewall or use Zone Alarm, don't do both, it will bog. Do Windows Updates. Get a virus checker. Lose the Kazaa, Morpheus and the Limeware. Quit installing wacky IM add-ons and smiley email dress-ups that are malware. Reject email jokes that are executables.

This is the best however:
Back up your files then re-format your HD and re-install.
BINGO! a new computer for you to abuse and neglect all over again! ;)

Andy

Thank you so much Luna, this was all very helpful. :) I've been having trouble with spyware and adware recently, and Ad-aware just didn't do it. I have lots of new stuff to check out now! :D I just got a laptop and I've been extremely careful with it - I don't want it going to crap like this desktop computer. :\

I'm more pissed than a one legged man at a hopscotch tourniment.

We just got a new computer (a dell) and it appears to have motherfucking adware on it already, before we even connected it to the internet. We got popups, without ever connecting to the internet, saying that we had spyware on our computer.

When we transferred our DSL connection to the new computer and downloaded spybot S&D as well as Adaware, it still resets our homepage to some MS search page. Every fucking time I reset the homepage, and then close and reopen IExplorer it comes up as this MS search page, not our homepage. I am getting really pissed off at this computer. It was supposed to be better than our old piece of shit, and it has more problems than the other one.

We have a Norton AV as well as spybot and adaware, and it still fucking resets the homepage everytime we log on. This new computer sucks. At least with the old (ancient) E-machine it kept our homepage settings, and I was able to eliminate pop-ups and ads with Spybot and adaware. It's not working with the new computer at all and like I said It seems to have come with popup ads installed on it. I'm going to call those fuckers at Dell tomorrow and give them a bunch of shit about this.

FUCK ADWARE and SPYWARE. Whoever invented it should be drug out in the street and shot!

Nice work on this thread! :D

May I also suggest SpywareBlaster by JavaCools...you can either search for it in Google or get the link to download it from the Immunize page of Spybot Search and Destroy. SpywareBlaster is for IE protection and it also gives you control on ActiveX protection...but remember to check for updates as soon as you download!

Equinox_

Yes, it was quite helpful... We've had all the internet off here in our flat for the last 15 days more or less... We don't know yet if it was one of this virus or what it was... but I think that they are giving us more bandwith for free these days, maybe that's the reason that it doesn't work very well... :rolleyes:

Added a tidbit on Safemode

Luna you're amazing!!!!!!!

Yahoo! recently created a spyware type thingy- personal experience on my XP machines says it is better than SpyBot-

www.adware-spyware.net (http://www.adware-spyware.net/)

deb

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but McAfee (http://www.mcafee.com/us/) works really well. It's a bit pricey, but its worth it. I had like all these viruses and trojans on my computer and it got rid of all of them :) It also tells you if something that could be unsafe is trying to get into your computer and asks you if you want it removed or if its safe...

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but McAfee (http://www.mcafee.com/us/) works really well. It's a bit pricey, but its worth it. I had like all these viruses and trojans on my computer and it got rid of all of them :) It also tells you if something that could be unsafe is trying to get into your computer and asks you if you want it removed or if its safe...

Sorry, but the minimum age you have to be to join EVboard is 13 y.o.

We have Zone Alarm, and Symantic antivirus but we still got a really bad virus, and screwed our comp up royally :( We had to buy a new hard drive. What should I use now?

Get Norton 2005

Get Norton 2005

Yeah Norton is ton's better than Symantec. *ducks*

Yeah Norton is ton's better than Symantec. *ducks*

Well I'm assuming they have NAV 2004

:p

and to avoid getting viruses, actually UPDATE the virsus definitions occasionally! i do it once a day. becuase the virus scanner doesn't actually work without the latest definitions, well not effectively anyway...

Update


Added "Giant AntiSpyware"

it's actually been shown to work better than Adware and Spybot Combined.

There's a little typo in the adress of Giant Anitspyware. You put 2 http at the begining.

I tried it, it did find a few things that Adware and Spybot didn't find. It considered the whole Flashget folder has spyware just because Flashget contains spywares. The spyware aren't there with Flashget so it's useless for it to ask to quarantine it. So I'm thinking that if you have kazaa installed, it will probably try to quarantine it also. Really stupid way to scan and see spywares.

The only other files that it found were cookies that spybot sees. So I don't intend to use it anymore. It didn't bring anything new to me, and it just wants to run in the background all the time.

That's what makes it better than most others.

By running in the background it prevents spyware from installing itself on your computer instead of you removing it after it later.

