BleepingComputer.com: My Testimony To Bleeping Computer Security Advice

hi.

Newbie here. (not dumb, but "new" )

I updated my computer from NOT only having McAfee Comptuer Security Center (I WISH I saw this site first and heard about Zone Alarm, as I would have bought that....hey, if I happen to buy it, can I have both work at the same time???) to also having all the stuff Mr. G. advises: ie: spybot S&D, Spyguard, Webroot Spy Sweeper, Adaware free,etc.).

Now, after I installed it all, my computer was slower than....than...well, what is SUPER SUPER slow?! It was BAAAAAAAd...so bad, I could not access the internet (the IE browswer would NOT open)...my computer was HUMMING that "I'm working hard here!" noise....my tray was full with that stuff.....and I was worried..."MY gosh...WHAT THE HECK DID I DO?!"

Well, it did not explode. Thank goodness.
I, after re-scanning for spyware and viruses and trojans and critters....and stuff....decided to again (AGAIN) reboot.
Done.
Still slow and a noisy "I'm working my butt off herer doing 15,000 processes" noise came from my puter...

OMG...I thought...I'll just have to disinstall all this crud. Why did he recommend it if you cannot run it on a new pretty good Dell computer PC??? It must work "for him." I thought.

I decided to hit "open IE" and leave.

Later, I noticed, IE popped up. OMG....could it be working? My computer was SILENT....eeeeks!!!! I broke it for sure. What happened to all that BUSY noise?! Crud!!!! My husband will kill me.

I decided to open my mail and try out the internet....

OMG ...it was working...and quickly!!!!! And, the "CPU at 100 percent" box was CLOSED.....nowhere to be seen....and my machine was silent.....

I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone...BUT PROTECTED!!!

Yes, I saw all my protection in the tray....yet, my computer ran flawlessly fast and quiet.....it almost seemed to be too good to be true....well, it is 8:30pm and this has been like this since 9am...so I think it is all working fine now!!!

I have NO clue as to the WHY behind the SLOW computer, NOISE as if it was the hardest working computer on earth, and not even opening the internet for me.....everything was like bizzarre...

So......I hope it contines to work fine NOW....

And, I wanted to inform others just trying out Mr G's "tips" for "Safety on the Internet" (can't link that as I forget the link page)....try it...be patiient...fix stuff...be patient...give yourself 2 days to get it all working smoothly and not fustrate yourself....and I think you'll come out of it fine...just DO NOT PANIC!!!

I tend to panic myself ...and I know it...I try my hardest NOT to.

Maybe I'll be here tomorrow griping....er, asking for advice , but I wanted to share my experience to other newbies so they don't freak out.

I had to disinstall some things and re-install. I had to reboot many times and run things and they'd freeze up and crash...grrrrr...but, patience is truly a virtue in this world.

People on this site are great, too.
Once everything is fine, I'll make a donation (small----please don't go buy a vacation home!!! ) as this is a site worth supporting (don't you agree, folks?!).

My problem now is that spybot s&D crashes whenever I open it...I'll look thru the forums as i can...(hard w/ a 1 year old) but if you have a quick reply send me a reply!

Yee-ha from Texas!

Quote

No.
You should not have 2 Firewalls or Antivirus programs running at the same time.
They could conflict with one another, rendering both ineffective.

Quote

What exactly is Spybot doing, or not doing?
Does it shut down, or does it freeze during a scan?
If it freezes during a scan, at what point does it freeze
Any error messages?
Do you have Spybot set to run at startup?

Hi.

I appreciate your following up and asking questions!

to reply:

1)

I mis-wrote!! Spybot is fine....it is Spyware Blaster that would (when I clicked on it to open) freeze and NOT open (I forget the first thing that pops up...but it is NOT the entire screen of Spyware blaster)..and my computer would all be frozen...would have to reboot. After many times, I just decided to disinstall it.

I would like to use it again....is there a newer or better link to download from? Not sure if this is one of those many mirror sites and maybe I had a bad one?!

2)

Is it okay to have all this going together? I have McAfee Security Center (in itself that is anti-virus virus scan, personal firewall, spam killer, privacy service)...and webroot spy sweeper (temporary 14 day trial)....and spybot-s&d....spyware guard....These are all in my "tray"....I did download "adaware free version" but it doesn't show up in my tray (should it? I thought I just open and run when I wish)....I do have in my tray also this: AVG free edition (should it be there?)....okay...so that is my tray...

