What do you computer boffins think of this malware killer ?

gus

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Richard

Humungus wrote:

I know there is a lot of free stuff avail on the net to keep the trojans out but im trialling this & so far its working well. Whats the go with this ? Is it just an up market style of the normal malware/virus stopper of something a bit better & actually helps them work more efficiently ?
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Prevx sounds like a name big Pharma would invent. I suppose that's intentional. Haven't used it myself, but it sounds like it will give you more protection from scumware than the typical virus scanner. Unless it has a button somewhere to temporarily disable it, it is also going to be a pain in the ass every time you try to install or upgrade software, and even that won't help with programs that update themselves automatically over the net without telling you. But if it doesn't bug you much, it is probably worth keeping. You can look at the Cnet Download user reviews here for more information.

Hope this helps.

luke_church

Humungus wrote:

I know there is a lot of free stuff avail on the net to keep the trojans out but im trialling this & so far its working well. Whats the go with this ? Is it just an up market style of the normal malware/virus stopper of something a bit better & actually helps them work more efficiently ?

There's a positive hail of marketting junk. It's a little difficult to see how it thinks it's any different beyond that.

If one wasn't running your system as an Admin, most of the this wouldn't apply anyway.

Learn how to use the security features that are already in Windows, which are probably a lot better written, rather than handing out cash to other people, who seem keener on marketting, than actually explaining what their software does.

This is classic...

http://individual.prevx.com/features.asp

They claim to be user friendly. 'The future of cyber security is as simple as ABC'. (Cough, splutter, cough)

How many people actually know what Buffer Overflow code injection attacks are... Or for example than Win XP SP2 uses sential trapping to prevent them on OS code.

Selling by listing things that people don't understand is immoral, esp. when it comes to security.

Anyone who thinks that security is simple, is at best mis-guided.

I doubt I'll be buying this company's products.

Luke

gus

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Andy

Humungus wrote:

Is that when you wake up in a park with a your pants missing & a dollar in your hand ?

Richard

Humungus wrote:

Cool...thanks guys. Im always looking for an easy way out with protection. $20 0z seemed cheap if it did a better job than Avast. Avast just couldnt find the trojans or get rid of them.

Here's a tip for you and all other Windows users. Mike Lin has written a pair of nifty little utilities called StartupMonitor and Startup Control Panel. They are both free (tips via PayPal gladly accepted). The monitor gives you a popup warning whenever a program tries to install something that will start automatically when you boot the machine. Lots of scumware starts automatically. Some legitimate programs need to do this, but you know when you are installing them. So if you are just surfing the web and suddenly find that something is trying to install itself, you know to be on guard. The control panel function lets you see everything that currently starts automatically on your machine, and lets you disable or delete any one you like. Best to know what you're doing with this one, though.

Neither of these programs is a substitute for a good virus and adware scanner, but both of them complement them in the same way that Prevx claims to. I have used both for several years and recommend them highly.

Cheers,

pchr

On my girlfriend's windows PC and on my windows partition I use Winpatrol.

Have a look at Gizmo's site where 46 categories of program with the best free offering in each category is reviewed. If you subscribe to his news letter - which is good! - you get a link to another list which includes a brilliant automatic photo stitcher. Humungus, you sound pretty comfortable with dealing with malware and everything, but for anyone who needs to be pointed in the right direction I think you'll be pretty secure by making sure you're armed with a program he suggests from each of the first 8 categories - all security related and all free. (Accept PrevX which isn't free anymore, just a trial, though he's got a link to a slightly older totally free version.)

I sound a bit like an advert for the guy, but I'm not related to him or anything!

Under category 8 he mentions prevx is for advanced users.

Forehead

PREVX1 Try-ware
I downloaded the 60-day trial of PREVX1 last night. And wouldn't you know: it found one sneaky little program that Symantec/Norton Internet Security 2006 missed!

If PREVX1 doesn't show any glitches within the trial period, I'll pay the $19.99 for the annual subscription (Symantec wants more than three times that; SpyBot Search and Destroy is a waste of time anymore--too hard to download it).

Some people think that Symantec actually makes malware as a way of generating revenue streams. Who can know for sure? Cyber-extortion?

Thanks for the tip, BTW

Humungus wrote:

I know there is a lot of free stuff avail on the net to keep the trojans out but im trialling this & so far its working well. Whats the go with this ? Is it just an up market style of the normal malware/virus stopper of something a bit better & actually helps them work more efficiently ?

http://www.prevx.com/

Oh...& yes david...i got problems. Well had problems until i trialled this one. I had something so bad that it wouldnt allow maybe 10 to 12 diff malware/trojan killers to start or load. It was called yaemu.exe. Man was it an ugly one. This prevx did something the other 10-12 progs couldnt do....took a while, maybe an hour but it did the job.