It's not really for people who know how to avoid spyware, but more for the "I don't know what I'm doing" crowd.


Not to mention it will find a few things the others won't.

I keep getting "BullsEye nettwork offer" pop ups all the time....ARGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta), has anyone had a look at this one yet? It's fairly new...

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/about.mspx

It's not really their product, they bought a company called Giant Anti Spyware, and then removed the Giant logo and put Microsoft.

Anyway, it's an ok program.

Under the "Prevention" topic, how about putting something about email attachments, since that's the most common way to get viruses?

Yea, I should update this thread.

I just need to wake up first. Time for some starbucks.

Added two new spyware products, and added some information.

Edit:

Fixed coing problem that caused it to display incorrectly in IE.

Hey Luna I think you should add Spyware Doctor to that list.
It's really cool and has solved quite a few issues for me. :)

Here's the link (http://www.download.com/1200-2018-5139934.html) to download it.

Hope it helps. :D

Added Spyware Doctor

I need some help! I have this really shitty spyware file that's like impossible to get rid of. It's called Aurora, and I've tried getting rid of it using Ad-aware, Spybot, and anything else I can think of. The problem is that it keeps coming back no matter what I do. Any suggestions and/or solutions would be greatly appreciated.

You need to disable System Restore before you remove it.

To do this in Windows XP, right click on My Computer and go to properties. Navigate to the System Restore tab and turn it off. Hit ok and let it remove the restore files.

Once this is turned off run a full spyware scan ( I would use Microsoft Antispyware or Spysweeper ) and remove it. Restart the system and give it one more scan.

For best results you should run the scans in safe mode. See the first page on how to do this.

I think everyone we help should give 1 buck to ToB's PayPal.

Andddddd beer for me and Luna.

Not sure if anyones tried it but NOD32 is a top antivirus program. 100% detection rate but its only downfall is it can be hard to configure if you dont know what your doing..

The spyware preventers i use are adaware by lavasoft and spybot search and destroy.. They can be used in conjunction with each other to remove most common threats..

Another good option is to have a program like spywareguard which can stop spyware from installing itself.

Theres also a program called winpatrol that monitors your system and tells you if anything changes in your registry..

Also if you want to be really protective you could use processguard which also monitors your system.

You can find all these on www.download.com (some are only trials while others are freeware)

Added NOD32 plus some other junk

No AV is 100% though.

That was.. You know that magazine that tests them.. is it virus bulletin or something.. And it does tend to do its job

http://www.virusbtn.com/news/index.xml

It may be good but no AV program is 100%.

If a new type of virus comes out, if it does not have the definitions for it, it's possible it can slip on through. 99% is a better est. I've seen a few other tests showing NOD32 as on of the top 3 but not the best.



I took out descriptions to help clean it up, main post should now be a lot easier on the eyes.

I took out descriptions to help clean it up, main post should now be a lot easier on the eyes.

Thats good. Ive also heard alot of people recommend pc cillin but it never runs well with my laptop

This may give you a better idea of detection rates, I don't know if I could trust anything that gave an AV program 100%. It's not possible.

http://www.virus.gr/english/fullxml/default.asp?id=69&mnu=69

That looks more realistic doesnt it..

I had kaspersky on but then my internet wudnt work at all :confused:

Nice guide you got there, Luna. I'm a little surprised that no-one has mentioned Avast! anti-virus (http://www.avast.com/). It's one of the best free AV programs out there (there is also a pro version available, but isn't free). The detections are updated sometimes 2 times per day. I have been using it for a long time now and I can say it's a really good product.

Although it's ranked 21st in that list, it's still a good option.

I rather think AOL explorer's pretty good, I like to use it better than other, and minimum problems with it too.

Ah. I've got one question. I heard there used to be a lot of Spybot/Adaware installers which were total shite, and all they did was install more viruses on your computer. Is this true?

Well I've never tried any "shitty" ones so I can't say for sure but I wouldn't be surprise if some people took the time to make small programs that are suppose to get rid of spywares but installs crap instead.

Is it possible for a router or modem to have a virus? i connected my router and modem to my computer after it got reformatted and came up with a virus then i put the router and modem on my sisters computer and the same virus came up instantly. If there is a virus in the modem or router is there a way of fixing it? Thanks

What virus is it? The only ones that I can think of that can attack a PC right away would be the Sasser and the other one that is similar to Sasser. They'll infect any PC that is connected to the web and isn't patched yet.

I'm patched :) I think it's my Norton. Without it, I'd have many nasty viruses. Alcra.B seems to love my computer, too.

