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What to do with viruses on Windows?

#1
As I native Linux user, I have no about viruses. What do they do? How do you get them? How to get rid of them? What do you feed them? How to spread them to neighbors you don't like?
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#2
They can spread out to your contacts by hijacking your email client or web browser and abusing the contact's trust in you (this can involve getting money from them). They can steal your personal data such as passwords or credit card number. They can lock your private data with encryption and require you to pay to get it back (ransomware). They can use your computer for criminal activity as part of a botnet to send spam, DDoS websites and so on.

You run the same risks in Linux operating systems, there's nothing special about the kernel that protects you from this. The best way to be protected is prevention, which you can do yourself by keeping your system up to date and by default not trusting any executable file coming your way. Only run programs you trust.

I see antivirus programs as a second layer of protection, in case you accidentally trust something you shouldn't have.

#3
Can viruses be run under wine?
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#4
Most aren't designed to do so, for sure. You can run harmful software under wine though. Wine apps aren't sandboxed, they have read/write access to any place and file that your user account does.

#5
I use noscript and adblocker, I'm not very educated on the subject but it's supposed to block javascript and then you whitelist websites you trust, kinda annoying but it's good since you can blacklist stuff like google annalytics and other ad-scanners.

#6
Depending on the browser you use, for FireFox use NoScript and AdBlock Plus. For Chome, use NotScripts, AdBlock Plus, and Ghostery. Antivirus programs can usually be compared to the TSA. If you're scanning for bombs inside the airport, you failed.

Also, if you think your machine has been compromised, there are a few handy tools for the non-tech. One in particular that is super handy, and free for one virus removal (crappy adware and stuff will not count as one use, which is awesome. And of course, no threats found doesn't count as one use either). Go to surfright.nl and grab Hitman Pro. I'd probably do this if you've been running Windows without the recommended extensions for the browsers mentioned above.

You can run Hitman Pro to scan your system without installing it. Skip entering your e-mail address and all that stuff, just scan for threats. If the blue background turns red, that indicates it's found an actual piece of malware, not just nuisance-ware. It will remove the threats, but that was your one free use. Well worth the download.

AdBlock Plus is an important one, as a good portion of malware comes from compromised (or just crooked) ad servers. AdBlock Plus actually recently started adding malware blacklists, in addition to ads.

Personally I disable the recently added feature in AdBlock Plus that allows 'unintrusive' ads through. There are a bunch of extensions and software calling itself different variations of 'ad block,' but in my experience AdBlock Plus is the one to use. (Spent way too much time in PC repair between jobs, 80% of that is virus removal/prevention so you get a good idea of what works and what doesn't).

Once you have your front lines set up, just grab something simple like Microsoft Security Essentials, there are a few other decent free ones out there. I recommended AVG Free for a long time but things change. Just don't buy junk like Norton or McAfee, the vast majority of horribly infected machines were running one of those.

Of course I'm speaking from a native windows installation perspective, not sure how much of this translates to wine. Honestly I do not even run an antivirus program on my windows machines. Wise browsing and the extensions I mentioned should put you in a good position. Hope this helps, I'm sure others will have more good info.
Negative, I am a meat popsicle.
Announcer mic check and forum thread.
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#7
easy step #1 Never and i repeat NEVER USE INTERNET EXPLODER, step #2 download something like firefox or google chrome or SRWare Iron. make sure you have adblock because spyware/adware are a pain in the butt. #3 make sure windows is updated with all of the patches, hotfixes, ect. step #4 make sure you have an antivirus like avg or bitdefender or you could even get malwarebytes pro (make sure to always update the signatures) which will protect you from that stuff. #5 if you feel you have been infected, disconnect from the internet, restart computer into safe mode & start scanning. safe mode will disable autoexec.bat & config.sys files along with most device drivers.

#8
... for getting viruses, i recn i should do the opposite...

3. I have an AUG, wll that help?
[Image: 0_e8735_c58a251e_orig]

#9
step #1
do not execute crap from strange sources with administrator rights
grab some free non-retarded non-intrusive antivirus

#10
Just use common sense, like stated above. i never had a virus or some other malware on my computer which blocked acces or something like this. I dont know if there is some silent shit but i never do important (=money) stuff on my computer anyway. From time to time a mbam search, thats it.
How to Englich?

#11
Windows Defender is perfect for viruses on Windows. I strongly believe Windows Defender is a perfectly competent security solution for the vast majority of consumers. It's updated very regularly, is unobtrusive, and has a faster response time to new threats (due to its integrated nature and being supported directly by Microsoft). It's certainly not the most comprehensive security solution out there, but as long as you have basic computer smarts and aren't clicking every link that pops up, you'll be just fine. In my opinion, it's not worth investing in a paid anti-virus program unless you have a very specific reason for doing so, and programs like Norton are almost malware themselves.
Even if we compare Avast and Windows Defender, WD is a ahead in the free solution.

#12
I wouldn't pay a premium antivirus for domestic use if you aren't visiting dark/bad/violent webpages or someone very toxic who attacks everyday with his scripts/brute force/malware, then it's not for you. This is used for SMEs or the places where the good quality of security is needed thanks to the great protection that it gives. I don't recommend buy a luxurious premium quality product of this, it's bad for your pocket.

#13
You just should not visit suspicious pages and also you should not follow weird links, that is all. By the way, you can manage to do it with safe internet help, for the beginning you can just check links which are proposed to be follow by you with ctrl+shift+i.

#14
use antivirus

#15
Hang a mask in front of your comuter. Should also work for linux machines unlike macOS - they are lost anyways.

#16
The best solution would be to move all your important files to a separate hard drive, and wipe your PC. Then install Windows again and move back your files.
This will get rid of most viruses. However if you find your PC infected with a more severe type of malware such as Ransomware which will not let you interact with your computer at all, then you should get a professional’s help.
But don’t get your hopes up since it could be impossible to get your computer back in the way that it usually was.
Taking precautions such as installing anti-virus software and not downloading sketchy files. Windows has close to no protection against malware, so downloading a good anti-virus is very important. It’s just a pain in the butt once your PC has malware.



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