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Malwarebytes vs Windows Defender


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exactly - and if you have a look at my latest observations, it is probably worth running all of these from time to time;

  • Windows Defender
  • Superantispyware
  • Malwarebytes

there are others on the market, but I do not have time to run all them, but run the others from time to time e.g. Hitman pro, EMISOFT.

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On ‎6‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 0:55 PM, msmithani said:

I could be wrong, and it may be advisable to run Malwarebytes alongside Windows Defender, though on the current evidence, which I have posted this is not the case.

If Malwarebytes in the next 6 months detects significantly more threats than Windows Defender, and we conclude by using the method above that they are high risk, then it may be advisable to keep running Malwarebytes.

I had MBAM installed on three computers for years ( at least 3) along with various antiviruses (MSE, NOD32, Avira) and NEVER EVER I had a detection triggered by MBAM before the antivirus.

Moreover, most of the "web protection" blocks were / are false positive, with zero detection on Virus Total.

I donated most of my life time licenses...

Edited by lock
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@lock

interesting,

so if I interpret this correctly, what you are saying is that you always ran the antivirals first, and then MBAM. And that when you did this, the antivirals always intercepted the threats, so that by the time that MBAM ran, there was nothing left.

What you are also saying is that MBAM never detected anything that the antivirals missed?

There is some information on the internet that states that you should NOT run more than two antivirals at the same time, as it can be dangerous.

Could also depend on which version of Windows you are using, and internet connection.

I am now using Virgin Optical Fiber.

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Why Using Multiple Antivirus Programs is a Bad Idea

https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/multiple-antivirus-programs-bad-idea/2670/

You might think that, much like a pirate going into battle, the more weapons you have at your disposal for your protection the better: cutlass in one hand, pistol and the other, knife held between the teeth (hence the expression ‘armed to the teeth’). But while that may work in old-fashioned combat, it is not the case when it comes to protecting your system from the sea of danger it constantly faces. Running two antivirus programs at the same time is, in fact, a very bad idea. There are three reasons why:

They will try to kill each other. Because antivirus programs search your system for programs that are monitoring and sending information about your system, a competing antivirus program that is monitoring and sending information about your system tends to look like a virus, so it will attempt to block it and remove it.

They will fight over viruses. When an antivirus program encounters a virus, it removes it and quarantines it. But if a competing antivirus program sees that quarantined file and wants to remove and quarantine it in accordance with its own objectives, then it will repeatedly send reports and notifications about this virus that it is detecting, even though it is no longer actually a threat to your system. If you don’t want to continually get bogus warning messages, this will be a problem for you.

They will sap your power. Antivirus programs use a lot of your system memory to conduct system scans and other related operations. If you have two of these operating simultaneously, your system’s effectiveness can be greatly diminished or completely wiped out altogether, and without any benefit, since the two are performing redundant operations.

When it comes to protecting your computer, more protection is not better. Take some time to do the research and choose one comprehensive antivirus suite that has been independently tested to combat the latest known malware programs and that will singlehandedly arm your system to the teeth to protect it against every type of threat.

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Qt25440.pngTips, tricks, advice and recommendations

Now it's time to give you some tips, tricks, advice and recommendations on how to protect your system and prevent you from being infected in the future. This is where I'll explain basic security measures that you should take to protect and harden your system, and also make sure it stays as safe and secure as possible against hackers and malware. You are free to ignore the recommendations listed below, although I obviously do not recommend it. If you have any questions about one of the points covered in the speech below, feel free to ask me your questions here directly so I can answer them and guide you.

Windows Updates

Keeping Windows up to date is one of the first steps in having a safe and secure system. The Security Updates that Windows receives are meant to fix exploits and flaws in it that makes it more secure and not exploitable by hackers. In order to do that, you should always install the Security Updates, known as "Important Updates" on your Windows system. These updates are released on the second Tuesday of every month, but some are also released before if they are emergency/critical Security Updates. Let's make sure that you have all your Important Updates and Recommended Updates installed and that your Windows Updates are set to be installed automatically.

Keeping your programs up-to-date

Like keeping Windows updated, keeping your installed programs up-to-date is another important step in having a safe and secure system. Outdated programs can be exploited by hackers and malware to infect a system and take it over. This is especially true today with the rise of Exploit Kits which is one of the biggest attack vectors to distribute malware. Therefore, you should always keep vulnerable programs like Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Shockwave Player, Java, Silverlight, etc. updated to their most recent version (even better, you don't have to install them if you don't use them). Programs like eLDnJfI.pngSecuniaPSI and dqVs5wj.pngHeimdal Free will scan your system for outdated programs, and help you identify them, as well as update them.

