I've seen posts describing the /verifyreposition /salvagerepository switches for winmgmt. Verify has always show the repository is consistent. Using the netstop, rename repository, net start approach initially works, but within a day Security Center is reporting multiple antivirus programs again.
View 6 RepliesFake antivirus programs claim 30 million victims
More than 30 million Internet users have fallen victim to fake antivirus programs that snatch up people's money and personal information, security research firm PandaLabs has announced. The phenomenon may not be a new one, but it's growing more and more popular as the scammers are getting more crafty. There are now over 7,000 variants of this type of adware, says PandaLabs, and the number of infections caused by it is increasing rapidly.
Users can get infected with this fake antivirus scam in the same manner as any other type of virus or malware—by downloading questionable content from P2P networks, opening e-mail attachments from unknown addresses, or visiting malicious web pages. As most of us already know (probably by servicing the computers of our parents and other less-tech-savvy family members), users are often duped by seeing the software pop up windows that claim the machine is infected, fake bluescreens, or cause other annoyances (PandaLabs notes one where cockroaches crawl all over the desktop).
Many users are motivated to fork over money to get rid of this ASAP.
While many Internet users know not to hand over private information or credit card numbers just because of a few pop-ups, PandaLabs estimates that three percent of them have provided personal details to the purveyors of products that claim to disinfect computers. "Extrapolating from an average European price of €49.95, we can calculate that the creators of these programs are receiving more than €10 million per month," writes PandaLabs.
That is, of course, ignoring the greater financial implications of users handing over their credit card numbers to scammers—the firm notes that, if those numbers are being used fraudulently, then the cost to consumers is obviously quite a bit higher.
Of course, the fact that 30 million users may have fallen for such a scam doesn't surprise us too much. A recent study by the Psychology Department of North Carolina State University revealed that most Internet users don't exercise much caution when presented with fake dialog boxes and pop-up windows with obvious warning signs of malware. Additionally, security software maker AVG found earlier this year that men tend to be much more confident about their online security knowledge than women, but they both end up suffering from identity theft in equal amounts. It just goes to show that even when users talk the talk, they don't always walk the walk when it comes to being safe online.
Microsoft Announces Free Antivirus Software for H2 2009Written by Jason Mick(Blog) - November 19, 2008 9:40 AM Microsoft has long annoyed security software makers over the last decade as it has rolled out free products which often offer a competitive alternative to competitor's packaged software free-of-charge. Microsoft merely offered a decently competitive product for a much cheaper price -- free. With its firewall and antispyware (Windows Defender) built into Vista, business for private firewall software already has taken a hit. Now in a move that is sure to make Trend Micro, McAffee, Norton, and other security software makers lose sleep; Microsoft has announced that in 2009, it will offer free antivirus software.
View 6 Replies View RelatedIs it valid to install 2 antivirus instead of one? in this specific case AVG and AVAST, will they work well together? or will inhibit?
View 6 Replies View RelatedHow do you associate files with the same extension to be opened by multiple programs in Vista? For example, I want .jpg files to be viewed using one program and edited in another. This was straightforward in XP but the option seems to have disappeared in Vista.
View 6 Replies View RelatedIn the last few weeks, my Vista pc has been crashing an average of 3-5 times a day. No apparent cause - it just up and reboots. It doesn't matter what software I am using at the time, or even if the computer is in standby mode. It just restarts itself with increasing frequency. Is there a way to figure out what the heck is causing the crash? I have updated every driver I know of, and keep Vista updated (yes, I have installed SP1 - maybe that's the problem).
By way of additional information, I have had this pc for a little over a year. It worked fine for most of that time, with only the usual intermittent windows crash. But over the last few weeks (maybe a month or so), it has just started crashing like crazy. I'm at a loss of what to do other than scrap Vista and go back to XP, or try one of the linux variants. I would rather get Vista working, since I paid for the piece of junk. But I am about ready to try something else - it couldn't possibly be any worse.
I have Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit and I am having several security problems:
1) Many updates are not being installed. There are two recurring error code numbers: 80242016 and 800F0816.
2) I've had my computer set for automatic updates and always after "Configuring Updates" I get the "Startup Repair" screen. It does its thing for about five minutes and I am able to successfully log in.
