Free lightweight anti-virus

[ibm5155]

They can appear in jpgs, mp3s, website code, etc. Keep that in mind as well.

I've always wondered, how the hell do viruses get inside images and audio files? Sometimes when I scan files I see that it reports two files even though the file is just a single file, like a PNG image for example. I know it's not a thumbnail because I have those turned off and I can see there's no hidden system thumbnail file or thumbs.db or anything.

Using stenography methods, they actually change the image and music file, but the change is invisible for our ears and eyes
It's the best way to hide a file instead of adding passwords and stuff to protect it...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganography

as the wiki example, this image

is inside of this image

There's a change on the image, but as said before, you can't detect it using your eyes

And for mp3 files it's very easy, people just fit the mp3 inaudible area.

The way the image viewer execute the file inside of it is a mistery for me, maybe they use some special byte, so you could start a system call for execute that hidden file

EDIT: AND NO, DON'T USE WINDOWS DEFFENDER. it's not a fanhate, is just the fact that it only detected 20% of the virus form a antivirus test, while other free ones were arount 70 - 90%

[wildweasel]

My best advice? Install some form of adblocker. Even if your computer is not strong enough to handle one of the various AdBlock extensions (my personal favorite is uBlock for Chrome, or AdBlock Edge for Firefox), this HOSTS file patch is excellent for blocking shit at the source.

[Kostov]

Any MalwareBytes ID and key can be reused infinetly. Here.

(Uh, sorry, distribution of "serialz" is pretty much against the rules. -ww)

That's your antimalware covered.

[Nevander]

Okay this is freaking me out. I uploaded a file to a place called TinyUpload(dot).com, it seems legit (honestly). No pop ups or ads or strange links or hidden download links. It seems straight up and legit. I uploaded a ZIP file to it containing one single WAD file. When scanned, this WAD file (from my host machine where it originated) reports ONE item. However, when I downloaded my file from there and unzipped it, scanned the exact same WAD file and now it reports TWO files scanned. What?

[phantombeta]

EDIT: AND NO, DON'T USE WINDOWS DEFFENDER. it's not a fanhate, is just the fact that it only detected 20% of the virus form a antivirus test, while other free ones were arount 70 - 90%

Pretty sure that's outdated and from the time when Windows Defender only blocked spyware. Newer versions of Windows Defender (post-Win7. I.e. Win8 and newer) are VERY good.
Oh, and here's a thing...
The version of Windows Defender that comes with Windows 8(.1) is pretty much Microsoft Security Essentials. (Actually, it is MSE, I believe...)

From the MSE page on the Microsoft website:

Note: Windows Defender is also available in earlier versions of Windows. However, in earlier versions Windows Defender only provides protection against spyware. In Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, Windows Defender provides full malware protection for your PC. Malware consists of viruses, spyware, and other potentially unwanted software.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Any MalwareBytes ID and key can be reused infinetly. Here.

ID: [REMOVED]
Key: [REMOVED]

That's your antimalware covered.

Pretty sure that's against the forum rules :v

[ibm5155]

I actually mean windows defender from 2015
http://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/hom ... pril-2015/
And
http://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/hom ... windows-8/

[leileilol]

I just use Comodo.


does have a habit of annoyingly updating its database 24/7 sometimes though keeping the computer from sleeping and interrupting defragging

[Hellser]

Any protection is better than no protection, if you know what I mean. Besides the joke, many people will still prefer Windows Defender / Security Essentials. I dislike it, I dislike Windows Firewall, but it's an option - and a okay/good one. But not something I recommend right off the bat.

I still recommend Avast, however. It's my choice since around 2006. If you however dislike Avast saying "AVAST DATABASE HAS BEEN UPDATED", there's a gaming/silent function you can enable. It won't ever bother you again.

[Marisa the Magician]

Seeing as you mention the terms "free" and "lightweight", how about you try clamwin? Thing is, it's not an active scan antivirus, so it won't really protect you from infections as soon as they happen, but hey, at least it doesn't get in the way of everything you run and slow things down.

I use it alongside malwarebytes to run scans every once in a while. I don't really have any other "security" on Windows besides having UAC enabled.

I recall I've only been infected once with a worm/keylogger combo because I forgot to scan an installer for a game before letting it run as admin. It was a fun adventure getting rid of the little rascal, since it forced a BSOD when killing its process.

[ibm5155]

Windows UAC is the best thing ever made.
If well used, you may never get problem with virus among users...

Clanwim may be good, but it's really slow on my pentium mmx machine, I gave up and took avg 7.0

[Blox]

Windows UAC is the best thing ever made.

UAC is basically a bad HIPS program, which is a central part of

I just use Comodo.

Although while this is also true for me, I really hate CIS versions newer than version 5 - since both the performance and responsiveness went down the drain and best of all is that STEALTHILY FUCKING PROGRAMS UP WITHOUT ASKING ME is also a thing since CIS v6.

[wildweasel]

Clanwim may be good, but it's really slow on my pentium mmx machine

Well, considering the OP has said his "crappy" machine has 1 GB of RAM, I imagine they're working with something a bit quicker than a Pentium MMX.

[chopkinsca]

Thanks for all the replies.

I'd like to go without an antivirus, as I feel my browsing habits are safe enough. It's just those random 'drive-by' viruses that worry me.

[leileilol]

FWIW I had no issue with Comodo running with a 512MB DDR 8thgen GHZey machine.

[Dancso]

No such thing as a drive-by virus. (unless I misinterpreted what you mean by it)

- Either someone hacks you (through a program that is vulnerable or was made for file transfer / remote control but requires no password, or because your password is "apple")
- Or you fall victim to a trojan horse.

It's very rare to get hacked through the internet unless you've exposed your IP address somewhere, such as a video game server, the host has access to it to provide you the service of gameplay, or torrenting is the more likely culprit, because there can be thousands of users, often with malign intent.
Even if someone knows your IP, they have to know what ports you are vulnerable on. Unless you initiate connection with the hacker's computer (outbound, like via autoconnection by a torrent client), you need to have a port forwarded to be able to accept connections (inbound, like hosting a server). If you have a router, the default behaviour is often that all ports are NOT forwarded, and you need to manually assign ports you want your PC to act as a service on.

A firewall's most basic function is to determine which application can communicate on the network, on which ports, which protocol (TCP/UDP), inbound or outbound, and what IPs are allowed to do so.
This way, you can narrow down connections to applications you completely trust. At that point, unless you trust an insecure app, you're pretty much safe from attacks that try to gain control of your PC or intend to plant malware and run it.

As for trojans, aside from using your best judgement, your safest bet is to keep an updated antivirus software and scan everything you download. As I've said in a previous post, your main concern should lie in running binary files (.exe) or vulnerabilities in programs that open other files you may have downloaded (though pretty much every commonly used app should be safe)

To put it simply, when you're suspicious about software you've downloaded, give it a scan before you run it. Other than that, you may run full system scans every now and then to make sure you're safe, especially before handling sensitive data like your credit card info.