Using more than one anti-virus program

I know that running more than one anti-virus program leads to conflicts and that it is generally discouraged. I'd like to run AVG along with Windows Live OneCare. Do any of you run more than one anti-virus program and if so, how do you configure them? In particular, how would I configure either AVG or EZ anti-virus so that both would play nicely?

 

There really isn't any logical reason to have 2 avs on board, your system will just be dragged down with all sorts of excessive, unnecessary CPU. If there are any apps which consistently use CPU it's av apps.

I don't know if there are any avs which will not load any type of process at start up. If you have any processes running from either of two avs, expect trouble at some point.

It's just not a good idea and there are several online scanners which you can use as back up.

 

I've tried the online scanner. Trend Micro House Call indicated a problem but would not take me to the next page to deal with it... after half an hour of scanning. Bit Defender went one better. It found the problem(s) and one of them was: BehavesLike:32.AV-Killer. But it could not or would not disinfect me. So as far as I can see, online scanners are next to useless. Evidently this Windows Live OneCare did NOT protect me and I'd like to disinfect my system. So... what about simply downloading a trial copy... killing OneCare.. installing it to clean my system?

 

Did either of the scanners give you a file path to where the infection was found? That would help us determine if it's actually a threat or not.

Also try Panda ActiveScan.

You can't blame an av just becasue it lets something thru, they are not perfect by any stretch, threats evolve on a daily and most vendors can't keep up, even the big ones.

 

Well... what do you make of this? I uninstalled Windows Live OneCare and installed a trial version of Bit Defender (whose online scanner had "discovered" the infection but could not disinfect). I then downloaded the latest virus definitions and ran a full scan of my system. Forty minutes later can you guess what it discovered? NO VIRUS present. Go figure. It's freebie online scanner tells me I am infected and it's full version tells me I'm clean as a whistle. Somehow this does not bode well for Bit Defender. Funny thing how when you do a search for the virus, only Bit Defender's name appears to come to light. It's all very strange and has put me off keeping Bit Defender. I don't trust it I guess you could say in spite of its glowing reviews. Thanks for your help.

 

I'd still be interested in knowing the file path of the infection.

Also, alot of these online scanners use slightly different scanning technique\engines for their online scans, which would differ from a full blown app that was installed.

 

Hi James,

Two AV's not a good idea.

I have run across people that do so though and what they do is configure one to run resident and the other as a scanner only. To make this work, needs experimentation.

I dual boot two XP's and that gives me the ability to scan one OS from the other using a different AV from the one running resident.

The two AV's that I have is NOD32 and KAV. I would never dream of having both installed on the same OS, Kaspersky would throw fits.

Regards - Charles

 

Thanks for the feedback. It's been so many years since I had a virus that I was literally shocked out of my gourd when the online scanner indicated I was infected. I simply do not believe it. Having uninstalled Bit Defender I thought... what the hey... let's give Zone Alarm Internet Security a whirl. So, I installed it and after updating its definitions, ran yet another full system scan. Clean. I think I'll keep it for a week or so and see how my system performs. As for Windows Live OneCare... it was probably fine but my confidence has been somewhat shaken. Don't know whether to return to it or "return" it for a refund.

 

Hate to sound like a broken record but.......

 

TeMerc

You're not a broken record and I appreciate your desire to know the path. I did not record it so I can't provide it. I would also like to know the path. Try and see it from my perspective for a minute. I'm not a particularly versatile nor knowledgeable person around computers. I've used one now for nine years but not for prolonged daily time periods. I'm very active in the community and don't really spend much time in front of my "box ". I come here... go to another forum... read a bit of the news and write a few emails. All in all... just a very average user. I'm a bit hyper when it comes to actually being infected with a virus since it scares me that someone might have gotten passwords. Therefore I've always taken precautions with a variety of suites and so forth. When this online scanner suggested I had a trojan, it scared me and I did not act rationally. I simply ran to Google to learn about it and then tried my best to rid myself of it. If I could go back and act more calmly and logically, I'd examine the online detailed report. Albeit, that's too late.

So... it leaves me wondering about a number of things:

1. Was I actually infected? If so, what happened to the virus?
2. Did Windows Live OneCare let it "through" or was it already there (if in fact it actually existed)?
3. Why is it that Bit Defender's name always appears alongside this virus?
4. Should I re-install Windows Live OneCare (since I've paid for it) or should I go with another security suite? Right now I'm trialing Zone Alarm's Security Suite.
5. What about F-Secure Internet Security Suite? My ISP offers it free of charge. ( I know many don't like suites but I do so given my penchant for them... which of the above would best protect me?)

Lots of unanswered questions.

 

Hi James

Not familiar with Bit Defender so this is more of a guess than anything else, the program may have quarentined whatever it found and that's how the file is referred to.

It is too bad that you didn't make note of any info as to where the original path was and whether it was quarentined, but I do understand your reaction, been there

Both Bit Defender and F-Secure have good reputations. Not being familiar with either, can't make personal judgments about them.

One thing I do know about Bit Defender is that they are very fast out of the box in terms of updating their signiture files.

If I were trialing suites, I would give Trend Micro's PC Cillan a whirl.

I've read a lot of good things about it - I posted a thread on security/firewall apps test and the author really likes it, this is another confirmation. And Whiskeyman (a regular poster here) uses it and whose judgement and knowledge I trust.

Regards - Charles

 

Without a file path, we'll never no for sure. There are plenty of file paths which are of no concern, something in recycle folders or system volume are the first two that come to mind.