3) I instructed Windows not to automatically install updates but to download and notify me before installing. However it keeps trying to install and going through a "Configuring Updates" loop (at seemingly random times) followed always by the "Startup Repair" problem.
4) Security Center now tells me that Windows Defender is out-of-date (anti-spyware) but when I try to update it tells me it "can't update definitions".
5) Beside the "Updates were installed" line on the main updates screen I have the word "Never".
6) Once this morning after going through "Startup Repair" and logging in I was presented with a blank light blue screen! That freaked me out. I feared a total crash. However I was able to manually shut down and successfully log in.
7) Security Center is prompting me to turn automatic updates back on and update my alware protection (i.e. Windows Defender).
I am running a new PC with Vista Home Premium. I am a McAfee subscriber and use the firewall/virus scan features. When I tried to install the McAfee, it stopped midway and stated that the system already has a antivirus installed which must be deactivated. So I uninstalled the factory antivirus software and McAfee installed satisfactorily. So it seems that only ONE antivirus software can operate at any given time. OK, that I understand now, but what about firewalls?
The McAfee has its own firewall, and of course the Windows system has its own firewall, and I even think my Roadrunner ISP connection has some sort of protection as well. Is it OK to have multiple firewalls active at once, or does the Mcfee overshadow the others? Should I turn OFF the Windows firewall? Sorry that this isnt exclusively Vista oriented but I read this column daily and there is a lot of very intelligent users here and I am sure some of you will be kind enough to reply.
I have installed multiple games on my Vista, like Assassin's Creed, and when I try to play them, the intro plays, and then a message pops up that says that my game has stopped working and Windows is searching for a solution. Then this message pops up, Assasin's Creed Game has stopped working A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is abailable. I have tried restarting the game, reinstalling it, everything I can think of.
View 8 Replies View Relatedi was just wondering why i have 4 gig of ram installed on vista, Control Panal/System/Memory (Ram) - 4GB But Program such as Auslogics boost speed and other programs that check the Ram installed, only Pick up 3446.51 MB installed. Every other program says that Digit, why am i not getting the Full 4 Gig, Or how can i make it 4 Gig in total?
View 9 Replies View RelatedI am having a problem with programs that I had downloaded, installed and used disappearing on me the next time I turn on my computer. When I go to the shortcut and click on it, it tells me "the program or file this shortcut refers to has been changed or removed". This is getting extremely annoying. I am unsure what is going on. I am running Windows Vista Basic and Norton 360. This is a brand new laptop (purchased in the last month).
This has been going on for about a week or so now. When I first brought it home, I had no problems whatsoever with downloaded and installed files disappearing, now it seems that every time I download a program this happens. What can I do to fix this? I also have installed Norton 360 on my Windows XP laptop and haven't had this problem there. I am guessing it is a Vista-only problem.
I just got a new computer running Vista. I installed Norton Antivirus but in the "Norton Protection Center" I get an "At Risk" warning regarding the firewall. Specifically it reads "At Risk: Advanced Firewall". I have Windows Firewall tuned on, I don't understand what it is talking about when it says Advanced Firewall.
View 9 Replies View RelatedI do not have reinstall option on CD of windows vista, and i have found major problems after i do system restore, I just need to upgrade or doing something to reinstall windows on same folder as CD gives me new installation no upgrade, And i want replace installation to replace files and install windows again and keeping updates and upgrades i done to the windows. also, to keep software installed, i used to do that in windows XP but could not do it in Vista as no option for upgrade, or install windows on same folder so that not losing the files or programs installed.
View 4 Replies View RelatedWe print to a Canon iR C2620 installed on the network. Prior to VSP1 we had no problems. Now, we can still print but no matter what program we print from... it immediately stops responding and Vista closes the program (IE7, Mail, Office, etc). Tried reinstalling the printer drivers (the latest from canon for vista) with no luck. Have not tried to roll back the SP1 update.
View 6 Replies View Relatedjust recently i installed a program which DIDNT install correctly and through out the setup it gave me an error and i cancelled the setup. now the program sorta installed it self in my comp but it doesnt work due to the setup not finishing, i tried to install it a few times but it keep given me the error...so here is the issue: i really dont want the program and would like to get rid of it... it doesnt show up in the add and remove programs and the unistall.exe in the directory doesnt work. i also have the program called "your uinstaller" and that cant find that program installed either..