First off, Windows has a tendency to degrade its self in a timeframe of 6-12 months. Every time you move, copy, or delete a file, it leaves short cuts all over the place that the system can't seem to help but try to find these files without you even knowing it. Thus helping to "bogg" down your performance. Me Personally, I reinstall windows every 6-12 months. (especially if I have been installing and uninstalling a lot of programs)

Norton System works, will help you clean your registry, Defrag your harddrive correctly, if you have professional it will include ghost for backups.

System restore is garbage, but you can't turn it off because it will throw a fit. I would recommend setting it to 1%. If your serious about saving your data, invest the money in somthing like Norton Ghost. Store this image of your Harddrive on a DVD or another drive if possible.

Now, I used to Use Internet Explorer. But I also had to use Norton Anti-Virus, lavasoft Ad-Aware, and Panicware Pop-up Stopper. This is how I kept my computer clean.(this was also really really annoying.)

For the Last 4 months I have been using Mozzilla FireFox 1.5. Since then I haven't had to use my pop-up stopper, Ad-Aware, and NAV hasn't told me that anything is trying to attack my system.

I would have to say that about 98% of all Viruses, Spyware, Worms, and Tojan Horses are desigined for MS Windows Internet Explorer. Thus explaining why NAV as kept quiet.

I'm going to leave everybody with some good browsing tips. Stay away from filesharing sites, and Porn Sites because this is where the majority of these little bastards are hiding.

Before you close your browser, go to a general search site IE: Yahoo, MSN, Google. Clear your Tempory Internet Files, Cookies, and history. Some malicious files will remain dormant in your caches, untill a later date. Cookies are good if they are used correctly. (this site uses them to help your browser remember where you are in your journey) but other sites can use them to track how, where, when, what, and why you were online. This is why I clear my cookies.

Having multiple protection programs running in the back ground will noticably slow your computer because they are scanning every single file passing through. IE, NAV, McAfee, Ad-Aware, and so forth. (this pulls from your processor power)

Do the simple thing. Make sure Windows is updated, Use FireFox, and keep a Anti-Virus Handy for scanning files comming across the network, and email.



Comments, Good or Bad. let me know.

I would have to say that about 98% of all Viruses, Spyware, Worms, and Tojan Horses are desigined for MS Windows Internet Explorer. Thus explaining why NAV as kept quiet.

That's bullshit. Most of the times you get a virus from actually DOWNLOADING a file, not just browsing a website. You'll still get the virus on Firefox, Netscape or whatever else browser you're using from the same file. Virus don't suddenly appear on your PC because you went on a website. It's a little more true for spywares because of those annoying windows asking you to install stuff on IE. Just learn to say NO once in a while.

I'm going to leave everybody with some good browsing tips. Stay away from filesharing sites, and Porn Sites because this is where the majority of these little bastards are hiding.

Weird I visit both of these types of site and never got a virus from them. But since you think that just browsing a site get you viruses, I can understand why you blame those type of sites. Use your head when you go online and you won't get any viruses. Don't click on everything and when asked to download a file ask yourself this: "Did I ask to download this file?". If the answer is no, then don't download it.

So much red in your post :rolleyes:

That's bullshit. Most of the times you get a virus from actually DOWNLOADING a file, not just browsing a website.

whats that thing called?? oh yea, Temporary Internet Files. Isn't that where your computer DOWNLOADS webpages for cacheing?

hmmm....interesting.

I won't use red no more. But thanks for your input.

First off, Windows has a tendency to degrade its self in a timeframe of 6-12 months.
Sorry but wrong. Windows does suffer from dll rot which occurs when you install a program that uses a different version of a dll you already have on your system. The new program often installs the dll without even checking to see if the dll already exists on your system, and without checking that if it does exist if the version it is installing newer or older than it. So what happens is the new programs downgrade the dll causing possible incompatabilities with other apps that require the newer version. But this happens from installing additional software.

The other thing that will cause worse performance as time goes on is disk fragmentation which NTFS (what Win2K & XP use) is much better than FAT was but it's not as good as it could be. The thing that causes disk fragmentation is creating, moving and deleting files, the more and the larger the worse fragmentation will be. But this is not something that just happens automagically as windows ages.

If you do a clean install of windows (and it's in no way compromised by worms, viruses, trojans, malware) and leave it sit untouched for 5 years it would be just as snappy as the day you install it.

