How many regularly check up on their computer with Hijack This?

I know/understand what everything on my Hijack This log is and means; I run it daily to make sure nothing is out of the ordinary on it. How many do the same? I think Hijack This is a great tool for finding out if you computer has anything suspicious going on with it. It seems to check a bunch of the different ways malware can infect your system, so by checking it regularly you can catch something that your AV may have looked over.

 

I have a clean copy of HJT saved and only run it again and compare if i suspect a problem.



snowbound

 

Hi Matt,

I like Snowbound, would only utilize HJT, if I suspected something was wrong, but definitely wouldn't run it on the regular basis, other than a yearly/bi-yearly checkup. I haven't ever been required to utilize HJT because of preventative measure I have in place, and personal choices I make. Even though I'm self-taught in regards to HJT, and I think I'm pretty proficient with it, I would seek out the opinion of someone officially trained in the art/skill before I actioned anything.

Steve

 

HJT is one tool that if you happen to make a small mistake in reading or recognizing an entry and happen to delete that entry it can render your computer unusable. In my opinion it is not a good prevenative tool to be used constantly, But it is an excellent tool to check a system for malware if a problem is detected. And as long as I am on the subject of preventative tools, CW shredder is another tool that should not be run unless you have a problem that needs attention.

bigc

 

I very seldom run an HJT except for perhaps testing purposes when assisting others....but IMHO....one of the least used features of HJT is the Add checked to ignore list feature. Once a users log is clean....then is a good time to use that feature....any new logs will show what has been added.

 

I use hjt with the ignore option its pretty cool and once you used it a few times you get to know what looks good n bad, usefull to see what programs are putting on your puter too.

tinku

 

Generally I'll just use HJT as a "last resort", if one of my other tools has turned up and supposedly cleaned out something (particularly a trojan) and I want to double-check that nothing got left behind.

Or I'll run it if I'm having mysterious problems and a-v, anti-spyware, etc., are turning up no problems. Under those circumstances, however, more often than not it turns out to be a hardware or driver problem, rather than malware.

In either case, I treat HJT as a tool of last resort.

 

I use HJT very regularly indeed. I placed all my entries in the 'ignore' section, so everytime I scan I get the message:- "No suspicious items found!" Unless, of course, there has been a change; in which case I want to know about it. I find this use of HJT very reassuring and, in principle, no different from doing regular quick scans with AdAware/Spybot. It won't find the minor stuff like tracking cookies and problematic URLs but it is nice to have regular confirmation that no sinister changes have occured.

A clear HJT log does not mean you are necessarily 'clean', because not every problem will show, but you could say that about any scanner; and it is so quick!