I also downloaded (adaware free as stated above), a squared free (should it show in my tray? it is just a desktop icon), Windows Defender (it doesn't show in my tray, just a desktop icon), ewido anti spyware...but THAT just stalls when I try to run it...it 'freezes up" and takes a while to kill it...may need to reload it?...and CW shredder (that actually found something!)....only shows as a desktop icon.

Can you let me know if that is how, with what I have, it should look (tray)...and also, if they CAN run together...or is this too much?!...as I stated I have it (where they are).

Also, get back to me on Spyware Blaster if you can. (and, can it run w/ webrot spy sweeper?)

Me

The general rule for security applications is this:
1. You should only have ONE firewall operating on your computer. More than one usually causes conflicts.
2. You should only have ONE Anti-virus operating on your computer providing real time protection. Installing more than one can lead to one of them reading the other's virus definitions and attempting to delete them.
3. You can have as many anti-spyware applications on your computer as you deem necessary, but only ONE providing real-time protection. Most of these only provide "on demand" scanning; it is important to run them one at a time when scanning, and not concurrently, on a regular basis.
I hope this clarifies things for you.
Regards,
John

John,

Thanks.

So, 1) should users make sure "Windows Firewall" is dis-abled? (I think I found this in Control Center )...will that conflict with added firewall, like McAfee?? (Assuming yes)


Are my settings incorrect then? If not, how do I make the right one be on the tray and the others just be desktop?? ---> I have Spybot S&D and Spyware Guard (and temporarily Webroot SpySweeper) in the tray....plus I would like to get Spyware Blaster up and working again (i had to disinstall it as it only would freeze upon opening and freeze my computer)....should that all be in my tray?? Sounds like I may have this setup incorrect!

If you have the choice between those spywares above mentioned by me, which would you stay in real-time???

You must think I am a pain in the butt. Sorry~~trying to learn so I can then pass it on someday. :-)

Sincerely,

Me.

A good plan would include one antivirus, one firewall, one antispyware/adware that works in realtime.

Scheme one: McAfee for antivirus and firewall, Ewido
scheme two: AVG free antivirus, McAfee firewall, Windows Defender
Scheme 3: McAfee for antivirus and firewall, Spybot W/Teatimer activated.
Install Spyblaster with all three schemes above and keep the rest disabled to use for occassional scans.
If you don't have Firefox, get it and 2 extensions--NoScript and Adblock.
Just remember, you can have every security program ever invented and you can still get infected by opening email/IM attachments/links, using p2p programs, going to dangerous sites, downloading free screensavers and such, not keeping programs or Windows updated, etc. Surf Safe.

Buddy215 makes valid points, and points out three of the choices you have. I think we would both agree that the Windows firewall should be disabled, since it only checks incomming and NOT outgoing packets, and is not that configurable. The only applications you should have in your tray (that means they are working real-time) is your firewall, your AV, and perhaps one of the anti-spyware applications that provide real time protection. You should disable the rest, either by preventing them launching themselves when you boot up your computer, or making the necessary default adjustments from within each application.
I would certainly agree, also, that using Firefox as your primary browser will improve your over-all computer security, since Ff does not use ActiveX controls, does not seem to get the constant attention from "evil-doers" that IE does, and is generally quicker to issue patches when a major vulnerability is discovered.
Regards,
John

In response to your Spywareblaster problem:
Spywareblaster can be downloaded from, SpywareBlaster
Your original download could have been corrupt, or didn't install correctly.
A reinstall is the first thing to try.

I agree with everything stated above by John, and buddy215, except when it comes to Spywareguard.
That should be left running in your tray as extra protection.
It hardly uses any resources, and it's not designed as an "on demand" program like the others.
The only way to remove it from the tray, is to uninstall it.
For me, it's caught things the other programs didn't, on more than one occasion.

Thanks.

I did re-download SpywareBlaster and all seems fine (I'll run it once a week). I think my original one was corrupt...I went to another mirror site. :-)

And, downloaded Firefox's Mozilla (not sure about the extensions mentioned...where are those found?).

Add extensions,one at at time,so if something goes wrong you know who the culprit is.In Firefox open Tools/click on extensions,then on Get more Extensions.You can also have a look at the BC thread called What Firefox Extension Do You Use? for some ideas.