Every time you move, copy, or delete a file, it leaves short cuts all over the place that the system can't seem to help but try to find these files without you even knowing it. Thus helping to "bogg" down your performance.
Huh? Like I said fragmentation is a problem but I'm not sure I'd describe that as leaving shortcuts all over the place unless you're taling about the actual addresses to the file fragments itself but in that case it's not a shortcut to the file but the address of the next segment of the file when it's non contiguous.

Me Personally, I reinstall windows every 6-12 months. (especially if I have been installing and uninstalling a lot of programs)
When I used windows I reinstalled at least once a year and sometimes more often, but then again I'm the type of person that usually was installing and uninstalling a bunch of software and it was fighting the dll rot that I mentioned above.

Norton System works, will help you clean your registry, Defrag your harddrive correctly, if you have professional it will include ghost for backups.
And Norton is also infamous for burning CPU cycles at least with earlier versions. It used to at least do silly things like if you had a monitor set up to run once a day to see if the drive was too fragmented it would check every 30 seconds to see if it had been a day yet. Add additional monitors and it just got outright ridiculous to have it running all the time because of all the hits checking to see if it was time to run something that was only supposed to be run infrequently. Regmon and filemon from www.sysinternals.com did a very good job of illumnating the problem, at least it did back when I last ran Norton, which was probably on WinNT 4.

System restore is garbage, but you can't turn it off because it will throw a fit. I would recommend setting it to 1%.
I'd hardly call it garbage, but yes by the time you add things like System Restore, Temporary Internet Files, and the Recycle Bin together you can find that a great deal of your disk is being tied up storing things that you probably don't need anymore.

If your serious about saving your data, invest the money in somthing like Norton Ghost. Store this image of your Harddrive on a DVD or another drive if possible.
System Restore has nothing to do with saving data, it protects key system executables and dlls. Ghost is great for what it is, a means to make an image of an entire drive, but doing so is prohibitively time consuming. Because of the time it takes to image the drive most users wont do it regularly which makes it worthless if you're using it as your sole means of keeping your system backed up. To be honest a good strategy would be using Ghost to make an intial image and periodic (perhaps quarterly) backups to provide a restore point in case of a catastrophic failure. Then use System Restore to create checkpoints before you install any software so that you can roll them back out if they hose any other apps. Then for data keeps things segregated into at minimum a separate data directory, possibly even hosted on another drive, that is regularly backed up which can be done with your favorited CD writing software (or evein the windows built-in).

Now, I used to Use Internet Explorer. But I also had to use Norton Anti-Virus, lavasoft Ad-Aware, and Panicware Pop-up Stopper. This is how I kept my computer clean.(this was also really really annoying.)

For the Last 4 months I have been using Mozzilla FireFox 1.5. Since then I haven't had to use my pop-up stopper, Ad-Aware, and NAV hasn't told me that anything is trying to attack my system.

I would have to say that about 98% of all Viruses, Spyware, Worms, and Tojan Horses are desigined for MS Windows Internet Explorer. Thus explaining why NAV as kept quiet.
Sorry gain, but while there are lots of viruses that use IE exploits there are also those that use IM programs, e-mail, holes in windows default services and other things to propogate themselves. Virus scan and a firewall are pretty much bare minimums these days, anti-spiware/malware scanners are still a good idea for all users regardless of what browser they use.

I'm going to leave everybody with some good browsing tips. Stay away from filesharing sites, and Porn Sites because this is where the majority of these little bastards are hiding.

Before you close your browser, go to a general search site IE: Yahoo, MSN, Google. Clear your Tempory Internet Files, Cookies, and history. Some malicious files will remain dormant in your caches, untill a later date. Cookies are good if they are used correctly. (this site uses them to help your browser remember where you are in your journey) but other sites can use them to track how, where, when, what, and why you were online. This is why I clear my cookies.

Having multiple protection programs running in the back ground will noticably slow your computer because they are scanning every single file passing through. IE, NAV, McAfee, Ad-Aware, and so forth. (this pulls from your processor power)
IE is not a background program
NAV and McAfree (anti-virus I assume you mean) do the same thing and you should never run two real-time virus scanners at the same time.
Ad-Aware while I believe there is a real-time component to it, is not a real-time scanning program in it's free version.

The two things every user should have running are anti-virus and a firewall. One scans files, the other watches tcp requests, they don't monitor the same things and as such don't step on one anothers toes. Apps that you run periodically (Ad-Aware, Spybot) don't suck up any processor power just by having them on disk and not running.

Do the simple thing. Make sure Windows is updated, Use FireFox, and keep a Anti-Virus Handy for scanning files comming across the network, and email.

