Which one is fit for Avast! 4 home?

[zhanwest]

I installed Avast! 4 home edition. But it seems that Avast! is no effective for defending downloader.
May I select Boclean or AVG anti-spyware to neutralize the threat of downloader? If not, can you kindly recommend one for me?
Thanks in advance,

[RejZoR]

avast! HE + Cyberhawk. I hardly think anything will go past these two...
You can add Comodo BoClean in there but i see no need. It's free so it's up to you.

[lodore]

the best question is what browser do you use?
internet explor 6/7?
if so you should consider changing to opera or firefox.
also you should be careful in what random links you click from email/messenger.
thirdly be careful in which .exe files you download and double click.
lodore

[JerryM]

Hi zhanwest,
What firewall are you using? I was just wondering if you are using the Windows firewall.
Best,
Jerry

[Tarq57]

AVG Antispyware, Asquared, Superantispyware, and SpywareTerminator all work OK with Avast.
I think most security programs do, Avast never gives a problem here.
Just don't try adding another antivirus.
Downloader is a generic name for a type of trojan, not always stopped by AV programs, so one of the four listed above, and/or Comodo Boclean, would be useful.

[JerryM]

Avast Home is the AV that I go to during an interim period, and it has always run without a problem or penetration. I think there is not much doubt that it is helped some by the use of a good anti-spy/anti-malware program such as those that have been mentioned.
I have not tried BoClean, but have uses SAS, a-squared, Counterspy, and AVGAS. There have been no conflicts with any while using Avast.

In 2004 Firefighter ran some tests where he used various AVs with and without an AT/AS. The results showed that some clearly profited when a AS application was used with them.
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=58597
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=83323

I have no way of determining which AS is the best.

Regards,
Jerry

[LoneWolf]

BOClean with SAS on demand working well with Avast here. ;D

[zhanwest]

I use Comodo firewall pro with Avast! and my browser is Firefox.
Mmm, I will try BOClean with SAS or AVG Antispyware on demand.
Does Cyberhawk have any conflict with Comodo firewall pro? I had used it but it slowed down my PC.

[maddawgz]

cant go past avg suite, SAS Boclean , Trojan remover 6.6.1, and prevx 2.0
;D ;D ;D

[Jarmo P]

Download or install? Really dont know what this 'Downloade'r is.
To install something is always a gamble.
Just install a hips and if you dont know how to operate or some other security software either that is conflicting and you get the most nasty install you ever had.
Just my few thoughts.

[zhanwest]

-{ Quote: "Download or install? Really dont know what this 'Downloade'r is.
To install something is always a gamble.
Just install a hips and if you dont know how to operate or some other security software either that is conflicting and you get the most nasty install you ever had.
Just my few thoughts." }-
Downloader is a malware which can automatically download malware.
I know how to use a HIPS, but maybe somebody who will use the PC does not know. So some alternative is necessary.

[Firefighter]

-{ Quote: "I installed Avast! 4 home edition. But it seems that Avast! is no effective for defending downloader. " }-Compared to which av:s? Actually Avast has quite good (http://www.pcworld.com/product/testreport/compare?chart_id=6308&orig_url=%2Farticle%2Fid%2C130869-page%2C1%2Farticle.html&chart_title=Antivirus+Software&chart_date=Mon+Apr+23+01%3A00%3A00+PDT+2007&prodid=29895&prodid=29896&prodid=29897&prodid=29898&prodid=29900) backdoor, trojan and ad-/spyware detection and it has improved a lot in detection lately.

-{ Quote: "May I select Boclean or AVG anti-spyware to neutralize the threat of downloader? If not, can you kindly recommend one for me?
Thanks in advance," }-In my WinXP Home partition of my laptop I use only Avast 4.7 Home together with Firefox 2.0.0.4 plus COMODO BOClean in real time MEMORY protection and SUPERAntiSpyware Free as an On-Demand cleaning.

In my USB flash drive I have also an ewido micro (http://download.ewido.net/ewido_micro.exe) malware scanner capable to scan my hard drives too.

Best regards,
Firefighter!