Antivirus, Antimalware, Firewall and Anti-Exploit/Ransomware

Having a decent security setup (led by an Antivirus) is the most crucial step to protect a system. These programs are a layer of defence that will prevent a system from being infected, or if it somehow ends up infected, help mitigate the infection and remediate it. Ideally, you should have on your system one Antivirus (never more than one installed at the time), one Antimalware (you can install multiple of these, assuming they do not conflict with each other and the other security programs installed), one Firewall and if you wish, one Anti-Exploit and/or Anti-Ransomware (since Ransomware are currently the most dangerous threat around and it can hit anywhere). Here are a few programs worth checking out if you don't have one yet.

Note: The programs listed below are all free to use or they have some sort of trial. Some of them have a paid version that provides more features, while a lot of other good programs only have a paid version but aren't listed there (such as Kaspersky and ESET Antivirus products).

Antivirus

Antimalware

Firewall
Starting in Windows Vista, the Windows Firewall greatly improved and will satisfy the needs of most users. If you do not have an Internet Suite Antivirus program (which includes a firewall) and you want to use a 3rd party firewall, you can consider the options below.

  • 7p3JzTS.pngGlassWire - Has both a free and paid version (with different packages);
  • MQIMh6k.pngWindows Firewall Control - Gives you more control over your Windows Firewall;
  • 5RXGshU.pngTinyWall - Lightweight firewall implementing the Windows Firewall and giving you more control over it;

Anti-Exploit/Anti-Ransomware

Web Browsers and Web Browsing

Web Browsers could be considered as the closest door between a malware and your system. This is where most malware goes through to infect a system, and therefore it should be the program(s) you want to secure the most. There are two ways of going about it: hardening your web browser via extensions, and having good browsing habits. 

Hardening your web browser means to install extensions that will help it protect itself (and your system on the same occasion) against Exploit Kits, MiTM attacks, etc. but also you at the same time. Here are a few extensions that I recommend you to install.

  • uBlock Origin: Efficient multi-purpose blocker that is lightweight on RAM and CPU usage (Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, called uBlock on Opera);
  • HTTPS Everywhere: Extension that converts your HTTP (unencrypted) requests to HTTPS (encrypted) ones (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Opera);
  • Web of Trust: Website reputation, rating and review extension that will help you quickly identify bad and suspicious sites from good ones (every web browsers);
  • NoScript: NoScript is a script blocker (Java, Flash, JavaScript, etc.) for Mozilla Firefox and Firefox-based browsers (Mozilla Firefox and Firefox-based web browsers);
  • uMatrix: For advanced users, a point and click matrix-like extensions that allow you to control requests done on a webpage (based on source, destination and type) (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Opera);
  • LastPass: Secure password manager allowing you to create, manage, and use passwords you save in your LastPass account (every web browser);

As for safe browsing habits, you can find tons of guides, tutorials, articles, etc. online that will highlight the basics you need to follow (only visit websites you trust, do not click on ads, do not download files from untrusted sources, use a password manager, always verify the URL of a website and make sure it's correctly typed, etc.), and even what you can do if you want to take it a step further (create a fake email address for spam emails, browse the web in a privacy mode, etc.). Here are a few:


As you can see, there are plenty of resources out there. Simply Googling "good browsing habits" or "safe browsing habits" should allow you to find a lot of them.

Other recommendations

Even if you follow every recommendation that I listed here, in the end, it's also your job to be careful when browsing the web and downloading files if you don't want to get infected. Therefore, if you use your brain (common sense) when browsing the web, downloading programs and files, etc., you have far less chances to get infected by a malware. If for example you're not sure if a website is legitimate or not, or if a file is safe to download and execute, or if a program looks "too good" to be free, I suggest you to avoid going to that website, downloading that file or using that program.

Here are a few guides, tutorials, articles, etc. that you could read in order to learn more about computer protection and security to improve your current computer protection setup but also improve your good web browsing and computer usage practices :


gRvSooB.pngThe End!

And that's it! Now that you know more about how to protect your computer and secure it, you're good to go back to your online activities, but in a safe and secure way! You are also free to stay on the forums and ask for help in different topics if you ever need to. Just make sure that you post your question/issue in the right section to get the best assistance possible. And if you ever get infected again (which I hope you wont!), you can always comeback in this section to get another checkup with one of our trained malware removal member.

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this is some advice from Microsoft too;

it is impossible to do everything - it would be a whole days work if not more, so best to take advice from forums like this, and decide what is best.