A few things to add would be a firewall (or at least make sure you're behind a NAT router) and just some comments about safe browsing/computer use. Be suspicious of any exe that is not downloaded directly from a reputable site (preferrably the programs publisher). No you're not going to see Anna Kournikova naked, you're just going to infect your machine. How you browse is a bigger factor than what you browse.

whats that thing called?? oh yea, Temporary Internet Files. Isn't that where your computer DOWNLOADS webpages for cacheing?

hmmm....interesting.

I won't use red no more. But thanks for your input.

You've seen a lot of html, jpeg, and gif files containing viruses? I haven't.

Sorry I'm a little rusty on my windows. I've been spending 12 hours a day digging through Unix.

but hey, lets keep up the good work.

Hey, I thought best not to start a new thread. But, with my internet package I get PC Duard free for like a month. But Ive been having problems with it and it's always "Not Responding" and stuff. So I aint installed it again. But my computer keeps saying I have virus threats or something and things like that but I don't know what to do. I have Ad-Adwar personal which is good but nmothign for viruses. Any suggestions? I don't want my comp breaking, yet again.
Also, I keep getting this coming up (see attachment) and I don't know how to get rid of it......

Well the first post contains a few links to anti virus programs. A few of them a free too. Give AVG a try and see if it finds anything.

I find it weird that you get a warning like that in safe mode. It mentions getting a antimalware program and not an anti virus one. Scan your PC for viruses and see if you still get that message. If you do we'll look at something else.

Hey, I thought best not to start a new thread. But, with my internet package I get PC Duard free for like a month. But Ive been having problems with it and it's always "Not Responding" and stuff. So I aint installed it again. But my computer keeps saying I have virus threats or something and things like that but I don't know what to do. I have Ad-Adwar personal which is good but nmothign for viruses. Any suggestions? I don't want my comp breaking, yet again.
Also, I keep getting this coming up (see attachment) and I don't know how to get rid of it......
That's pretty much BS. Has the typical look of adware.
Run AdAware and SpyBot and see what gets cleaned out. (just google them, easy to find)
And if you have a legal version of Windows XP installed on your computer,
go get the new Windows Defender Beta 2, install it and run it.
You can't have too many safeguards for spyware! That crap will eat up your computer!!!

I've done scans with both AdAware and Spybot and removed the things it came up with or whatever, but that things still keeps coming up.....

Both programs were updated before you scanned with them? You've done a virus scan too?

If you've done all this one thing we can do is check out a log from HijackThis. Get the program here: http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/ Then follow this instructions:

When you install Hijackthis, put it in e.g. C:\Program Files\HJT, NOT in Temp and NOT on your Desktop!
Otherwise HJT can NOT make backups of the 'fixes', in case you want to UNDO a fix!

Run Hijackthis.
Click on Do a system scan and save a logfile.
This will open a file hijackthis.log in Notepad (or some other text-editor).
Click on File, then on Save As ..., change the filename from hijackthis.log into hijackthis.txt, and click Save.

Then post again and add that log has an attachement to your post. If you can just post what's in the log in your post. We might be able to find the source of your problem that way.

I have updated all the ones I can and scanned and removed everything it came up with. AVG detected 2 viruses and I clicked "Heal" for them cause I didnt know whether to do that or the Vault thing. Anyways yeah, the attatched things are what my computer has come up with recently. The worm thing just now, is this real or fake and how do I get rid of it :S I'm going to do the HiJack thing in a mo. I really need to buy somehting I think...

You don't have to buy anything if you use the free programs listed on the first page. Those programs are all good even if they are free.

On a lot of them I can't find where to get the proper one that you don't have to pay for. I keep getting pop up - type things all different saying certain viruses have infected me. Ive never had them before. Im going to do the log thing. But it automatically saves to my desktop....

It's hard to believe there are people out there who make viruses only for antivirus companies to profit from it...

It's hard to believe there are people out there who make viruses only for antivirus companies to profit from it...
Are there? Are there actually proofs for it? I wouldn't know but it sounds logical.

I was having bad experiences with anti-virus programs, I bought cheep Panda
and i then found out i was better off. I couldn't come on Internet because Panda blocks it and it did damage on computer so i should format hd and install windows again.sooo iritatting. and then it f***** me up again. I think it was because i had Zone Alarm Firewall. So Panda, back off. I now use Norton which is the best i think, never had problems and viruses with Norton running. Though i dont pay for it i have pirat copy so i need to reintall it once a year.

