Virus protection programs

[DKean]

Is there any problem with running two virus protection programs ?

I have Norton's that I bought and Malware bytes free version. Today we found some unsolicited e-mail. It was an R rated nature. We have never visited these sites.
Before we bought Norton's we only had windows defender. That seemed to work until 12-14-17. That's the day I clicked on a news link on my Verizon home page and got an alarm and a flashing screen saying that my computer was infected. So I called Verizon and they did a screen sharing session and it seemed to correct the problem until today. When we got these e mail's I checked Norton's and it showed no reports. Then I checked Malware Bytes and it showed 36 infected files (I don't know if that is the correct term.) So is Malware Bytes that much better then Norton's or did I cause the problem by running two antivirus programs?:? We have win 10 on a dell computer. Mozilla fire fox browser.

[DiskDoctr]

GordonThree wrote:
Nuclear option? Combofix ... It'll either fix what ails the computer or destroy Windows doing so.

Very much in the "better know what you want it to do" category.

Quite good for *some* rootkits, though 😉

I wouldn't recommend it for consumers.

You can add Clamwin when nothing else will load, is corrupted, or can't find it. A lot of false hits, it's very aggressive and takes FOREVER!

But sometimes you gotta start by carving out a small foothold 😉

[DiskDoctr]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
I gave up on all of the aftermarket anti-virus and just use Windows Defender. Delet the others and turn it on.

Want my business card? LOL.

Defender is quite poor as a primary defense. I don't recommend using only MS Defender.

[GordonThree]

Nuclear option? Combofix ... It'll either fix what ails the computer or destroy Windows doing so.

[T18skyguy]

Running two antivirus at the same time will generally slow your computer. Falcon Northwest, a maker of high end boutique pc's, also advises against running cleaners. DiskDoctr sounds right on here. Ccleaner looks like it's doing a lot of work, but sometimes I think we fall for a good interface. I have read in particular there is no need to clean the registry, and that's where you can get in a lot of trouble.

[DiskDoctr]

kerrlakeRoo wrote:
The only thing I will add is the use of something like CCcleaner.
It works in a different manner than malwarebytes and Norton and often will clean up problems caused by BS lurking in the background, and only needs to be used intermittently.

I don't recommend consumers use CCleaner. It can be a helpful tool, but those who don't know enough can often damage their installations.

McAfee and Norton haven't been worth a darn for a few years now. Huge overheads and often crippling effects with lots and lots of misses.

Sometimes I wish I could put my business card in the boxes, LOL.

[theoldwizard1]

DKean wrote:
Is there any problem with running two virus protection programs ?

YES !!

I gave up on all of the aftermarket anti-virus and just use Windows Defender. Delet the others and turn it on.

[T18skyguy]

2oldman wrote:

Acampingwewillgo wrote:
I have to turn off the Mike Lindell commercial for "My Pillow" ...my doggie starts howling even before the jingle! LoL 🙂

Lol. The absolute worst is drug ads, with their endless list of side effects, followed by 'Ask your doctor about..'.

Sheesh!!

So true. Big Pharma had their lobbyist's pay off the legislators so they could run ads. It use to be they couldn't do that. Those many millions of dollars of ad time show up in the cost of our pills. It's terrible. For antivirus I run Bitdefender, Malwarebytes, Ccleaner and Process Explorer; which is nice but a bit much for beginning users. The rules I use are don't click on anything you don't have to, and even then think before you click. Delete every email you don't want and be suspicious of all the rest. Don't open attachments. I pay for the Bitdefender and Malwarebytes because it runs real time and intercepts the garbage. If you make a mistake and something gets through, hold the power button down for 5 seconds and turn the unit off.

[2oldman]

Acampingwewillgo wrote:
I have to turn off the Mike Lindell commercial for "My Pillow" ...my doggie starts howling even before the jingle! LoL 🙂

Lol. The absolute worst is drug ads, with their endless list of side effects, followed by 'Ask your doctor about..'.

Sheesh!!

[Acampingwewillg]

2oldman wrote:

Acampingwewillgo wrote:
.what's the take on "PC Matic" the one you see advertised on TV all the time.

Another ad I will switch channels for when I see.

I have to turn off the Mike Lindell commercial for "My Pillow" ...my doggie starts howling even before the jingle! LoL 🙂

[2oldman]

Acampingwewillgo wrote:
.what's the take on "PC Matic" the one you see advertised on TV all the time.

Another ad I will switch channels for when I see.

[kerrlakeRoo]

The only thing I will add is the use of something like CCcleaner.
It works in a different manner than malwarebytes and Norton and often will clean up problems caused by BS lurking in the background, and only needs to be used intermittently.

[DiskDoctr]

AVG and Malwarebytes, both free versions. Even if you buy them, run the free versions. Avoid bulk and overhead.

Win 10, turn off Defender Antivirus manually. *For some reason the later updates do not properly detect and disable when other antivirus programs are installed.

Only run ONE antivirus (except on-demand as needed) at a time. It is CRITICAL.

[Campfire_Time]

The anti-malware programs have limited effectiveness. They are only as good as their ability to keep up with the thousands of new variants that come out every week. When all is said and done none of these are much better than another. Just make sure you have one.

The best additional protection you can add is a web filter that is powered by corporate enterprise data. Good ones are Open DNS and Buecoat K9. Both are free and both maintain nearly real time lists of malicious websites and IP addresses discovered on the Internet. I would not surf the net without one or both of these.

[fj12ryder]

I'm always highly skeptical of the "as seen on TV" type products. Most of those advertisements seem aimed toward the relatively uninformed users. But I cannot speak firsthand of the efficacy of this particular product.