Viruses, spyware & malware

[Juno]

I'm sure many of you have unintentionally picked up these annoying, unwelcome programs at some point in your life. How and what program(s) do you use to get rid of and prevent them? Know where or who you got them from? What was the absolute worst malware you've had on a computer?

 

[El Héroe Oscuro]

My computer is actually unprotected at the moment, so I guess one could say that I'm pretty susceptible to what's out there. What's the best virus/malware protector that I can get? Doesn't matter whether it's free or not; I just want to get the job done.

 

[PinkCatDragon]

Me im on linux. linux doesnt get many viruses and normaly there patched withn the day.
i never had the need for an anti virus in 4 years of running this OS

 

[HxCrypt]

I use Panda Cloud antivirus currently,and I'd remember it saved my desktop,the situation goes like this.I borrow my friend DVD,it contents of Virus,I don't install any anti-ware in my desktop that time,so when I run the DVD,my computer automatically shut down.When I restart,I feel my CPU run slower than before (lag).I don't have much savings that time,so I left it there until I find a way to solve the problem.About two years later,someone suggest me to use Panda Cloud.So I back home and run my CPU again,it's getting worst (you can't even imagine that how slow it is) ,but nothing to worry,I got the solution and I try it.Yes,it neutralizes all the virus inside,I remember it has thousand of weak virus inside (luckily it haven't getting stronger).After that,my CPU go back normal until now...
Maybe you can't believe what I'm talking about,you can try it on your own,maybe you will understand.I use the free version of Panda Cloud (it has premium version which offer more features) ,it works fine for me,it designs simple,it won't keep popping-up.
In my opinion,Panda Cloud is the best antivirus ever :)

 

[Tsutarja]

Microsoft Security Essentials is my antivirus software, and I've been a user of it since 2011. Not once while using Security Essentials have I ever gotten a virus, and it's free and barely uses up any resources on the computer.

 

[Juno]

I run Windows Defender on my Surface Pro, and I think I also use Microsoft Security Essentials on my laptop - they both came with their antiviruses, so I can't say if they're the best or any better over any other antivirus, but they seem to work for me. I've been very careful about avoiding dodgy sites on my Surface so I haven't had any problems with my it yet, but I've used Malwarebytes a few times to get rid of malware on my current laptop.

 

[Pendraflare]

I've ran into a few programs on this computer that the sources warn may have malware, and i'm always wondering if something will slow it down. Also, over two years ago I was hit with this Internet Security 2012 program on my Windows computer that was always closing my stuff and kept saying to download it, but I overheard that's a scam and does nothing for you, so I had to get on my iPad and find out more about it, then call the source and have them tell me what to do. I had to spend money to get it away for good, but it worked out.

 

[glaceon26]

since i started using kaspersky internet security a few years ago, i've had barely any, if it all, problems with any kind of virus/malware etc.

 

[Lusus]

I let avast!Antivirus scan my PC every week. It usually doesn't find any viruses, though i don't really download anything which is probably the reason why. If avast does find a virus, it's usually just 1 or 2 minor viruses from something i don't use anymore.

 

[Altius]

I use AVG on both my PC and Mac. On my windows laptop I also install MalwareBytes. MB saved my life when I had a terrible rogue virus infecting my previous Win 7 laptop.

 

[Dying Light]

I WILL NEVER USE NORTON AGAIN. EVER.

I did use AVG for a bit, but it was so resource hungry I couldn't do online gaming without it bogging it down. Now I stick with avast!, since it's lightweight, user friendly, and has picked up some nasty things a few times that were actually inside my PC and hadn't been noticed by AVG.

The worst virus I ever got was when I was trying to download a printer driver and it ended up deleting various system32 components. You can safely presume I did a full re-installation of Windows.

 

[Hiatus]

My main computer runs Linux right now, and I've heard that there's little to no viruses available for it (I suppose people haven't developed them), so it's completely protection-free. I'm thankful for it; although running virus and spyware software is usually not any hassle, you're still required to update them every once in a while. Personally, I find that to be a little bothersome (for any program, really).

When I was running Windows, I'd accidentally visited that you contaminate you with some ad-ware of sorts, which would force your browser to install some plug-in that would automatically take you to some advertisement page prior to entering new sites. Regardless of how tough I tried un-installing, it would re-install immediately, and to finally get it fixed, I had to download some virus program (have been without one for quite some time, as I used to be very careful when it came to viruses back then).

Avast is the one I got, and I was very satisfied with it. It doesn't take much space at all, and best of all, it runs in background and doesn't get in your way. It does more than virus-protecting, in fact; you're able to clean your computer with it, scan for errors, and when gaming, it's even able to switch your computer mode so that it would run faster. Fantastic, isn't it? :]

 

[Tsutarja]

My main computer runs Linux right now, and I've heard that there's little to no viruses available for it (I suppose people haven't developed them), so it's completely protection-free. I'm thankful for it; although running virus and spyware software is usually not any hassle, you're still required to update them every once in a while. Personally, I find that to be a little bothersome (for any program, really).

I'd say the main reason why Linux viruses are such a rarity is because of how many Linux users even actually exist on a client scale, which is nowhere near as many client computers that run Mac OS X and/or Windows.

 

[Reyzadren]

I use Avast antivirus to scan for viruses in my computer. I also have Spybot which deals with the rest - spyware, malware etc.

 

[Megan]

On Linux none. On Windows Avast at the moment, though that may change some point in the future. While it was fun in the beginning they recently started adding more strange stuff to it, besides virus protection. I like the idea of updater on Windows that update more than just Microsoft stuff, but what I don't like is that they added a tool, that seems to have some functionality similar to TuneUp Utilities, which is known for causing countless problems.

I am the only one who should be allowed to break my system. :D

 

[Belldandy]

My computer is actually unprotected at the moment, so I guess one could say that I'm pretty susceptible to what's out there. What's the best virus/malware protector that I can get? Doesn't matter whether it's free or not; I just want to get the job done.

I don't use anything either XD but before, my dad was using Malware Bytes, Bit Destroyer and Spybot: Search & Destroy.

I heard NOD32 is good, too, but that could be old :P It was good in the '07s anyway.

 

[Tsutarja]

I heard NOD32 is good, too, but that could be old :P It was good in the '07s anyway.

ESET's NOD32 is still existent, that's for sure. I haven't used it myself, but from what I have heard, it's probably one of the top paid antivirus suites available to purchase, in terms of protection offered and performance.

 

[starseed galaxy auticorn]

I have a mac laptop, so getting a virus on this thing is totally rare. I won't say it's impossible or anything. I'm just saying it's very rare. So, I really don't have anything else to keep protected since I don't need it.

However, the worst I've ever had it was on a Dell desktop we used to have. It was so bad that it slowed down the entire computer. We ended up sending it to my aunt later, but it ended up kicking the bucket on her.

 

[Tsutarja]

I have a mac laptop, so getting a virus on this thing is totally rare. I won't say it's impossible or anything. I'm just saying it's very rare. So, I really don't have anything else to keep protected since I don't need it..

Although it's still not as common on Macs to catch a virus as it is on a Windows computer, please do keep in mind that the chances of getting a virus on a Macintosh computer have gone up gradually over the years, especially with more developers coding for Apple and also more consumers purchasing Macs as well.

 

[The Void]

Norton 360. It's pretty useful. As the name implies, it protects pretty much every aspect of your virtual life. It protects you from viruses, phishing scams, and can backup up to three computers.