Windows Messenger Responsible for Junk on Computer?
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Posted on Jun 20, 2005 04:42 pm
guitar_jim
Czar of Cheese
Member Since: Jun 09, 2004
Help enlighten the unenlightened:
My kids have a computer that they use mainly for Internet surfing and Instant Messaging. It is continually acting up and being over-run by adware, pop-ups and who knows what else. I'm thinking that their Instant messaging is partly responsible, but they insist that there is no way that just using MSN messenger can cause crap to show up on their computer.
Explain it to me in simple terms so that I can explain it to them. Does normal use of MSN or Windows Messenger increase the amount of junk on the computer?
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Jun 20, 2005 04:52 pm Hmmmm
technically, anything that access the internet can be responsible for junk. However, I would say the bigger likelyhood is the surfing.
Just a bit of friendly advice, for instant messaging, I use a program called Trillian. www.trillian.cc it is free, and it works with Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, IRC, Jabber, AIM and other IM types. So people can talk to each other regardless of the type they are using.
I tell you this because Trillian's basic version is free, and it does not have the ads and lots of garbage which some IM's have that may or may not be responsible for your problems. So that app may be worth a try.
Of all IM's, AIM and Microsoft I would say are most likely to cause issues, but I have no stats or studies to prove or disprove that. Tho, Microsoft's IM does have security patches available at the windows update site pretty regular...
Jun 20, 2005 04:53 pm Hey Jim, good to hear from ya man.
Yes Yes Yes!! Man, its a piece of junk full of loopholes for crap to filter thru.
I can categorically prove it to be junk as my old man had this EXACT same bother with ma wee sister in his hoose on the PC.
She ONLY uses MSN and at the same time, he had viruses, trojans, spyware - EVERYTHIN you describe buddy..every bit of crap ye can imagine...its to do with the junk thats sent over it, and the open ports it creates, ideal to send the junk that you speak of.
Grab AdAware and Spybot S&D (Google em bud) - both free and will fix MANY of your probs...
And tell them "pesky kids" to get off MSN and do something less borin instead :-) !! Hell, get em on the geeeeeeetar!!
hehehe
Good luck bud
Coco.
Jun 20, 2005 04:55 pm Id also concurr with dB it'll be augmented by the browsing off such sites as those kids hang on...I cant htink of hand of one I mean but I know she had issues with some darn site that stores folks birthdays etc and sends reminders to those in the list (she creates)...its all spyware,adware etc...
Man, its just junk.
Jun 20, 2005 04:57 pm Thanks, you two. I'll have a look at the Trillian thing. Might be just the ticket! I'll look at the two freebies, as well.
I knew where to go for help....
Jim
Jun 20, 2005 05:01 pm the bigger trick is learning how to take care of spyware and malware when you get it, cuz they find there way everywhere it seems...
the two apps Coco mentioned are good, the new Yahoo toolbar has a tool to help limit spyware, using FireFox insead of IE will help stop driveby installs, and actually, Microsoft makes a free anti-spyware app that I have been using for a while and it is actually pretty darn good once you get past the jokes about it removing IE and stuff...
Jun 20, 2005 05:08 pm Bwwwwwwwwwhahahahaha... - aye - that is classic dB.
OK Jim, here is the apps I speak off:
www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ - excellent app and free.
www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html - very good app.
Get BOTH, they both serve similar purposes tho Spybot has MANY options to lock your host files etc..handy as hell.
AND, get this too Jim, I use this too and it kicks ***:
www.zonelabs.com/store/co...d=staticcomp_za - FREE Virus checker that I use ISNTEAD of Norton...excellent wee app and you canny beat the price.
There ye go - 3 excellent bits of kit for NOWT!!
Rockin man..
Coco.
Jun 20, 2005 05:11 pm nonono, the best free AV app is AVG. www.grisoft.com it's lightweight and very effective. It's all I've used for a couple years now I bet.
I HATE ZoneAlarm, it always messes up my email...
Jun 20, 2005 05:21 pm i use msn messenger 9 hours a day 6 days a week here, and don't have a single problem.....i think it's the surfin'
Jun 20, 2005 05:24 pm Might try that dB...never had any issues with ZA tho but I dont use it on the email - just virus prot.
WYD - dude, yer maybe have a point but Im sure the crappy app lets some junk thru...after all - it IS made by MS! :-(
Coco.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Jun 20, 2005 05:25 pm I agree its the surfing. And I've been using Zonealarm for years now with no problems whatsoever. Paired with AVG and AdAware, I'm in pretty good shape as far as malware...can't remember the last time I had a virus or anything of the sort.
Jun 20, 2005 05:28 pm i'm really gettin' worried about google....i've got their tool bar, and G-mail, and i know the g mail is tainted because i get 'customized' ads on watever my e-mail message is about....
irks me off
Jun 20, 2005 05:41 pm Ummmmmm, that's Google AdSense, it's the same ads I have on some of the HRC pages. They are brilliant pieces of work the way the customize like that, it's a VERY effective form of advertising and does not infect your PC at all...it reads the page content and determines related ads dynamically, I find it very cool. Also, I can tell from using them and watching performance they are VERY effective.