If you really want to get rid off viruses, spyware etc. the linux is best solution but i wouldn't suggest to try it if your not experienced with computers.
I use it as backup system, if something f**** up on windows i shift to linux on the same machine. great. and so i haven't had problems for a long now.

Wao E.v.a.n.e.s.c.e.d, 3,204.39 points! way to go, way to go.
You rule!
:)

The richest user is Scratchy, with 9,791.42 points. Check out the vbPlaza link for the richest users.

Yeah, it's logical. Someone HAS to make the viruses. Yeah, most viruses were targetted for Windows, and not other OS's like Mac or Unix. But there has been a rise in Mac OSX viruses now that it's getting popular.

I agree, Norton is kickass. Just don't tell everyone you pirated it man. That's bad discussion.

The richest user is Scratchy, with 9,791.42 points. Check out the vbPlaza link for the richest users.

Yeah, it's logical. Someone HAS to make the viruses. Yeah, most viruses were targetted for Windows, and not other OS's like Mac or Unix. But there has been a rise in Mac OSX viruses now that it's getting popular.

I agree, Norton is kickass. Just don't tell everyone you pirated it man. That's bad discussion.
god damn! 9,791 point 42. how do they do that? :eek:
so you no rule...but you're still there way after us amatours!:)
Thanks for vbPlaza, i'll check it out.

Yea, that's triggy. If Linux gets popular, someone's gonna crash it.
So good, it's way through the jungle.

Thanks for advise on Norton.;)

I have updated all the ones I can and scanned and removed everything it came up with. AVG detected 2 viruses and I clicked "Heal" for them cause I didnt know whether to do that or the Vault thing. Anyways yeah, the attatched things are what my computer has come up with recently. The worm thing just now, is this real or fake and how do I get rid of it :S I'm going to do the HiJack thing in a mo. I really need to buy somehting I think...
Did you run your programs in safe mode? Cause if you didn't then that's why you keep getting those nasty popups.
The Vault manages the viruses and don't let them ruin your system. Personally when I had a virus I always deleted them.

AVG, Ad-Aware and Spybot are fantastic programs. You should be able to remove all the spyware and viruses. And make sure you do all the scans in safe mode! ;)

Should we always run our spyware removers and antivirus checks in safe mode?

Should we always run our spyware removers and antivirus checks in safe mode?
You only need to run them in safe mode if you're trying to remove something you can't otherwise remove. You could always run them in safe mode but it doesn't gain you anything if there nothing to remove and only adds to the hassle of running scans which in turn will make you less likely to run them.

Should we always run our spyware removers and antivirus checks in safe mode?

not neccessarily. The reason to do this is simple.
Most Spyware/Trojans etc. start with the system (in this case: windows) and as most of you might know: a file cannot be deleted when it's being used.
With safe mode windows only loads the really neccessary things and nothing else. That's why it might help in some cases.

I would recommend a programm called Hitman Pro ( http://www.hitmanpro.nl/ ) which combines the most popular spy/ad-ware removers. There's only one shareware wich just stops functioning if you don't buy it. So no worries, you won't have to pay for anything.
The good thing is that there are loads of antispyware programs out there but everyone is sorta special. Meaning that you might need a different program for a different type of spyware.
Of course these things aren't meant for antivirus-purposes but to me the definition of what is a virus and what is spyware is not really clear, so it might help.
Another nice thing about hitman pro is that it does everything for you. All you have to take care of is "Start" and "Stop" (once it's completely installed).
On the other hand, you might not wanna use your computer during that time, as hitman frequently takes control of the mouse and keyboard (just to set the right settings for the scans of course!).
So let hitman run, make sure it gets all programs and updates and then enjoy your free time with uhm.....the "Anywhere But Home" DVD?

Ahahaha..Thanks for the info BlackDemon! Yes, I have Anywhere But Home on my iPod, or I could just let it run over night, no? Rep points given. ^_^

Ahahaha..Thanks for the info BlackDemon! Yes, I have Anywhere But Home on my iPod, or I could just let it run over night, no? Rep points given. ^_^

In Theory you could do just about that.
But from what I've experienced is that in some cases it might be wise to check the status of things.
The most important thing is to check whether the installation is doing fine. Once hitman is fully set up you can expect the program to run by itself.
But only if there is spy/adware that can be removed directly. Spybot for example sometimes finds spyware that is running at the time of the scan. This would be a good example for the safe-mode startup. However, Spybot has a nice feature that lets you reboot into the normal windows but it (Spybot) will start before the system itself and can thus remove all sorts of stuff.
That's why I like (and recommend) to let the program run when I am around to check every hour or so. It would be a waste to let the computer run all night (except when using p2p or folding@home etc. at the same time) and find out the next morning that it stopped after 10 minutes, because it needed user-input like granting the program to restart the system.

