viruses and pirated applications

[chesss]

HI

i am bit of a noob . don't understand much about security and stuff. MY problem is that my PC is full of malware riddled pirated apps and porn and stuff.
How do I clean my PC , so that there are no viruses or malware or backdoors in my system.
Generally I don't worry about having security too much , but my dad wants to use a credit card on the computer .
how can I ensure there are no viruses or backdoors on my system ? is installing an antivirus and antispyware enough?

Thanks

[Franklin]

Get a scan down with Malwarebytes followed by Hitmanpro.

Delete what they find and if still a prob post a Hijackthis log in an appripriate forum.

Read the pinned topics first before posting a log.

http://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showforum=7

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum103.html

If it's too badly infected then nothing like the feel of a clean fresh install.

[chesss]

I forgot to mention , but my antivirus(pirated one) gives me clean bill of health. Is there a chance that my PC is still infected (because there a lot of pirated apps and cracks)

[Peter2150]

Do I understand this correctly. Your PC is full of pirated infected software, but your pirated Anti-Virus says you are clean?

Ah, who put all this pirated software on your machine? If you then, there is no sympathy here. If not then my apologies.

My suggestion is format the drive and reinstall windows, then purchase a good security suite. You can read about the popular ones here.

If you continue to use pirated software you will continue to have problems and using a credit card would be a disaster.

Pete

[TOMxEU]

Just to add, replace pirated software with freeware, if you do no want to spend money on it, there are many quality alternatives to almost everything. www.freewarefiles.com

[J_L]

Boot from an Ubuntu Live CD when using the credit card. Nothing on your system can affect it.

[Kerodo]

Originally Posted by chesss

HI

i am bit of a noob . don't understand much about security and stuff. MY problem is that my PC is full of malware riddled pirated apps and porn and stuff.
How do I clean my PC , so that there are no viruses or malware or backdoors in my system.
Generally I don't worry about having security too much , but my dad wants to use a credit card on the computer .
how can I ensure there are no viruses or backdoors on my system ? is installing an antivirus and antispyware enough?

Thanks

Pete is absolutely right. There is only one way to be sure, and that's to do a complete reformat and reinstall of Win. Don't use any pirated software anymore, either use free apps, or buy them.

[Searching_ _ _]

There are so many good free security programs, that there is no need to pirate any.

Torrents are known to be malware launch points, especially cracks and key gens.
If you want a safe crack, the only way is to crack it your self. Plenty of Youtube vids teach this.

+1 for the Linux LiveCD, though there is no requirement for it to be Ubuntu.

[Eice]

Just to correct what seems to be a popular misconception: it's perfectly possible to have a whole system of pirated software and be fully clean. A lot of people don't appear to know how pirates and pirated software work. In the West, most pirates scam users for profit. In some other parts of the world, software pirating is seen as a technically challenging, altruistic, and relatively legit occupation, where pirating groups compete to crack the latest and greatest for the public.

To the OP: that's no guarantee your system is clean, of course.

Maybe the op is pulling a fast one here

[chesss]

I uninstalled my pirated antivirus and installed avast. It is also giving me a clean bill of health.

it's perfectly possible to have a whole system of pirated software and be fully clean.

But how does a person know this ?

[Eice]

Originally Posted by chesss

But how does a person know this ?

By only installing pirated software from reputable pirates.

[Kerodo]

Originally Posted by chesss

I uninstalled my pirated antivirus and installed avast. It is also giving me a clean bill of health.

Not to increase your paranoia, but this doesn't guarantee that you're clean. Avast could miss something.

[Searching_ _ _]

If your running Windows, try running some scans with Autoruns or OSAM, Gmer or VBA32 Anti-rootkit. Also, Radix is very good.
If you've gone the public route with things like BitTorrent and Piratebay types, then it's possible to be infected. Malicious seeders use this to spread their infections and gain control of systems.

One option is to run the music and movies you downloaded on a Linux system as the majority of the malicious software is designed for Windows and won't infect the Linux system.

[TOMxEU]

Piratebay actually removes infected torrents unlike most torrent webpages and there are also comments, which helps to find out, if it is legit or not. People get mostly infected from warez software, because movies are just movies as for games, there are clean pages with nocd, which are better than cracks. So freeware is the best way to go with.