Well, this could have happened if you opened an email which turned out to be an infection(not knowing your habits, just a guess here). Also, as I stated earlier, the threats evolve every day, with variants pushed out in many cases before vendors even add the previous one, so it's a hard game to get ahead of.

This could simply be the fact that BitDefender just calls it one thing and everyone else calls it something else. A problem which has been plaguing the industry for some time now and was addressed somewhat by the Common Malware Enumeration

Well, I would try and get a refund, unless you're a user who prefers one tool and does not want to be worried about having multiple apps to protect himself and worry about updating. There are plenty of users who fall into this category, probably most actually.

My own opinions on system suites are that they cannot do everything as well as stand alone tools, there is too much room for compromise. There is an opinion of similar thoughts in this CastleCops thread. It references Firewall Guides report on system suites. A good read even for a n00b who doesn't spend too much time in front of the PC.

I'll echo Charles here and say both BD and F-Secure are excellent choices.

Hope that's been helpful

 

I did a little reading and aparently BD recognizes some other virus program definitions as a possible virus. At least that is what I understood a few people were saying.

Basically, some people who had virus scanners on their computer already (sorry, don't know which ones) then they scanned with BD and BD found the same thing "BehavesLike:32.AV-Killer ". Aparently it was just a conflict between the two programs. I know one was Suna?? They had to modify their virus definitions so that BD wouldn't think they were viruses.

Weird.

 

Ah... very interesting. It sure raises a lot of possibilities. I know that Spybot was really acting up and I decided to uninstall it just before I installed the full version of Bit Defender after which there was "no" so-called virus. So, it makes me wonder if raingirl may be on to something here.

Oh... and in 2005 I had the Trend Micro Internet Security. Why I didn't go back to it is beyond me since I liked the system. I can still upgrade to it for under $30 so maybe that would be the best move. I feel that this Zone Alarm suite is pretty heavy on the system. It sure takes a lot longer to boot up and shut down and I noticed from a broadband report site that I was down considerably in my download times.

Thanks for your help, guys and gals. I've learned a few important lessons through all of this.

 

Oh yes... and one last comment. F-Secure which is a great suite unfortunately insists that I uninstall Ad-aware and CounterSpy. I don't really care to do this so I suppose I'll take another look at the Trend Micro suite.

 

This is not all that uncommon, usu sally refereed to as a false\positive.

I'm sure James will remember for the nest time, how important it is to get the info reported (file path) to help decipher what you really have.

And James, F-Secure is like that with a couple of other apps as well I think.

 

Yes, I'm learning but I hope the "next" time is in the distant future.

I read the links and it would appear that most agree... that standalone apps are the better way to go.

So, how's this for a line-up?

1. AV - NOD32
2. Firewall - Sunbelt's Kerio
3. Spyware - Ad-aware, CounterSpy, SpyBlaster

Would that make a reasonably strong defense along with good old common sense?

 

The best of those is your common sense.

Adaware and CounterSpy are fine, tho, I believe you need to buy it if I'm correct. If you want to save some money, just get Spybot instead.

SpywareBlaster is great, tho I don't advise using IE restricted zone protection. IESPY ADSis far better for that, its database being almost 4 times that of SB. It's a bit more involved to update, but you're getting much more protection .

I'd also add a hosts file as well along with WinPatrol v10.0.1. Another step I suggest is SiteAdvisor.

None of the above use any resources, some say SiteAdvisor slows down their browser, but I have not seen any difference with or without it. Oh, and all are free too, the cherry on top of the sundae.

 

Hi James
Don't know what version of bit defender you were using, But this is on their web site for version 8.....

BitDefender 8 Free Edition
Back to Solutions
FREE Antivirus for All

BitDefender 8 Free Edition is your chance to use one of the world's most effective antivirus engines for free!

BitDefender 8 uses the same ICSA Labs certified scanning engines found in other BitDefender products, allowing you to enjoy basic virus protection for no cost at all.

BitDefender 8 Free Edition is an on-demand virus scanner, which is best used in a system recovery or forensics role. If you are on an "always-on" Internet connection, we strongly advise you to consider using a more complex antivirus solution.

http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-8-Free-Edition.html

Geri

 

Hi Geri

I was using Bit Defender 9 Standard. After going through the online scan, I downloaded a trial copy of their latest program (above) and rescanned my files. It reported no infection. I then uninstalled it and downloaded and installed a trial version of NOD32 and rescanned my files. No infection. That's where I'm sitting right now. Evidently my computer is clean at this point. The questions are:

- was it "ever" infected in the first place?
- if so, did Windows Live OneCare let the virus through?
- if so (and it was detected by the online scan from Bit Defender) did the "apparent" virus vanish when I uninstalled Spybot S&D along with Windows Defender?

My own feeling at this point is that raingirl was on to something. That is, it was probably a false positive, reporting something as a virus that was in fact a conflict perhaps left over by files from one of the uninstalled anti-virus/anti-spyware programs.

So, I'm sitting here wondering what to do?

- do I put Windows Live OneCare back on my computer. After all... I paid for it (although I might be able to get a refund from Costco).

- do I put a free anti-virus program on (i.e. AVG) or is this really a case of "you get what you pay for "?

- do I purchase one of the better reviewed AV programs (i.e. NOD32, Bit Defender 9, AVG 7.1 Pro, Kaspersky)?

You might say at this point that I'm a bit confused by it all.

Oh... and firewall? I had trialed Zone Alarm's Internet Security Suite but it seemed to drag down my computer (didn't bother to mess around with ZA Pro but it might have been a better choice). So, right now I'm using Kerio's firewall in the "free" version. Same question as AV's. Do I use one of the freebies or would I be better served with one that I pay for?