View 5 Replies View Relatedyesterday i created a new vista dvd with vLite, because my windows folder was too big. after that i tried to do a "repair/upgrade install", like explained in this tutorial - Repair Install For Vista
as it turned out, it went completly wrong. i reinstalled vista on C: and the old version was moved to the folder Windows.old. obviously not that, what i want to accomplish. so now im online with a new user account - "lost" the user settings from my old user account, the programs are not "installed" anymore.
here is a small comparison of my situation:
- on C: i got now a new fresh windows and the old version in the folder in Windows.old
- Windows.old contains:
-- my old user settings
-- my old programms installed on C: (not a big deal, because i installed almost all programms on E: ---> other problem, see below)
-- the old windows folder himself
- as mentioned above i installed almost all programms on E: - obviously they are still there, but they are not "installed" anymore
so here are my key questions:
1. is there an easy was to transfer my old user settings to the new one?
2. is there an easy was to "install" all the programms on E:, without reinstall all per hand? eg. about registry import or something like that...
i hope it is clear, what my problems are - english is not my native language...
i have installed the correct driver for this belkin bluetooth usb dongle model: F8T012XX1 but in device manager, it has the belkin device and microsoft bluetooth enumerator, which is great. but when u get further down the list. it has a tab named "other devices" and then a subtab with "bluetooth peripheral device" which has an exclemation mark on it. i have searched for driver software using the update service but it cant find no update. i have looked for the name of the manufacturer but found nothing.i then disabled the unknown device, and sent a picture to my mobile phone. which confirmed that it was not the belkin bluetooth device. so i uninstalled the unknown device, restarted the computer. then when i logged in, it said that it had found a new device and wanted me to find the CD that came with it.
View 6 Replies View Relatedis there a complete correct way to install vista /windows 7 64bit and keep all of 32bit installed programs and files in there orginal place? Its taken more than a year to get all of the settings and programs to this condition and i now need to upgrade to 64bit so that i can use all of that extra RAM.! any ideas on the way ahead would be most
View 9 Replies View Related1. AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 9.0 (Not Recommend): AVG Antivirus and Security Software - Download Free Antivirus
2. avast! Free Anti-Virus Edition: avast! Free Antivirus - Download Software for Virus Protection
3. Avira AntiVir Personal: Avira AntiVir Personal - FREE Antivirus
Please post if there are anymore free anti-virus editions. For #5 (Comodo Internet Security Suite), there is a bug. If you click the link, it will go to Comodo Anti-Virus, you can use Anti-Virus. If you want Internet Security, click it on the left side panel.
I do not want to see any of the programs at the top of the list of All Programs (especially Internet Explorer). I just want to see the program folders listed, preferably sorted by newest or most recently modified first, by alphabetically would be OK. How to get rid of the 8 programs shown in here? Thanks.
View 6 Replies View RelatedIve been having a few problems with uninstalling some programs via the add/remove programs tool. For example I have been trying to uninstall Itunes and everytime I do Windows installer says it is preparing to remove and then it stops and a window come up that says "The system administrator has set policies to prevent this installation." and then another one says I do not have sufficient access to uninstall Itunes and to please contact system administrator.
So I spoke to a friend how recommended this forum subject and I followed the Take Ownership steps a few times but to no avail it still does the same thing. I can't update Itunes untill this one is uninstalled!!!!!
I use Vista 32 Ultimate and I have this problem during the startup of Windows: The UAC control stops 2 programs and I'm not able to let these programs load with UAC control active. Tried everything also in Windows defender but no success. I must always confirm and let run these programs clicking on the UAC block tray icon that appear during the load of these 2 programs. Someone tell me that these programs blocked by UAC must be updated from the developers to pass the UAC.
View 9 Replies View RelatedMy vista keeps locking up after various amounts of time, no matter whether its just idling, or im making the computer work hard. As ive read on other topics, I think its a driver issue, but I just dont know what to do. I will try another fresh vista install tomorrow and get the vista updates quickly to see whether that helps the situation. I have ensured it isnt overheating like it did initially when I bought the system, and it is now a safe and low temperature in a running state. Also, it only detects 3.5Gb of the 4Gb of RAM I have in my system. PC Spec:
Ive re-installed, windows, and it froze after I installed the chipset driver. I contiuned, and found a sound driver wasnt digitally signed. However it still crashes. I have got the latest drivers for it. For it to crash, all i did was open recycle bin, from idle state.