[JerryM]

-{ Quote: "Compared to which av:s? Actually Avast has quite good (http://www.pcworld.com/product/testreport/compare?chart_id=6308&orig_url=%2Farticle%2Fid%2C130869-page%2C1%2Farticle.html&chart_title=Antivirus+Software&chart_date=Mon+Apr+23+01%3A00%3A00+PDT+2007&prodid=29895&prodid=29896&prodid=29897&prodid=29898&prodid=29900) backdoor, trojan and ad-/spyware detection and it has improved a lot in detection lately.

In my WinXP Home partition of my laptop I use only Avast 4.7 Home together with Firefox 2.0.0.4 plus COMODO BOClean in real time MEMORY protection and SUPERAntiSpyware Free as an On-Demand cleaning.

In my USB flash drive I have also an ewido micro (http://www.ewido.net/en/onlinescan/) malware scanner capable to scan my hard drives too.

Best regards,
Firefighter!" }-

Hi Firefighter,
How does that ewido micro work on a flash drive? Is it just downloaded and moved to the drive, opened there, and it scans?

Thanks,
Jerry

[Perman]

Hi, folks: I use Avast 4 home along with firewall, BoClean, SAS on demand and Prevx2, but all combined still would not provide me a peace of mind, therefore I add virtualization app such as DeepFreeze standard. From there on I surf net in frozen mode, not worrying anything would stick to my box any more. DF freezes the whole drive, nothing will leak into adjacent partition/volume. Bulletproof almost.

[zhanwest]

-{ Quote: "Hi Firefighter,
How does that ewido micro work on a flash drive? Is it just downloaded and moved to the drive, opened there, and it scans?

Thanks,
Jerry" }-
Yes, it can work anywhere with internet link.
If offline, Ewido Micro cannot download the threat database and will not work.

[zhanwest]

-{ Quote: "Compared to which av:s? Actually Avast has quite good (http://www.pcworld.com/product/testreport/compare?chart_id=6308&orig_url=%2Farticle%2Fid%2C130869-page%2C1%2Farticle.html&chart_title=Antivirus+Software&chart_date=Mon+Apr+23+01%3A00%3A00+PDT+2007&prodid=29895&prodid=29896&prodid=29897&prodid=29898&prodid=29900) backdoor, trojan and ad-/spyware detection and it has improved a lot in detection lately.
" }-
Thank you, Firefighter. I have used Ewido Micro also.
IMO, maybe they mean Avira Antivir or Kaspersky. And I have read some threads about the case.

[Hipgnosis]

You might want to consider Blink Personal. It's free for one year.

More info here: www.eeye.com/html/consumer/products/blink/index.html

[ASpace]

-{ Quote: "Hi Firefighter,
How does that ewido micro work on a flash drive? Is it just downloaded and moved to the drive, opened there, and it scans?

Thanks,
Jerry" }-

He gave a wrong link - his link points to AVG AS's online scanner which requires ActiveX / IE to run . Here is Ewido micro
http://download.ewido.net/ewido_micro.exe

It is an executable which will perform full scan overy registry/memory/local drives . Before running it automatically downloads definitions from Ewido/Grisoft servers and then scans

[zhanwest]

-{ Quote: "You might want to consider Blink Personal. It's free for one year.[/url]" }-
Mmm, it seems to be an internet security suite.
And is it easy to use? It is new to me.

[Firefighter]

-{ Quote: "He gave a wrong link - his link points to AVG AS's online scanner which requires ActiveX / IE to run . Here is Ewido micro
http://download.ewido.net/ewido_micro.exe" }-Oops! Sorry! I had lost my bookmark to the right ewido micro one. I corrected my former post concerning this.

Best regards,
Firefighter!

[JerryM]

-{ Quote: "Yes, it can work anywhere with internet link.
If offline, Ewido Micro cannot download the threat database and will not work." }-

Hi zhanwest,

Thanks, I downloaded it, and will have to give it a try.

Regards,
Jerry

[Hipgnosis]

-{ Quote: "Mmm, it seems to be an internet security suite.
And is it easy to use? It is new to me." }-

Yes, it is a suite and I find it very easy to use. I have been using it since February (replaced avast and some other components with it) and have been very pleased with it.