P.S.: Thx for the rep, though I haven't really figured out what it's all about. And to be honest, I'll be probably leaving to board after I'm through with my SoundAsleep EP-issue. So I'll make sure to find out how to return those points before then.

P.P.S.: sorry for the late reply or any double-post. The forum seemed to have some problems yesterday so browsing was almost impossible and posting indeed was impossible as it seems (I stopped after 2 tries).

In Theory you could do just about that.
But from what I've experienced is that in some cases it might be wise to check the status of things.
The most important thing is to check whether the installation is doing fine. Once hitman is fully set up you can expect the program to run by itself.
But only if there is spy/adware that can be removed directly. Spybot for example sometimes finds spyware that is running at the time of the scan. This would be a good example for the safe-mode startup. However, Spybot has a nice feature that lets you reboot into the normal windows but it (Spybot) will start before the system itself and can thus remove all sorts of stuff.
That's why I like (and recommend) to let the program run when I am around to check every hour or so. It would be a waste to let the computer run all night (except when using p2p or folding@home etc. at the same time) and find out the next morning that it stopped after 10 minutes, because it needed user-input like granting the program to restart the system.

P.S.: Thx for the rep, though I haven't really figured out what it's all about. And to be honest, I'll be probably leaving to board after I'm through with my SoundAsleep EP-issue. So I'll make sure to find out how to return those points before then.

P.P.S.: sorry for the late reply or any double-post. The forum seemed to have some problems yesterday so browsing was almost impossible and posting indeed was impossible as it seems (I stopped after 2 tries).
Yes, I've witnessed the Spybot restart scan. It's veery helpful.

Leaving? Sound Asleep EP Issue? You should stick around. =)

Yes, I've witnessed the Spybot restart scan. It's veery helpful.

Leaving? Sound Asleep EP Issue? You should stick around. =)

I hope that all those neat little antispyware-helpers (or hitman) could do the trick for you. If not and you can bare with it, then it would probably be best to format and reinstall windows and after setting up the hardware, make sure to get any security related things before anything else (Firewall, Antivirus, Antispyware). This is for the worst-case-scenario, but a solution sure to work if the system is full of nasty stuff.

I'm a bit too lazy at the moment to go through all of this thread (please forgive me), so I hope this hasn't been said before. I'll otherwise edit this by the weekend.
Anyways: There's a nice windows administration tool. It's great for what it does, but people who don't know what exactly happens there should rather not touch it. I don't want to be responsible for any problems being caused by this.

"Start" -> "run" -> enter: "msconfig" (without quotation-marks) -> hit enter

Now here should be an entry called startup or something similar (sorry, mine is all german). There you will see a list of all programs starting with windows. If you figure out that something is fishy, you can uncheck that entry and reboot. You'll always have the option to check it again, so as far as I'm concerned, there can be no damage done. Still I'd recommend to stick to your local geek/nerd/freak and have him (or her!) do the job for you. If you're interested, let them explain, but it's always good to have some experienced person around, especially in person and not just over some messenger or forum. Still it's impossible (and a great feeling) to solve things by yourself.
I started of by doing just the same. Learning from experience and teaching yourself is the best thing to do.

Uhm. Another thing. If you happen to find out what exactly infected your system it's always a good idea to google for it. In some cases Symantec (The guys who make Norton stuff) for example offers very small removers specifically for that virus/worm/spyware...


I don't want this to become too much off-topic (if any at all... ).
The issue I'm talking about can be found here: Click Me! (http://www.evboard.com/showthread.php?t=32026)

Explanation would take too long and I don't feel like doing it. So I'll just do what I always do in these situations (quoting Evanescence) :

~ Oh solitude, still with me is only you. ~
~ Solitude, forever me and forever you. ~

What the hell is this TITANSHIELD bullshit?

It has mutiple popup ads that tell me that I have a virus and or spyware on my computer.

When I double click internet explorer, it pops up the ANTISPYWAREBOX web page as my homepage and it wants me to purchase their product. When I hit properties and change my home page back to MSN, it defaults back to ANTISPYWAREBOX.

What to do. The only way to get to the internet is to use the tool bar on the home page of that DAMN POPUP...