I shouldn't be surprised but here goes....I checked today for SP1 on windows update.. According to my computer no updates available however updates were last installed on 03/13/08 and yet when you look at installed updates it shows a windows defender update installed today. I have been reading several posts on this problem and have noticed that Carey Frisch posted a link to troubleshoot and now here is a problem and that is none of these apply to me... Once again Go figure!! Running Vista Business 32bit here in the good old USA and of course the English versionVista is and has always been updated right on schedule....
View 9 Replies View Relatedlet me start this nightmare story i had just done a fresh restalled and spent hours on getting everything installed on pc all was fine working perfectly untill that is i installed vista service pack 1 from windows updates the update process crashed halfway through so i had the only option to restart my pc then came the blue screen of death and it metioned if you have any new hardware installed make sure all drivers are installed etc etc of course i know it wasnt hardware it was because of me restating my pc half way threw the service pack 1 and the full files not been installed threw the update process crashed was the reason for the blue screen but the blue screen had notes advising me to clear shadow memory in the bois and any other memory so i stupidly assumed this was channel mapping and bank mapping and put them all to zero please see jpeg of what i changed i basically disabled everything that was enabled and put all the mapping channels and bank channels to zero and now when i switch on my laptop i get a blank screen with no post no ...........
View 9 Replies View Relatedwhen i go to start, all programs, all my folders/programs show up, but then i noticed that theres a "programs" folder within the list, and when i click that, it shows all the same folders/programs that are in the "all programs" list. but then some of the folders within the ones in the 'all programs" list, they are empty, but they show up in the programs folder in the list. i dont know how this happened and i just wanted to know how to fix this issue.
View 2 Replies View RelatedThis morning, I started my computer, logged on and went on the Start Menu to access Microsoft Office programs. But when I went on the 'All Programs' menu, there were no programs listed! I really mean NO PROGRAMS AT ALL. This includes Microsoft Office folder and every other software and program i have got!.
View 4 Replies View RelatedI just got my new computer with Vista Home Premium x64, from Windows Professional XP. Installed programs are not showing up at Start/All Programs. Some are in directory C: Programs or Program Files (x86) and still dont't show up.
View 4 Replies View RelatedWhat antivirus works best with Vista Home Premium?
View 9 Replies View RelatedAntivirus 360 is a rogue anti-spyware program that uses false scan results and aggressive advertising in order to promote itself. This rogue is advertised by the Vundo Trojan and is replacing the Antivirus 2009 rogue program that Vundo has been aggressively advertising. If you are infected with the Vundo Trojan you will see a large amount of pop-ups stating that your computer is infected and that you should install Antivirus 360 in order to protect yourself. If you click on the ad, Antivirus 360 will be downloaded to your computer and you will be prompted to install it.
Once installed, Antivirus 360 will be configured to start automatically when you start Windows. Once started, the program will perform a scan, and when done, will list a variety of legitimate or nonexistent files as infections that cannot be removed unless you first purchase the program. What is so dangerous about these scan results is that the files that Antivirus 360 states are infections are actually legitimate Microsoft files, that if deleted, will cause Windows to become unusable. Therefore, if someone believes the results from this program they may manually delete the files thinking they are infections and cause their computer to no longer function. Some files that it states are infections are:C:WindowsSystem32svchost.exe
C:WindowsSystem32alg.exe
While running you will also see a constant barrage of false security alerts stating that your computer has a variety of security risks. These risks range from files being modified to private data being sent to a remote host. These alerts, though, are false and are only being shown to further scare you into thinking your infected, when in fact the Antivirus 360 program is the actual infection. Unfortunately, these alerts coupled with the Vundo Trojan will affect your computer's performance and you will notice that it begins to operate slower.
Full Story: How to remove Antivirus 360 (Uninstall Instructions)
guys im a nu user of Vista bought a new Lappy Hp dv6502au and be4 was usin.Windows Xp and Kaspersky Internet security 7 was best wat suld i use for my Vista ?
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