[duke1959]

I install and use Blink Personal Edition occasionally and like it very much. Is it's auto updating working ok now though? There are reports of a few problems lately. It is however a very stable program, and despite high memory usage light on system resources.

[zhanwest]

-{ Quote: "You might want to consider Blink Personal. It's free for one year.
More info here: www.eeye.com/html/consumer/products/blink/index.html" }-
If you have installed the FREE copy of Blink Personal Edition, it MAY ONLY BE USED in the United States and Canada. If you are in need of a license that works outside of the United States and Canada, you may purchase a copy of Blink Personal Edition.
It's a shame.

[innerpeace]

Although not free, A-squared is a nice program that is easy to use with easy to understand warnings. It's also has IDS http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/ids/ . They also offer a free on-demand version. I have used A-squared with Avast and Online Armor2 real-time and it works great :).

You might also keep in mind that BOClean will only catch something if it has run. In other words if you download a 'bad' file and don't run it, BOClean will never see it unless it's either executed, or you drag and drop the file to BOCleans' GUI. With BOClean, you will definitely need on demand AS/AMs to catch the bad files that may be lying around. Of course they will probably only catch cookies :P .

Cheers, innerpeace

[CJsDad]

-{ Quote: "If you have installed the FREE copy of Blink Personal Edition, it MAY ONLY BE USED in the United States and Canada. If you are in need of a license that works outside of the United States and Canada, you may purchase a copy of Blink Personal Edition.
It's a shame." }-

Not just for free in the US and Canada anymore http://www.eeye.com/html/company/press/PR20070711.html

[zhanwest]

-{ Quote: "Not just for free in the US and Canada anymore http://www.eeye.com/html/company/press/PR20070711.html" }-
Thanks, but it reads "Registration requires a valid corporate email address."
Private email cannot be used for registration, OMG.

[Hipgnosis]

"If you are located within the continental United States, Canada, or a country within the Asia-Pacific region"

Go to this link:

http://www.eeye.com/html/consumer/products/blink/download/index.html

No corporate email required.

[maddawgz]

whats the detection like on this blink?? better then avg ? blink and i miss it jk....bad humour tx MD

[duke1959]

Blinks Firewall isn't on the same level as many of the ones out there as far as leak tests. The AV however is Norman Virus Control and does quite well in AV Comparatives, and may well be better than AVG in some detection areas.

[Hipgnosis]

Yes, the eEye Blink/Norman AV is doing quite well. In the most recent (June) Virus Bulletin VB100 test, eEye scored a VB100 award and AVG failed on the Windows XP tests.

[zhanwest]

Blink has conflict with Avast!, so I cannot try it without virtual machine.
But Norman is no good against chinese malware.

[maddawgz]

AVG failed on the Windows XP tests. oh wow....... >:(

[duke1959]

AVG only missed one sample and later corrected it, and it wasn't only AVG that failed. Two other well known AV's failed as well. Read this to see.

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2191749/avg-kaspersky-fail-virus

[Hipgnosis]

My comment about AVG failing was not a slam against them nor was I singling them out. I just pointed it out since AVG was mentioned in comparison to Blink.

[Hipgnosis]

-{ Quote: "Blink has conflict with Avast!, so I cannot try it without virtual machine.
But Norman is no good against chinese malware." }-

Yes I imagine there would be a conflict trying to run two AVs at the same time.

Can you provide a source or more info supporting the contention that "Norman is no good against chinese malware"?

[maddawgz]

I was reading the av compartives etc..re avast , avg whats the difference between on demand proative etc.. avg and avast score close but antvir seems advanced wonder why we all just dont use that then free version? because free antivir would be better then avg and avast ::)

[innerpeace]

-{ Quote: "I was reading the av compartives etc..re avast , avg whats the difference between on demand proative etc.. avg and avast score close but antvir seems advanced wonder why we all just dont use that then free version? because free antivir would be better then avg and avast ::)" }-
Each program has its advantages and disadvantages. IMO,The free versions of any of these should provide good protection. Their respective paid versions offers a bit more protection and extra features. The on demand means scans that are done manually. Proactive should mean real time or active protection. I hope this helps.

