WinFix 2005

[Paul Iddon]

I occasionally get this programme trying to install when I go on the net.

I hear that once it gets onto your PC, the only way to get rid of it is a re-format. So I always switch off straight away.


Can Avast protect me from this seemilngly invasive thing?


Paul.

[galooma]

Hi and welcome ,
Given that it seems to be trojan i doubt avast would recognise it  but  it is removable if you look around http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=si_hijack&message.id=19773#M19773

[Lisandro]

I occasionally get this programme trying to install when I go on the net.
I hear that once it gets onto your PC, the only way to get rid of it is a re-format. So I always switch off straight away.
Can Avast protect me from this seemilngly invasive thing?

Paul, the invasive thing is WinFix 2005?
The better protection will be do not download it, do not install it 
Just Google WinFix 2005 and you'll find more.

[FreewheelinFrank]

What OS are you using? XP SP2 has largely sorted out the problem of unwelcome installations- Nothing can install if you don't click 'yes'.

If you have an older OS, try switching to Firefox- it doesn't have ActiveX so isn't vulnerable to most malicious, sleazy, dishonest or otherwise unwelcome installations.

[polonus]

Hello FwF,

Well but even with FF we find lately that there are many drive-by installations for these kind of malware (180solutions etc) by misusing the effect of pop-ups that people mistakingly take for MS alerts (click here to continue). Whenever they click they have agreed to an install. I would say, install the golden three (ad-aware, spybot s&d, spyware blaster, have Adblock and NoScript inside the browser, A-squared and you can surf much more relaxed for that matter,

greets,

polonus

[FreewheelinFrank]

I haven't come across anything like that with Firefox: what you're describing seems like the bad old days of pre-SP2 XP as documented by Ben Edelman. With SP2/Firefox, I never get a pop-up that is hard to get rid of. 

[FreewheelinFrank]

Keeping Java up-to-date may help:

http://www.spywareinfo.com/tempforum/index.php/topic,97.0.html