MBAM, BOClean, Avira Security Suite

[Buddel]

Dear all,

I intend to run the following apps in real-time:

• Avira Security Suite
  MBAM
  BOClean
  

(OS: Vista 32bit SP 1)

Does this work or should I get rid of BOClean? Thanks for your reply in advance.

[exile360]

I've heard from other users who have both running in realtime and they've said it works fine. Boclean works with darn near everything because of the way it works (all it does is run a quick check of processes running in memory every ten seconds to see if any are malicious). To make sure you have no conflicts, Boclean has an "excluder" that lets you add programs to a trusted zone so they don't get scanned. Add all the active components of Avira as well as MBAM's protection component and you should be fine.

[Buddel]

So MBAM and BOClean are not really compatible with each other, are they?

What about the Avira Security Suite and MBAM?

And what about MBAM and SuperAntiSpyware (real-time)?

[exile360]

No, MBAM and Boclean ARE really compatible with each other, adding realtime security program's processes to another's trusted list is simply a good guideline and standard practice. I have all my security apps in my whitelist for Kaspersky Anti-Virus (my AV) and for Comodo Boclean to prevent any unforseen issues that might occur (I've never seen any issues, but better safe than sorry). Avira works fine with MBAM, in fact many users that frequent this forum use those 2 together and Avira is often recommended by mods and experts here because it's free and has good detection rates. Running SAS (SUPERAntiSpyware) in realtime with MBAM would be redundant because they typically target the same infection types (rogues, trojans, rootkits, vundo etc), but I've even seen users successfully running the two of them in tandem (realtime turned on for both) and they didn't have issues either. What it comes down to is finding the combination you're comfortable with that works on your system. I've seen some antivirus softwares cause bluescreens because they were incompatible with a user's sound card drivers, so again, it's all about what you have. The point is, I've seen the combinations you mentioned (all of them) several times on several systems and the users who had them had no problems with running them together.

[Buddel]

OK, compatiblity in one thing. However, what happens if a nasty tries to infect my machine? Will Avira, BOClean and MBAM all jump on it at the very same time, trying to kill it, and if they do, how will they react? Couldn't it be the case that this scenario may cause some problems?

Another question: Is it enough to add the exe files of MBAM and BOClean to the respective whitelists. If not, how do I find out what processes need to be whitelisted?

[exile360]

If one tries to infect you and all three hit on it it will most likely go like this: Avira will detect it first because it is the one that scans files and downloads and is hooked into your network connection to scan actual web traffic. It will kill it off before the others even see it. If Avira misses it and the malware gets in and is in memory either MBAM will hit on it first or Boclean will (I'm not sure which), but lets say they both hit it at once, both have an option to ignore the detection, so you would ignore it with one, then kill it with the other. This is another unlikely scenario based on the way Boclean works because, even though it's resident protection may be running, it's not constantly monitoring all processes in memory, it does quick memory scans of processes every 10 seconds, so most likely MBAM or Avira would hit on it first. The reason Boclean works this way is because it is designed to be a backup in case your AV or AS softwares miss something, kind of a last line of defense (similar to relying on a firewall to block a trojan or keylogger's activities should they slip past your AV).

edit: sorry, got caught up answering the first question and neglected the second one, you only need to add MBAM's components that run in memory to Boclean's trusted list and the same goes for the processes related to Avira. You can use the task manager to determine what they are (and with Vista, you can right click on a process to open the file location which comes in very handy to identify where it is).

[Buddel]

OK, thanks for your help. So I will try using the Avira Suite, BOClean and MBAM all in realtime and see what happens.

[exile360]

Sounds like a plan, and no worries, if you do discover a conflict or issue, however unlikely, there's great support here on our forum and on the Comodo forum and I haven't been there myself, but I hear good things about Avira's support as well. Not only that, but the developers are on here all the time and if an issue arises for a user that can't be resolved with a simple fix, then they are more than willing to provide a refund (though I doubt you'll want one). Good luck and safe surfing my friend.

[Buddel]

Again, thanks a lot for your help. Great forum - and great product!

[Buddel]

This is what I have found out so far:

Avira

They usually discourage people from using more than one real-time security app.

MBAM and BOClean

They seem to be of the opinion that the Avira Suite, MBAM and BOClean can all be run in real-time without any problems. Let's hope they are right. I haven't had any problems so far.

[exile360]

Yeah, Kaspersky says the same thing. My system is running proof (and has been for 2 years) that they are incorrect, they are just afraid of trying to support you if some unforeseen conflict does arise. But fear not, if you have an issue we'll help you out, at the very least to determine the exact cause.

[Buddel]

Yeah, Kaspersky says the same thing.

I know, I used their software a couple of years ago. (good choice, by the way)

[exile360]

Yeah, it's a good AV. By the way, if you want a bit more protection you could consider adding Spybot Search and Destroy (jus use the immunize function, not TeaTimer) and Spywareblaster, they block bad activex and bad websites and you could also use a good hosts file (I'm using a program called HostsMan, it works great). Really, though you probably won't need it as all 3 of the apps you've chosen update very frequently and have excellent detection rates, even against many 0 day infections.

[Buddel]

Thanks for your recommentation. I used Spybot a long time ago, but I didn't like it any more. It was kind of unstable on my computer, so I uninstalled it. What I still use is SpywareBlaster, another great app. I've been using it for many years and still like it.