[zhanwest]

-{ Quote: "Yes I imagine there would be a conflict trying to run two AVs at the same time.

Can you provide a source or more info supporting the contention that "Norman is no good against chinese malware"?" }-
Sorry, I just learn it from chinese security forums. As for me, I have no experience of Norman.

[duke1959]

I didn't take it as a slam Hipgnosis. As a matter of fact I didn't even know about it and appreciate the info. Take care.

[maddawgz]

-{ Quote: "Each program has its advantages and disadvantages. IMO,The free versions of any of these should provide good protection. Their respective paid versions offers a bit more protection and extra features. The on demand means scans that are done manually. Proactive should mean real time or active protection. I hope this helps." }-


Thanks innerpeace lol ur avatar reminds me of jason lol.. yeah Im tossing up between avg avast and Antivir lately all free but i do use AVG suite.... any ideas?

[Kerodo]

I like AntiVir best of the 3 freebies... seems lightest and gives best detection and protection IMO...

[zhanwest]

-{ Quote: "Thanks innerpeace lol ur avatar reminds me of jason lol.. yeah Im tossing up between avg avast and Antivir lately all free but i do use AVG suite.... any ideas?" }-
Does AVG suite slow down your PC? I know it as a heavy load and I perfer to Avira Antivir with some other auxiliary security software.
Mmm, I use Avast! now, so I can provide "technical support" for my friends who are digital immigrants.

[duke1959]

Through the Custom Install feature of the AVG Internet Security Suite, you can install just the AVG Antivirus Resident Shield, or the Antivirus and Firewall, without including the Antispyware Component, and after installation, install a different AS like Spyware Terminator. I am just using the AVG AV Component of the suite right now along with a-squared Anti-Malware, but when I did use all the AVG Components together it ran light, and that was with Cyberhawk also running with it. The reason I do this is that AVG Antispyware only uses signatures for detection in RealTime, and while it has good On Demand detection, I personally want more out of an Antispyware App. Of course you could also run the free version Cyberhawk with it.

[innerpeace]

-{ Quote: "Thanks innerpeace lol ur avatar reminds me of Jason lol.. yeah Im tossing up between avg avast and Antivir lately all free but i do use AVG suite.... any ideas?" }-
Heh, my avatar is Sony from the movie iRobot. He does sorta look like Jason.

I have a license for AVG suite too and I am tempted to install the anti-malware version without the firewall. I would run it with OA2 HIPS/firewall. It would seem a good and simple solution.

Avira has the best detection, but some have update problems with the free version. Avast is good, solid and a complete free offering, that's why I hesitate to try a new AV. I think I remember reading that AVG AV with AVG AS is a very good when combined. You could try uninstalling the AVG firewall and use Comodo firewall. That is completely up to you. If your happy with the suite, then ride out the subscription :).

[duke1959]

Or you could just do what innerpeace suggested. LOL. Comodo is a good choice, but I had a problem recently with both the AVG Firewall and Comodo FW still showing up in my Windows Security Center after uninstall. This is a semi easy fix, but it irritated me. I'm not a big believer in the need for a third party firewall since I'm behind a router SPI firewall, but PC Tools Firewall is a happy medium between AVG and Comodo and ran well for me, plus it uninstalls with no problems. Oh and back on topic, I think Cyberhawk and Comodo Pro would fit well with Avast at this point as I haven't heard of any recent incompatibilities

[zhanwest]

Dynamic Security Agent can work well with Avast!

[mercurie]

Hi zahnwest, :)
I am sure BOClean and SuperAntiSpy Free along with any of the big three free AVs including Avast would be just fine.

Even for what you say is tough china bugs from your forum. ;)

Note to innerpeace: Sonny from iRobot...:thumb: I knew...:)

[innerpeace]

-{ Quote: "Note to innerpeace: Sonny from iRobot...:thumb: I knew...:)" }-
I'm glad somebody recognized him or it :D

[zhanwest]

-{ Quote: "Hi zahnwest, :)
I am sure BOClean and SuperAntiSpy Free along with any of the big three free AVs including Avast would be just fine. " }-
Thank you, mercurie.
DSA is too heavy and complicated for my friends and I will follow your advice.