oh man, not a virus!! D:

Getting a virus, or other form of computer malware is the absolute worst thing that could happen to your computer. Sometimes they can be removed easily using your Antivirus, other times, you may have to shell out a few bucks or so and let the professionals do their job. Viruses and malware aren't just computer things, you can also get them in tablets and smartphones (even I was mindblown by that when I was first told xD). There's a plethora of antiviruses for you to buy or download, some of them work extensively to keep your computer protected, some are just plain dumb and only just bloat your computer.

Tell us your virus stories! Have you ever had a virus or a form of malware before? If you had a computer virus in the past, were you able to get rid of it?

What Antivirus do you currently use?

I use avg free and malwarebytes antimalware pro in my computer. In my phone, I'm just not an idiot with what I install.

Once upon a time when I was younger, I was really, really, careless with my main computer up to the point on where I've had 50 viruses on it. .___. It took about 45 minutes to clean up... ergh. Fortunately that was in the past now, and I'm using avast!, plus I'm really, really careful on what websites I visit. ^^;;

ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4 and Malwarebytes. That's all I've used for years and I've had no problems.

Back in the day, I used to use some form of Norton that came free with our SBC Global subscription. I remember it sucking hard. Then I learned how to clean infections and haven't had a problem since.

I've used Microsoft Security Essentials since 2011 and have had the best luck with it since. I also have Malwarebytes on my system for the once-in-a-while scan that I do to really ensure my system is protected.

Before MSE, I had Norton on my systems and it was slow as hell, and it actually had gotten me some viruses, just can't remember how many.

If I went for a paid antivirus though, I would probably use ESET NOD32 as I've heard nothing but good about it, but I just don't think paying for an antivirus program is my thing, even though it guarantees quality.

I did get some virus, but it's on many years ago, back then I have to ask the pros to delete them. But now I managed to careful to not letting any virus go through, that my PC is safe for now.

And currently I used Avira to protect me.

I use AVG free and found I had 12 virus and 3 trodans on this laptop.
If I was going to buy an Anti-virus it would be AVG.

I use AVG, and I've had this computer almost two years, and only recently have been getting any threats. AVG gets rid of them easy enough. I know some people say it's not the best program, but it's certainly not the worst either.

Like some others in this thread, I also use AVG free and it's the best I've used so far. Norton is incompatible with far too many things and McAfee is too unreliable from my history with it. As for having a serious virus before, I'm not sure that I have, though there's been countless cases of malware (most somewhat malicious!) but I've never been through anything too bad.

I use Linux and I think that should suffice as an answer :D

Even on Windows I don't remember having any virus at all. As an antivirus programm I'm using Avast on my Windows installation, which does the job pretty well.

I don't run an anti-virus program on Windows. I'm just really careful with what I install. I usually end up intentionally nuking everything and reinstalling Windows at least once a month anyway, either because I feel it needs it or because I've broken something messing with GParted, so if I ever get infected it's not a huge loss anyway.

*prepares for influx of comments telling him to reconsider*

At my old workplace, I had to clean a computer that had been infected with a particularly awful virus. Eventually, I just decided to wipe it and start over. I guess it infected the boot sector or something, because even after wiping and reinstalling Windows, it still acted wonky. I had to use a Kaspersky tool that was specifically made to get rid of it to fix it. I don't remember the name of it, but man, that thing was a pain in the ass.

Well, Macs can't get viruses because nobody has bothered! I'm sure that I'll get a virus soon enough, but the thing is other than a couple --ahem-- illegal activities I really don't download anything from a shady-looking plain HTML page :p

Though I did download Linux and Windows 7 on Virtual Box, but if that goes down the hillick I can just reinstall everything :p

Catalyst. said:

I don't run an anti-virus program on Windows. I'm just really careful with what I install. I usually end up intentionally nuking everything and reinstalling Windows at least once a month anyway, either because I feel it needs it or because I've broken something messing with GParted, so if I ever get infected it's not a huge loss anyway.

*prepares for influx of comments telling him to reconsider*

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HA I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW I ONLY WAS GOING TO TELL YOU TO GET A BACKUP DRIVE

Up until sometime last year, I'd been using the free version of Avast for my anti-virus, and I'd never had any problems with it. I ended up getting an extra code from a family member that paid for Norton 360 Premier, though, so I switched over to that. It honestly seems to be working as well as Avast does, but I'll probably end up switching back to it once the program period runs out or I get a new computer (whichever comes first), just since the free version already did what I needed it to.

And considering how old my computer is, I've been fortunate enough to never get anything more than the occasional malware, whereas my dad and sister have both had their laptops hit with a number of viruses in the past.

Meganium90 said:

Tell us your virus stories! Have you ever had a virus or a form of malware before? If you had a computer virus in the past, were you able to get rid of it?

What Antivirus do you currently use?

Click to expand...

Yes. My old PC had more viruses than your average hospital. We had to get the pros out, who then took it away for a few days to fix it. Kept getting these problems (me and my brother in particular were a little less savvy about our downloads then), until we got Malwarebytes Antimalware to go with AVG Free.

Now, on my Mac, I've never had a virus (touch wood). I use iAntivirus because it's free and I'm not a moron with my downloads, plus most viruses are designed for PCs.

I have nothing on my iPod, and my phone's a relic so doesn't need it.

I use the built-in windows defender on my Windows 8 laptop. I don't feel the need to use anything else as it does the trick for me.

I've gotten several viruses when I had a Windows laptop and they were always fixed through either a scan or system restore. I've had some strange viruses but none of them were really that threatening in the long run. Now that I use a Mac, I've had no viruses though. :D

ClamXav is my antivirus program of choice on my Macbook.

So many viruses, I can hardly count! My Microsoft Security Essentials has been through so much in it's painful life. Fixing viruses on my piece of junk metal is a pain, I can't go on it or do anything for 2 to 3 days, and it destroys my electricity bill. >0< Most of the viruses were caused by me raging because I couldn't download games quick enough or play them efficiently, so I tried to download RAM and more space. Oh I'm such a derp.