Easy to Clean Up Computer?
Stopzilla tells me I need to pay them $150 to "clean" my computer; that it's full of junk and keeping their antivirus, etc scans from working properly. Do I really need to do this, or are they just...
Forum Discussion
Campfire Time wrote:
Scam! Stay away! Lots of good free products out there that do a great job. Here's a list of things to do to protect your computer. I can't stress enough that prevention is not that hard and it doesn't cost anything.
Remove Malware Magnets - Goes for both Windows and MAC
- JAVA – just get rid of it. Very few people need it for anything. Remove all versions of JAVA in Programs and Features.
- Flash player - If you really need it for some YouTube videos and other things, make sure to keep it up to date with the latest version
- Adobe Reader (replace with PDF XChange Viewer or similar, http://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer)
Use Open DNS http://www.opendns.com/
- Free web and malware filtering for home users for Windows, MAC, Android, iOS
- Intended to be a "net nanny" for families, but anyone can benefit from this
- Automatically blocks known identity theft and phishing websites
- Nothing to install on your machines
- Set up your home router with OpenDNS and all your DHCP devices are protected
- Highly configurable, many built in categories, can allow or deny specific URLs as needed
- Nice, easy to read and access logging
Use Bluecoat K9 http://www1.k9webprotection.com/
- Free web and malware filtering for home users, for Windows, MAC, Android, iOS, uses the same engine and database as their commercial security appliances use
- Intended to be a "net nanny" for families, but anyone can benefit from this
- Automatically blocks known scam, spyware, and malware websites
- Must install software on each device, doesn't slow down the device
- Highly configurable, many built in catagories, can allow or deny specific URLs as needed, however must be configured on each device
- Nice, easy to read and access logging
- Cannot remove existing malware, but will block outgoing malware "phone home" attempts
RogueKiller http://www.adlice.com/softwares/roguekiller/
- Free malware/rootkit scanner
- Windows only
Malwarebytes Free https://www.malwarebytes.org/free/
- Free malware scanner
- Windows only
Secunia PSI (Personal Software Inspector) http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/
- Free
- Windows only
- Scans all your installed software and reports what's out of support, what's missing security patches, and what's up to date
Do you really think a user who isn't even sure something is "ScamWare" is going to have the skill set to download and configure any of the programs that you mentioned in your post?
