Anti Virus

[GreyCloud]

They probably use Apple Macs.

No system is safe these days. If you have become a target of any
government, they will spend as much as it takes to get into your system.

 

[Paul]

I am not a MS fan but Essentials should be well integrated into Windows
since you would hope that MS knows Windows pretty well ya think.

Microsoft acquired an AV company, as a means to learn how to do it.
So they're only as good as the staff they snagged.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Defender

"Windows Defender is based on GIANT AntiSpyware, which was originally
developed by GIANT Company Software, Inc. The company's acquisition
was announced by Microsoft on December 16, 2004."

There is no mention of contributions from acquired staff here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Security_Essentials

"Furthermore, in September 2012, Microsoft Security Essentials
lost its AV-Test certification when Microsoft Security Essentials 4.1
achieved scores of 1.5, 3.5 and 5.5 for its protection, repair and
usability."

Trending downwards.

Even some third-party products have trended downwards. Which
is why you should never jump to any conclusions about this stuff.
Study the latest test results, and make a choice.

When a product trends downwards, it isn't always a technical issue.
Perhaps they laid off half the staff to save money in a bad
economy. There can be all sorts of reasons for a product sucking.
And even companies with billions of dollars in the bank, lay off
staff just for fun.

Paul

 

[Bert]

In Nil

I was finally motivated to dump Avira
because of the constant (every couple of hours) nagging.

I use Avira on all 3 of my machines and it doesn't say a thing to me
unless I ask it something.

Are you using the free or paid version?

 

[Nil]

In Nil


I use Avira on all 3 of my machines and it doesn't say a thing to me
unless I ask it something.

Are you using the free or paid version?

Free. I hope the paid version doesn't nag you at all.

I expect and can tolerate a certain amount of advertising in exchange
for using a free product. But their ads had been increasing in
frequency and annoyance for the past year or two, and I finally reached
my limit.

 

[Bert]

In Nil

Free. I hope the paid version doesn't nag you at all.

As I say, it's silent unless I pull up a report or something. You can
configure it to be quite chatty if you like that sort of stuff.

I expect and can tolerate a certain amount of advertising in exchange
for using a free product. But their ads had been increasing in
frequency and annoyance for the past year or two, and I finally
reached my limit.

I understand and sympathise completely.

 

[DerbyBorn]

Thanks for the advice - I have decided to give Avast a try. It quickly
found 4 suspect files. Not sure how serious they are - it is still running.

 

[DerbyBorn]

?

Are you doing the boot scan?

I have done the separate Boot Scan. It has found some errors with some zip
files associated with "kml" files in Google Earth - but doesn't report them
as harmful.

Should I leave Malwarebytes on the laptop?

 

[Wolf K]

?

I have done the separate Boot Scan. It has found some errors with some zip
files associated with "kml" files in Google Earth - but doesn't report them
as harmful.

That means only that if/when they are unzipped they will be corrupted.

Should I leave Malwarebytes on the laptop?

Yes. Turn it off, but scan every other week or so. No anti-malware
program finds all the bad stuff, so you should have three or more of
them. One to run as a shield, the others for occasional scans.

HTH

 

[DerbyBorn]

That means only that if/when they are unzipped they will be corrupted.

Should I delete them? They are in my "Appdata\local low\Google\google
earth\ webdata folder (normally hidden)