[Fly]

Originally Posted by chesss

HI

i am bit of a noob . don't understand much about security and stuff. MY problem is that my PC is full of malware riddled pirated apps and porn and stuff.
How do I clean my PC , so that there are no viruses or malware or backdoors in my system.
Generally I don't worry about having security too much , but my dad wants to use a credit card on the computer .
how can I ensure there are no viruses or backdoors on my system ? is installing an antivirus and antispyware enough?

Thanks

No.

Reformat, check for any hidden partitions, install operating system, install drivers, install known clean programs, patch. Or something like that.

Just be sure you have the OS and drivers on CD.

[Sully]

I would also say that a linux liveCD of some type is the best bet when it comes to online transactions. If it were me, there is no way at all I would use a credit card on that machine without a full reformat/reinstall.

Sul.

[ParadigmShift]

Disconnect the hard drive.

[hugsy]

Hi. I used to have a lot of pirated apps when i was younger (didn't know that there was something like "property"). Then i wrote down what apps am i using and for what. Then i checked the net for freeware that would do exactly the same as payware. Now i use mostly portable apps from "portableapps.com" and some from "portablefreeware.com".

So go on and format the disk (if you don't have OS and drivers on a CD, then you will need to get that first.)
Install clean OS (i suppose you are using win because you are using pirated apps and leave automatic updates on, wait for all the updates...
I would suggest using a Comodo Internet security (its free all-in-one), but if you don't like it, at least use win built-in firewall.

Don't be afraid of freeware, it is often better than payware IMO. It's just that when we get used to one app, then it is hard to replace it.

[vojta]

Originally Posted by Eice

In the West, most pirates scam users for profit. In some other parts of the world, software pirating is seen as a technically challenging, altruistic, and relatively legit occupation, where pirating groups compete to crack the latest and greatest for the public.

East, West, North and South, a pirate is a thief and so is your "public".

Originally Posted by Eice

reputable pirates

Hahahahahaha.

[J_L]

Originally Posted by vojta

East, West, North and South, a pirate is a thief and so is your "public".



Hahahahahaha.

There is a big difference between stealing easily reproducible digital media and stealing irreplaceable physical items.
What if you found something and decides to keep it in the end? That's bad as well, yet almost everyone does it. Same with pirating.

[vojta]

Originally Posted by J_L

There is a big difference between stealing easily reproducible digital media and stealing irreplaceable physical items.
What if you found something and decides to keep it in the end? That's bad as well, yet almost everyone does it. Same with pirating.

Exactly the same. I don't know if almost everybody does it . My mother has the bad habit of losing her credit card often (I had to take out special insurance for it) and it always was returned by the person who found it.

Anyway, I really don't care if there are many or few decent people out there. It doesn't make pirating less dishonest.

And about "irreplaceable", the people behind programs, books, songs and movies and their jobs and their right to eat everyday are all "irreplaceable" too.

Nevermind, keep reciting excuses and downloading good. Don't listen to me.

And for the Op, good luck with your father's credit card.

[J_L]

Originally Posted by vojta

Exactly the same. I don't know if almost everybody does it . My mother has the bad habit of losing her credit card often (I had to take out special insurance for it) and it always was returned by the person who found it.

And about "irreplaceable", the people behind programs, books, songs and movies and their jobs and their right to eat everyday are all "irreplaceable" too.

It is not exactly the same, using the correct definition from the English dictionary. Taking anything you find, that includes pennies, pencils, etc. would be stealing as well wouldn't it? Everyone did it at least once in their lifetime.

That's why donations exist. The money you spend buying things don't all go to the person who made it. The people who advertises the product gets the most money.

[vojta]

Originally Posted by J_L

Taking anything you find, that includes pennies, pencils, etc. would be stealing as well wouldn't it? Everyone did it at least once in their lifetime.

Knowing exactly who it's owner was?.

Originally Posted by J_L

That's why donations exist. The money you spend buying things don't all go to the person who made it. The people who advertises the product gets the most money.

See?, another excuse.

[J_L]

Originally Posted by vojta

Knowing exactly who it's owner was?.



See?, another excuse.

Point is, there's a difference between pirating and stealing and taking.