avast home is cool software but how to protect

[hopi]

Hello,

I am using avast home edition and it is very effective in detecting and cleaning hostile dlls.

But I have a problem. I have to keep running avast on and on.
And there is no end to this story: at least once to twice a day i run
avast to clean computer .

My question what else should I do to protect myself.
Till know i switched from IE6 to mozilla.
In IE6 I set up all security features recommended by MS and latest updates.


But avast 4 is still detecting dll's which can be deleted and supposed to be hostile.

What can I do to protect myself more effectively.

[lee16]

If your not already using a firewall i suggest you get 1, you can get a free one from here, http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/trial_zaFamily/trial_zaFamily.jsp?lid=home_freedownloads, it will stop most viruses/ hacks from ever getting on your computer.

[Staind]

Are you sure you're actually removing the virus and it's just not on your computer and continually spawning new files?

[hopi]

1. Am I sure I am destroying the virus on the computer?

No I am not sure.
That is why I am asking for help.
It seems it is reproducing itself. But I am not sure !

Is there any procedure where I can find out what is going on?

2. Ad firewall

2.1 downloading that firewall?
Is that 100% solution?

Why I can't use firewall that is installed with Windows XP?

3. Yesterday avast reported infected Windows Media PLayer infected. So I deleted and re-installed new version of WMP. I am afraid continuing with this policy soon or later
it'l stick to some important system file.

Thank you in advance for any hint or help,

[lee16]

2.1 downloading that firewall?
Is that 100% solution?

It should stop most known viruses/spyware and hacks.

Why I can't use firewall that is installed with Windows XP?

If your not already using the inbuilt xp firewall just activate them, i don't no how to do it myself because i don't use xp.

If you want you can just use both of them, they shouldn't conflict.

[hopi]

OK I activated XP Fw!
I am asking myself why this hasn't been the solution till now!
Beacause although I have built-in FW switched on I still get alarms from
avast.

And see no options to customize the behaviour of the firewall.

Ok il'll install firewall you guys suggested me and hoping in no conflict and successfully stopping the viruses and trojans or . worms!
But still questioning : Is that mean that I need for protection
whole this procedure and all those downloaded programs.

[se7engreen]

A firewall is a must for anyone surfing the web and you should definitely have some sort of protection.  Also for your current problem, I suggest you scan your computer with an online scanner.  
http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/ols.shtml
F-Secure is a good online scanner and there are many others you could use.  I personally use avast and I think it's great software but a second opinion never hurts.
Definitely get some kind of firewall once you get cleaned up.
Good luck.

[Kobra]

Get a HARDWARE firewall, not a software one. Hardware ones are much stronger, reliable, protect from a wider range of threats, and are very cheap.  A superb SMC Barricade will set you back a mere $20, and protect from over 1300 different attacks.

Use a good hosts file: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm  That one is updated weekly.

Run SpywareBlaster, its free, and doesn't stay resident: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

Finally, I HIGHLY recommend Pest Patrol, over 125,000 definitions, deep generic detection, and one of the most effective antitrojan/spyware/adware/keylogger products out there.  As well as being king for removal.

http://www.pestpatrol.com/

[bob3160]

Hopi
The following link will help.
http://snipurl.com/7dk6
Follow Technicals advice and your system should be virus free.
You may also want to look at some of his other posts for additional help.

[se7engreen]

Hardware ones are much stronger, reliable,

True

protect from a wider range of threats,

Depends on the sofware fw you compare it too and who's doing the configuring.

and are very cheap.

Yes

A superb SMC Barricade

Those are pretty sweet for a home user  

Of course, if you want to control outbound traffic to a high degree you need a software firewall or some kind of sandbox application.
I personally prefer to use both hw & sw firewall.  Must be my paranoid stricken personality...

[Chuck58]

I'm not sure this will help, but are you running Windows XP do you have System Restore disabled. I went through something similar with a virus that kept showing up. Someone told me to turn off system restore and that solved my problem.

[bob3160]

Chuck58
You where given that iformation only because your problem was located in a restore point.
Hopefully by now you have re-activated the system restorer.