I am constently considering putting them on the forum pages, but don't want to have more ads than content :-)
Jun 21, 2005 12:24 am If you're having constant problems with adware/spyware, there are a couple of likely culprits, the most common of which is simply not fully getting rid of them. Adware has a tendency to spread like bacteria: if you don't kill it all, it will just come back stronger! Make sure you have a router between your computer and the modem/internet, otherwise stuff can just stream on in without you doing anything at all! Make sure to start up your computer in safe mode (press 'F8' before windows starts loading up when you boot your computer) and run your anti-spyware/adware/virus software then; otherwise, you're trying to get rid of it while it is running, which is a futile effort. If all else fails and no matter what you do, you can't get rid of the random popups, spyware, adware, etc., post back here and I can give you my email address (or aim screen name, haha!) and I can give you step by step instructions to remove basically anything. (I do this for a living :)) Good luck!
olddogMember
Since: Jul 02, 2003
Jun 21, 2005 01:09 am How alot of these things are getting thru these days is popping up a "Your computer may be at risk" and offering to scan to it, so people click Okay to scan and there it begins. People think it's their Spyware killer, or Anti Virus program that they are clicking okay for. You can install all the blockers you want but if the people okay the installation it isn't going to help. They're really getting sneaky these days.
I just spent the whole weekend cleaning my bosses computer, it's like a wild fire put out the fire in one place and it's back in another.
Dan
Jun 21, 2005 10:24 am One thought here. While Using MSN alone is not likely to contract a virus or spyware, dowloading items that other send through msn can. there are lots of people that embed small nasty apps in things like jpegs, and even movie clips. Chances are, this may more likely be the culprit.
Jun 30, 2005 01:55 am I'm late to this party, but i'll add to the "Trillian is nice" chorus.
I've been using it for a few years and it's wonderful. None of the headaches that often accompany MSN and (ugh) AIM.
SmurfMember
Since: Aug 13, 2005
Aug 16, 2005 12:55 am AVG, AdAware, Spybot S&D, Zonealarm. Never had a problem and been using them for years.....
But I think the biggest piece of junk that got on this computer was windows........;-)
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Aug 16, 2005 11:11 am I agree with the surfin culprit as well. I've cleaned people's PCs, infected with hundreds of malware, but they don't chat at all.
I've had msn msgr here for a while, light duty, and since switching to FF, i've had almost 0 problems with malware.
Get Firefox, and be free!. I also run adaware, and spybot occasionally, but not every other day, like i used to with IE.
Aug 17, 2005 09:53 am I use GAIM for multi-protocol IM. 100% free, opensource, less holes, and multi-platform.
Second the Lavasoft AdAware.
AVG is alright for free, but has missed too many viruses for my taste as it's updates are slow compared to the corporate stuff I use.
IE, trash it... Well, if you could (don't try, you'll f*** up windows). Just use firefox. Most spyware and todays virii are a result of using IE.
I also lock down my machines as MS doesn't package the software out of the box anywhere near secure. Someday I'll write an article on the procedure... It's pretty lengthly!
W.
jmailjimmie neutronMember
Since: Feb 14, 2005
Aug 17, 2005 05:14 pm Now, *THAT* would make for an excellent article to post here. Would you be able to do one on Win2K AND WinXP?
Aug 17, 2005 09:48 pm a word of warning about AVG, from retard-me (admittedly):
i thought AVG was a godsend. but it appears to be poartly responsible for destroying my old computer! i once got a bad virus that infected just about every .exe file on my computer. (according to AVG) i might have told you guys about this when it happened. anyway, while knowing that this action could potentially be absolutely retarded, i made AVG quarantine all those .exe's. yes, i knew that it might affect the running of the computer, if some infected files were system-critical, but i did it anyway. im not sure why. i told myself--hey, AVG's not infected, so if this doesnt solve the problem, ill just reinstate all the quarantined files. i didnt need most of them anyway. i had the ability to reinstall: much of the crap on my computer was freeware i'd picked up at download.com.
so i quarantined everything. i dont remember what happened next or what the result was. but when i went to reinstate all my programs, there were only 3 in the quarantine folder!!! everything else had simply been erased by AVG. as if the folder was not big enough to contain more than a few MB. which i was never told about!
i had to get a new computer. it was time, anyway, and yeah, i made a retarded mistake, because some of those files were system-critical, and the computer didnt run right after those files were destroyed. but the fact remains: AVG's quarantine feature failed in a major way, as far as i can tell.
as for messengers, i use AIM, because i dont think trillian lets you 'direct connect' and i do a lot of copy/pasting of photos directly into the IM window, and everyone i know uses AIM without exception. ive never even met anyone who uses yahoo or msn. i have never received spam or anything nasty from AIM in 5 years of use.
zekthedeadcowEat Spam before it eats YOU!!!Member
Since: May 11, 2002
Aug 17, 2005 11:04 pm Actually a number of worms try to randomly generate IP addresses to access PCs that are simply plugged in... I've read a study a couple years ago that claimed an unpatched XP box will last 20 minutes before being compromised with it simply being left on and pluged into a unfirewalled broadband connection.
Aug 19, 2005 09:14 am Zeke, change that to 'won't last 20 minutes'. I've had to deal with machines plugged in, sans firewall, being infected within 30 seconds of the OS being installed.
Yeah, I could probably write one for 2K as well...
W.
Aug 19, 2005 10:08 am fortymile, here is another free anti-virus I heard about the other day that I got some good reviews of, never used it myself though.
www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
That said, AVG has never given me a problem personally, bummer what you had going on there...
mercl8Member
Since: Aug 26, 2005
Aug 28, 2005 05:03 am with kids online most of your viruses/adware can be traced to music download and video game cheat code sites. The only way to completely rid yourself of these self-reinstalling nuissances is to use three of the above mentioned programs. Each has it's own specialty.
download all three programs before you start. You can't run one then sownload the next and run it, etc. They have to be run back to back.
Avg is by far the best free virus solution run this one first.
Next run Adware
and run Spybot search and destroy last.
oh, and by the way Yahoo toolbar is responsible for alot of spyware itself, i recommend not using it.
Sep 19, 2005 03:47 pm I Run Adaware on this PC everyday and theres always somethng