I personally always have Windows Defender switched on, and download free editions of Malwarebytes and Superantispyware from time to time and run them, and then when I have time follow the more extensive advice from Aura and Microsoft.

I also have Dell Support as well, who can take control of the computer remotely.

 

 

 

Hi Murad,

 

Thanks for contacting Answer Desk.

 

Please refer to the links below for your reference :

 

How to prevent and remove viruses and other malware

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/129972/how-to-prevent-and-remove-viruses-and-other-malware

 

https://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/definitions/adl.aspx

 

https://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/definitions/adl.aspx

 

You may check this tool as well :

 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/malicious-software-removal-tool-details.aspx

 

Come back if you need more help. There’s help here too:

 

·         Microsoft community – To find answers for questions others have asked (yours might be similar), or to ask a new one.

 

·         Microsoft Support site – For step-by-step instructions and getting started info.

 

Have you heard about Microsoft’s newest operating system, Windows 10? Learn more.

 

Thanks again for choosing Answer Desk. We’re here when you need us.

 

Answer Desk Team

 

Please don’t reply to this message. If you need more help, come back to Answer Desk. Your service request is 1386566674 in case you need it.

 

Read the Microsoft Answer Desk service agreement.

 

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http://www.dell.com/support/contents/uk/en/ukbsdt1/dellconnect

With Dellconnect, they can take control of the computer remotely.

DellConnect

Let us take it from here.

Sometimes what you really need is someone to fix a problem for you or show you how to fix it. DellConnect allows a Dell technical support person to connect to your device and take control remotely to help you troubleshoot your issue.
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msmithani,

I'm afraid I lost track of what you are trying to say. First you state that windows defender is enough on its own, then you advise to use another anti-virus. Somewhere in the middle you advocate to use only one real-time security product and later on you recommend using an anti-malware program alongside an anti-virus program.
Is this meant as a general security advice thread? Or is this tread about the performance of MB like you talked about in the beginning? I've lost it.
Could you summarize what you are trying to say in a few sentences or preferably, one?

Regards,
A confused Durew

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@Durew

Based upon the current evidence to date (you can see that what I posted subsequently goes against what I posted earlier), Windows Defender was sufficient on its own.

However, as more evidence came to light as I ran more tests, hence why I stated that Windows Defender is not sufficient on its own.

I would re-read what I wrote very carefully. I never recommended the use of one product alone, but referred to an article that I read that did.

All my work has been done by experiment, and the conclusion I drew was to use the following three;

  • Windows Defender
  • Superantispyware
  • Malwarebytes

However, this may not be enough, and you may have to take additional steps as detailed by Microsoft, and Aura.

Doing all of this will take up too much time for a 'normal' individual, hence for simplicity I would recommend the three above.

For the avoidance of all doubt, I believe that North Korea is capable of completely decimating all known conventional antiviral software used in the Western World; a terrifying example of what they are capable of was broadcast recently. 

As a British Born Pakistani, with in depth knowledge of Pakistani exploits, and Pakistani technology, I believe that I have credible knowledge of what Pakistan and North Korea is capable of.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/oct/19/pakistan.northkorea

Pakistan helped North Korea make bomb

Pakistan was a key supplier to North Korea's secret nuclear programme, US officials said yesterday, confirming suspicions that first arose when Benazir Bhutto, the then Pakistani prime minister, went shopping for missile technology in Pyongyang and Beijing nearly a decade ago.

The report in yesterday's New York Times that Pakistan had supplied equipment to enrich uranium, including gas centrifuges, deepens the crisis posed by the discovery of North Korea's clandestine development of a bomb. Pakistan's military dictator, General Pervez Musharraf, is seen as a bulwark in the Bush administration's war on al-Qaida and the Taliban.

However, the report on the collaboration between North Korea and Pakistan merely confirmed what scientists, anti-nuclear campaigners and intelligence officers had suspected for years: that there was a natural partnership between North Korea's missile technology and Pakistan's expertise in the use of gas centrifuges to produce weapons-grade uranium.

As there is evidence that Kim Jong is using Apple products, or their derivatives - an imac, there should be no surprises that he is able to disable Western made computers.

 

kim-jong-un-imac.jpg

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North Korea behind WannaCry ransomware attack, British intelligence claims

http://bgr.com/2017/06/18/north-korea-wannacry-investigation-links/

A report from ZDNet cites sources inside the British National Cyber Security Centre, who claim that North Korea was behind the recent WannaCry ransomware attack that hit millions of users worldwide.

