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====== Malware or Virus ======

Good and useful information about [[https://www.sctexas.org/club/scripts/memfac/memfac.asp?MFCODE=SIG_MAL#sidebar|Malware]] is on the [[https://www.sctexas.org/club/scripts/memfac/memfac.asp?MFCODE=CCLUB_COMPUTER#sidebar|Computer Club web site]]. The [[https://www.sctexas.org/club/scripts/memfac/memfac.asp?MFCODE=CCLUB_SEC|Cybersecuity]] SIG has additional information about computer security concerns. A bit of searching on the internet for Malware is likely to provide days of reading.

===== Malware attitude, today =====

The "antivirus war" and my attitude about it, gets "refreshed" by my youtube addiction. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBVBLTuLejg|The Niko perspective on virus search]] tools and techniques is an example. Why? Niko reminded me about [[https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/upload|VirusTotal]] and how it is integrated with two [[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/|Sysinternals.com]] tools. The [[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer|procexp]] and [[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns|autoruns64]] tools can be very useful for answering the question… "Does my computer have a virus?". The keys to the Niko methods are understanding the value of [[https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/upload|VirusTotal]], being connected to the internet and enabling the [[https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/upload|VirusTotal]] features of [[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer|procexp ]]and [[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns|autoruns64]]. The tools and techniques are not "the perfect solution", but learning to use them while understanding their purpose will build your confidence that your computer is NOT infected.

April 16, 2023:  When I asked Bard(later known as Gemini) about Windows anti-virus it referenced [[https://www.av-comparatives.org/|av-comparatives.org]]. Hmmmm… [[https://www.av-comparatives.org/|av-comparatives]] appears to be good "stuff". [[https://www.av-test.org/en/|av-test.org]] is another organization that does anti-virus test. I think I like both of them. Both sites imply that free antivirus tools are often "good enough". If you read the sites and come to a different conclusion, please add a comment to this page.

The past couple of years, Windows Defender has been adequate as an anti-virus tool in the home environment. In the Help Center we do see client computers with other flavors of Anti-Virus and firewalls. Most of the time we encourage the removal of //**not-free**//  anti-virus or firewall tools. Why? We prefer free. Windows Defender is free and it works.

The Help Center does use free versions of Malwarebytes, CCleaner and Superantispyware to "disinfect" a computer. These tools can be helpful on an infrequent basis. If they are enabled to run at system boot time, it is likely they will impact system boot performance.


===== Opinion? =====

Opinions change and reality can change. After watching a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHtZ9-9ch2w|Chris Titus youtube video]] , you may want to try [[https://bmrf.org/repos/tron/|Tron Script.]] If you find the Chris Titus video interesting, here is a link to his [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg6gPGh8HU2U01vaFCAsvmQ|YouTube Channel]].

If you watch this: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nkVzJ1V0rM&t=424s|Things that "might" clean an infected computer.]] You would discover [[https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/home/current/solutions/kb20100824120155EN|NPE(Norton Power Eraser)]] and HitmanPro. I am not a fan of Norton but NPE as a standalone tool looks "interesting". [[https://www.hitmanpro.com/en-us/downloads|HitmanPro looks like yet another AntiVirus,]] but if you "read the installation options" it will scan and not do a full installation.