General maint. query

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I have XP HOME and a Dim 2400 system.

Ok --- a very basic question, I know.

I do a lot of internet, but mostly email, newsgroups, and (trusted)
financial sites and a few other sites that I trust.

I have been running my AVG Free s-ware about once a week scanning. But
updates are getting even more frequent than that. Should I just scan every
time there is a new update?

You know, along with running anti-spyware stuff (Ad Aware and Spybot) and
doing somewhat regular disk cleanup tasks (and a defrag every few months)
this kind of stuff is taking up more and more time.

It is getting annoying, but is it necessary? How often should one do this
stuff (assuming reasonable safe hex habits!!! But I know it only takes one
wrong click to have a problem, too)

MB

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Your antivirus software should start with Windows and run in the background
at all times. It should be set to automatically download and install updates
as soon as they are available.

Under these conditions, a weekly or twice weekly full system scan is all you
need. Otherwise, you may as well uninstall it for all the good it's going to
do for you.

Ted Zieglar

"MB_" <mel@prodigy.invalid.net> wrote in message
news:3kQKd.2384$ah3.532@fe06.lga...
>I have XP HOME and a Dim 2400 system.
>
> Ok --- a very basic question, I know.
>
> I do a lot of internet, but mostly email, newsgroups, and (trusted)
> financial sites and a few other sites that I trust.
>
> I have been running my AVG Free s-ware about once a week scanning. But
> updates are getting even more frequent than that. Should I just scan every
> time there is a new update?
>
> You know, along with running anti-spyware stuff (Ad Aware and Spybot) and
> doing somewhat regular disk cleanup tasks (and a defrag every few months)
> this kind of stuff is taking up more and more time.
>
> It is getting annoying, but is it necessary? How often should one do this
> stuff (assuming reasonable safe hex habits!!! But I know it only takes
> one wrong click to have a problem, too)
>
> MB
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com> wrote in message
news:x66dnY69zrzfRmbcRVn-gg@comcast.com...
> Your antivirus software should start with Windows and run in the
> background at all times. It should be set to automatically download and
> install updates as soon as they are available.
>
> Under these conditions, a weekly or twice weekly full system scan is all
> you need. Otherwise, you may as well uninstall it for all the good it's
> going to do for you.
>
> Ted Zieglar
>

I do a deep scan with spybot every week. I also do a deepscan when there are
new updates.

It never fails to find nasties, and I am a very careful user.

I keep my AV up to date and let it do its thing. Ive been 99% virus free,
but occasinally things are intercepted. When that happens, I do a full scan
just to be sure.

Dilligence is required in this arena.

- NuTs

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

> I have been running my AVG Free s-ware about once a week scanning. But
> updates are getting even more frequent than that. Should I just scan every
> time there is a new update?

With any luck, your regularly updated antivirus will detect things
automatically on-the-fly as they`re saved to the HD, so with any luck
all new files should be clean by default unless you`re told otherwise.

As long as you have a firewall, and you`re not seeing any peculiar
behaviour having scanned with an updated Spybot S&D, I would probably
only bother every couple of months.

I seriously can`t remember when I last did a full virus scan on my
machine.

If you use IE you can help lock down things further by using
SpywareBlaster from www.javacoolsoftware.com and better again - use a
different browser like Firefox or Opera for as much surfing as you
possibly can.

There are only a few sites now that don`t work with them - usually
because they were written to specifically use bastardised non-standard
M$ only bullshit code. If you come across one like that, fine, use IE,
but point out them that their site is preventing you from using a more
secure and standards-compliant browser ;-)

I`ve got some newbie level tips online at www.phoenixbbs.co.uk for
general security awareness / how to set up Spybot S&D, and links to other
useful anti-spyware utils (like HijackThis!)

--
Please add "[newsgroup]" in the subject of any personal replies via email
--- My new email address has "ngspamtrap" & @btinternet.com in it ;-) ---

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com> wrote in message
news:x66dnY69zrzfRmbcRVn-gg@comcast.com...
> Your antivirus software should start with Windows and run in the
> background at all times. It should be set to automatically download and
> install updates as soon as they are available.
>
> Under these conditions, a weekly or twice weekly full system scan is all
> you need. Otherwise, you may as well uninstall it for all the good it's
> going to do for you.
>
> Ted Zieglar
>
> "MB_" <mel@prodigy.invalid.net> wrote in message
> news:3kQKd.2384$ah3.532@fe06.lga...
>>I have XP HOME and a Dim 2400 system.
>>
>> Ok --- a very basic question, I know.
>>
>> I do a lot of internet, but mostly email, newsgroups, and (trusted)
>> financial sites and a few other sites that I trust.
>>
>> I have been running my AVG Free s-ware about once a week scanning. But
>> updates are getting even more frequent than that. Should I just scan
>> every time there is a new update?
>>
>> You know, along with running anti-spyware stuff (Ad Aware and Spybot) and
>> doing somewhat regular disk cleanup tasks (and a defrag every few months)
>> this kind of stuff is taking up more and more time.
>>
>> It is getting annoying, but is it necessary? How often should one do this
>> stuff (assuming reasonable safe hex habits!!! But I know it only takes
>> one wrong click to have a problem, too)
>>
>> MB
>>

You should use something like Boot-It NG from

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/utilities.html

and make an image of your system once you've installed everything you want
*but before* you've ever accessed the net.

That way, even if some nasties do find their way past your anti-virus
defences (and they will given Microsoft's appalling coding), 45 seconds
restoring the "clean" image places your system back to factory new speed and
condition.