Virus Protection FAQ

[milesrf]

I've seen information from Norton chat support technicians saying that Norton don't try very hard to make Norton Internet Security (at least the 2010 version) compatible with the newsgroups sections of either the Windows Mail program that comes with Windows Vista or the Windows Live Mail program you can download for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Also, since I started using the newsgroups section of Windows Live Mail, I don't think I've ever seem the database compression section complete properly (this was after Norton Internet Security 2010 was installed).

Also, I'm seeing signs that Norton Internet Security is incompatible with the SMART Short Self Test section of the Hardware Diagnostic Tools program (version 5.1.4976.17)  that came with my d5200t computer; that section does not complete properly if NIS decides to run a full scan during the same time.  I may have seen a message from running the Windows 7 upgrade advisor that that diagnostic program (at least the version that came with my SR5125CL computer) is incompatible with a Windows 7 upgrade also.

Norton Internet Security 2010 does not seem to handle full scans of computers with especially large numbers of files very well; none of the automatically started full scans have completed successfully for around 4 months on my d5200t, and a manually started full scan is now up to 9,743,406 items scanned and still running after a few days.  Most of these files are *.nws files files downloaded from newsgroups servers; nearly all small, text-only newsgroups posts.

Norton Internet Security 2010 (at least the full scans) do not seem to be compatible with the backup program that comes with Windows Vista; it seems to tie up the list of previous backups and prevent that backup program from writing to it so that it can decide whether it can do an incremental backup instead of a full backup in the future.  Also, the backup program has not successfully completed a backup for about 4 months.

The Norton Internet Security program (not sure whether it was the 2009 version or the 2010 version) looks likely to be responsible for the error message in the SMART Short Self Test section of the Hardware Diagnostic Tools program that led to the replacement of the hard drive that came with my d5200t computer.  Since this replacement did not include copying enough files from the old hard drive to recognize old backups as from that computer, I have not been able to restore the previous Windows Mail database from before this replacement from a backup in a way that lets lets me use the old index files to find any of the previously downloaded email messages or newsgroups posts.

For these reasons, I recommend that HP stop providing either the 2009 version or the 2010 version of Norton Internet Security with any computers it sells, and that HP participate in the beta tests of the 2011 version (recently started) to see if enough of these problems continue for that version that they should not include the 2011 version either.

[lipcog]

Hi there!

Maybe I could help you about the virus protection....I recently found an website about the best 10 security software. They said they are all very professional, I read their reviews and it seems to be true. It might help you, try it.

[milesrf]

Nearly every site I've found saying which antivirus programs are best  has a different opinion on how good they are.  Very few of them pay any attention to how compatible they are with the newsgroups sections of Windows Mail and Windows Live Mail, which I use heavily.

I notice that list shows two of the three antivirus programs known to have problems with those email/newsreader programs (Norton and Trend) as among the 10 best.  To me, that indicates that it may not be a good idea to try the ones it recommends.

However, I'm now having new problems on that machine which suggest that Microsoft's recent KB2286198 security update may not have been adequately tested for compatibility with HP d5200t computers running 64-bit Vista.  Beginning with the reboot that was supposed to finish installation of that update, every reboot attempt has made assorted changes to file 9 (whatever that is) while running CHKDSK for hours, then just sat there without finishing the reboot.

NO successful backups of that machine for over 4 months (but many unsuccessful attempts), so restoring it from backups is not much of an option.

[milesrf]

That update finally finished successfully, but far slower than I expected.  The CHKDSK run took about 4 hours, then something else that didn't show on the screen took another 6 hours before it reached a point where I could log in.

[Bugbatter]

Reliable AV Software Testing Sites
http://www.av-comparatives.org/
http://www.anti-malware-test.com/
http://www.av-test.org/

Lists of Free Security Software
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic3616.html
http://spywarehammer.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=2333.0
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/probably-best-free-security-list-world.htm <--There are several tools listed here that should not be used unless working under the guidance of someone trained in their use.

Specialized Security Forums That Use Trained Volunteers to Help Members With Malware Removal

http://hjt-data.trendmicro.com/hjt/analyzethis/index.php

[Ema765]

thanks this is very helpful to me

[Mumbodog]

Malware= Malicious Software

There are so many terms now, its all evil and unwanted in my book.

The latest, Crimeware, anything that steals banking login information or other information aimed at stealing money from you.

[Prenella_Jane]

Well, most people might be scared of having thier computers being infected with Viruses, do you know that it is normal to have some virus on your computer. Do you know that even browsing secure websites will also give you online cookie tracker a mild kind of virus.

VIRUSES is a common and a Normal Thing 😉 just be careful with harmful ones and try to scan system every now and then.

Enjoy browsing and enjoy surfing have a great day

TheMimiUsagi

[Mumbodog]

Viruses are Not normal and have nothing to do with cookies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_virus

.