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Forehead

Prevx update--I don't like it!
Ran Prevx1 tryware for a month--along with Norton and Microsoft AntiSpyware (beta). After the first time it ran (and found/jailed 1 problem), it never seemed to do much after that....or so I thought.

A few days ago, I started noticing that my computer took longer and longer to hibernate or shut down/restart, and finally just hung up altogether--a RED FLAG, there, buddy! I also noticed that, on my Windows Task Manager, I couldn't END the PXAgent (although I could END the PXConsole). Now I don't like it when I can't end any of my processes! And guess what? Being unable to end PXAgent also made me unable to uninstall Prevx1.

I found a way, though: Control Panel...Administrative Tools...Services...(select Prevx1 on the program list)...DISABLE...exit.

After restarting (much faster this time), a couple of windows popped up whining that Prevx1 can't start .:tough

I was FINALLY able to UNinstall Prevx1. To check the result, I restarted the computer, which went through the sequence even faster this time!

Prevx doesn't get any points from me today! :bs

luke_church

Forehead wrote:

Now I don't like it when I can't end any of my processes!

You shouldn't be able to end most of your processes. If you can end them, so can any malware running as your user account on your computer. You should only be able to terminate processes that your user account started, and security sensitive software should not be running in the same protective domain as an end-user.

But then, you shouldn't be running with most of the priviledges that a Windows Adminsitrator account gives you, but this is starting sound like beating a very dead horse.

The rest of your comments just make Prevx sound like poor software, bad luck. I hope that the rest of the clean up went OK.

Bob Bell

I ran prevx the last time there was a nasty virus running around and it found nothing on either PC after about 3 hours of searching. I use AVG Free on each machine, Ad aware and use Firefox for browsing and Thunderbird for email.

Remember most people out there target windows machines through IE or outlook express. Remove those two windows into your PC and you are a lot more secure.

I have norton enterprise AV for home use and it misses stuff occasionally that AVG picks up.

tsk1979

gus wrote:

I know there is a lot of free stuff avail on the net to keep the trojans out but im trialling this & so far its working well. Whats the go with this ? Is it just an up market style of the normal malware/virus stopper of something a bit better & actually helps them work more efficiently ?

http://www.prevx.com/

Oh...& yes david...i got problems. Well had problems until i trialled this one. I had something so bad that it wouldnt allow maybe 10 to 12 diff malware/trojan killers to start or load. It was called yaemu.exe. Man was it an ugly one. This prevx did something the other 10-12 progs couldnt do....took a while, maybe an hour but it did the job.


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The holy commandaments of computer security.
Author : tsk1979(yes I made them up). Feel free to add. I am thinking of making a complete list.
1. Thou shalt not put all eggs in one basket
The basket may cost 20$, 100$, 500$ or free. A single basket is a basket, wether its some backyard tool or a norton tool. Always have a couple of virus scanners and adware/spyware scanners. Make the one you trust more active, and second is for backup when you think something gets broken. AVG and AVAST are a great combo
2. Thou shalt always update
Every day there is a new virus. So update your definations, every3-4 days
3. Thou shalt not click on 'yes'
See a popup. Click on yes? What if it ways "Click yes to send all your private data to spammers all around the world. You will still click it, coz you never read what it says. If you dont trust the certificate and the secure site, though it wont hurt just to go there, but dont enter any credit card info in there
4. Thou shalt, not direct click links in emails. This is how phishing works. Always see where it goes
eg. http://www.google.com does not go to google
5. Thou shalt not switch off the firewalls.
Torrents are slow. Who will bother to change settings, lets switch it off. NO NO NO. Learn. You learnt to write email, install bittorrent, drive a car, earn a living, this is simpler and its one time. Open only ports you want, not the whole gates
6. Thou shalt not install any screensaver sent to you.
Screensavers are the biggest culprit. Dont give in to the temptation of "Hot <insert your="" fav="" actress="" here=""> screensaver". If you are really desparate to get some pics, use google. You dont need to open those attachments
7. Though shalt not install everything
Are you bitten with the install bug. See anything cool, any animation and you want it? STOP. Most of the smily shiny stuff you see which goes <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/clap.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >rofl<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/eek7.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >wxwax is spyware. Stay away</insert>