The ransomware software spread like wildfire between infected Windows machines, and hit the UK particularly hard. A number of hospitals and regional health services were taken offline by the attack, and some officials have suggested that the attack was directly responsible for a number of deaths as a result.

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The truth is that this technology has been jointly developed by Pakistani-Chinese-North Korea scientists who work in close liaison; not many people know that these three are very closely linked, and have been trading secrets for many years.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/05/30/wannacry-linked-chinese-hackers-not-north-korea-experts-say/

The WannaCry cyber attack that hit 150 countries could have been the work of Chinese-speaking hackers, new research shows. 

Researchers at Flashpoint have dismissed reports that North Korean hackers were behind the ransomware attack after finding evidence that the note was translated from another language into Korean. 

Their research shows fluent Chinese speakers could have created the WannaCry attack, which hit hundreds of thousands of machines at organisations including the NHS, Nissan and Telefonica.   

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@Porthos , what a bizarre, strange, if not stupid comment.

This is the data from my latest Windows Defender Scan.

Clearly, using it alone, many things slip through the net.

Aura sent me an email detailing how threats can be added into her Research centre petri dish.

Unfortunately for her, the potency of the computer viruses and cyberwarfare developed by those that I have made reference to are very very dangerous.

Slide1 (2).JPG

Slide1.JPG

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24 minutes ago, msmithani said:

what a bizarre, strange, if not stupid comment.

What I was referring to was all those extra links and pictures and bomb making took this thread way off base and that a good part of this discussion belongs in the general chat section, not the section where we give help with the Malwarebytes program. 

 

26 minutes ago, msmithani said:

the potency of the computer viruses and cyberwarfare developed by those that I have made reference to are very very dangerous.

Safe surfing will prevent 95% of all issues

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12 minutes ago, Porthos said:

What I was referring to was all those extra links and pictures and bomb making took this thread way off base and that a good part of this discussion belongs in the general chat section, not the section where we give help with the Malwarebytes program. 

 

Safe surfing will prevent 95% of all issues

dream on. Not a hope in hell against the firepower of North Korean/Chinese cyberwarriors. 

Now who is derailed? Where is there a reference to 'bomb making'?

It was examples of what technology the world is fearing has. Another example is enclosed - will make the magic eye at Wimbledon look like viewmaster!!!!

 

kimjongun2013a.jpg

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2 minutes ago, msmithani said:

Where is there a reference to 'bomb making'?

 

Pakistan helped North Korea make bomb

Pakistan was a key supplier to North Korea's secret nuclear programme, US officials said yesterday, confirming suspicions that first arose when Benazir Bhutto, the then Pakistani prime minister, went shopping for missile technology in Pyongyang and Beijing nearly a decade ago.

The report in yesterday's New York Times that Pakistan had supplied equipment to enrich uranium, including gas centrifuges, deepens the crisis posed by the discovery of North Korea's clandestine development of a bomb. Pakistan's military dictator, General Pervez Musharraf, is seen as a bulwark in the Bush administration's war on al-Qaida and the Taliban.

However, the report on the collaboration between North Korea and Pakistan merely confirmed what scientists, anti-nuclear campaigners and intelligence officers had suspected for years: that there was a natural partnership between North Korea's missile technology and Pakistan's expertise in the use of gas centrifuges to produce weapons-grade uranium.

As there is evidence that Kim Jong is using Apple products, or their derivatives - an imac, there should be no surprises that he is able to disable Western made computers.

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The article was sent to highlight that the collaboration between the nations mentioned was not just trading nuclear secrets but was also about swapping of computer technology, resulting in the weaponry that you are seeing on the media.

'bomb' in this context is misleading, 'missile', or 'nuclear tipped warhead' would be better.

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Hi msmithani,

Thanks for you explanation.

For added clarity I would advise you to keep this topic on 'windows defender is sufficient' evidence.
Than start a new topic in 'general chat' for the role of north Korea in malware development and cyber warfare.
Than start another one to propose and discuss good computing practices, again in 'general chat'.

Although the topics partially overlap (you can still refer to other topics is needed) this division will make it easier for people to read and understand what message you are trying to get across.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Durew

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@Durew

Thanks.

I am glad that you mentioned that these topics overlap.

As I am not a frequent forum frequenter I note your comments in relation to dividing, and will bear this in mind for future posts.

I am of the impression by the content of your post that you have the clarity that you sought in previous correspondence, and are as a consequence, less confused, or even better not confused at all now.

If you can confirm that you have all the answers that you were seeking I would be very grateful, and from my side, this query is now resolved.

Thanks in advance. 

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