Bastards,

Sounds like a legit program masking as an ad-ware program....=P I've downloaded one of those on my brother's computer by accident. Try using some spyware removers. Or uninstall it manually.

Sounds like a legit program masking as an ad-ware program....=P I've downloaded one of those on my brother's computer by accident. Try using some spyware removers. Or uninstall it manually.

the spyware removers, NoAdware, does not seem to be getting it. How do I remove it?

You're using NoAdware to scan your pc?

Check the first post you'll find good spyware removers. Spybot and Ad-aware are the 2 I always use and they clean pretty much everything I've had to clean.

If those 2 don't work, we'll have to try harder ;) I did google TITANSHIELD and found a bunch of hits. So I'm guessing you'll find another way to remove it with the two programs don't.

If you are using a legal copy of XP, download Windows Defender Beta 2.
May also need to dabble into Hijack This.

I don't mean to scare you.
But this thread http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=81438 suggests that you might wanna stay away from a few MS-products.

Like the author I am also not the typical to say "windows = totally ev1l!!!! (dude)" .
But well...as long as there is good freeware out there you might want to reconsider using the MS-solution.

Yeah, please don't get me wrong, I actually appreciate a lot of MS's products. Why would anyone use it if it was so bad?
But this "phoning home" is just something that should be clearly stated if they do it at all. And not implemented at all if it's that buggy.....

I can still recommend HitmanPro ( http://hitmanpro.nl/ ) as an all-in-one solution concerning spyware. It gets better with every new release and really takes care of everything once it's set up.

I'm sorry for reviving this thread but i'm using Bit Defender 10. After a sudden crash made me restart the computer, the software didn't allow me to update. Its update option is not even clickable, and no, my license expires in Aug 14th 2008 so it can't be because of out-of-date license. I'm stuck with Bit Defender 10 now. Does anyone else got the same problem? Because i'm stuck with Bit Defender now...
This is mrzeus21221, signing out...

I've found the best and I do mean BEST package ever. It includes spyware, adware, virus, trojan and any hijacking/other malicious ware protection.



It's this great thing called OSX !

Live it.
Love it.

I've found the best and I do mean BEST package ever. It includes spyware, adware, virus, trojan and any hijacking/other malicious ware protection.



It's this great thing called OSX !

Live it.
Love it.

Oh yeah so easy huh? Sorry but i'm a gamer so OSX means good bye to PC games and i am a PC games mania (can't stand against console and hand-held, just mouse and keyboard are good enough). No games, no cool software, heck... What a life...
This is mrzeus21221, signing out...

Oh yeah so easy huh? Sorry but i'm a gamer so OSX means good bye to PC games and i am a PC games mania (can't stand against console and hand-held, just mouse and keyboard are good enough). No games, no cool software, heck... What a life...
This is mrzeus21221, signing out...

You can play any windows game very easily on a mac. Love BootCamp. :)

You can play any windows game very easily on a mac. Love BootCamp. :)

Yeah but how do i upgrade it? I never wanted to play Tiberium War with a crappy system... Heck, Apple should have created the 86x compatible version of Mac OSX*sigh*
This is mrzeus21221, signing out...

Yeah but how do i upgrade it? I never wanted to play Tiberium War with a crappy system... Heck, Apple should have created the 86x compatible version of Mac OSX*sigh*
This is mrzeus21221, signing out...

Be more specific, upgrade WHAT?

Be more specific, upgrade WHAT?

Upgrade the Mac computer of course, i've never heard people upgrading the graphic engine of a Mac computer ever before. Sure you can't rip off the Mac and plug a graphic card straight into to system do you? Well, since i'm a devil gamer, i just wanna have a 2900 card in my computer...
Back on-topic: Since i can't get rid of Windows, is there anyway i can update Bit Defender 10 again? It's half month out of date now.
This is mrzeus21221, signing out...

Screw OSX.

Use Linux/BSD.

Yeah, I went there, and I can still play teh games...

Yeek! Don't tell me you guys all use Linux. But just in case, which version of Linux should i choose? Since there are so much versions of Linux i don'n know which to use...
This is mrzeus21221, signing out...

Ubuntu Linux (http://www.ubuntu.com/) is the one I recommend since it's the most "friendly" -- Hell my Mom can use it.

As for me, I agree with b00bles. Mac OS FTW! I can't wait till Leopard is released <3

Ubuntu Linux (http://www.ubuntu.com/) is the one I recommend since it's the most "friendly" -- Hell my Mom can use it.

I agree 100%. That's what I'm using right now.