Which Programs?

Hey, i recently just did a clean up of all the malware with the advice of TimW. Now all this seems to be sorted, fingers crossed I was wondering which programs to use for things like startup programs as it says not to use msconfig in the malware removal thread. Plus was wondering if it is worth downloading a pop up blocker to just stop them wee pop ups that can occur every now and then...and which one to download? Also is it worth downloading this a squared program as it says it is a perfect tool to complement my antivirus program, which is Avast btw.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks

 

CCleaner is excellent for this. It will consolidate ALL startup programs for the current user account.

Depends what browser you are using. Mozilla Firefox has a fairly decent pop-up blocker built in, as does Internet Explorer 7. Internet Explorer 6 has one when patched up, but I never found it too effective.

I believe this is the intention of the malware removal forum. To set users up with an AV solution with real-time protection (which Avast! has), and because no product is 100% secure, to have a couple on-demand scanners to back up the primary.

I haven't used A squared myself, but a lot of users here LOVE it.

 

Most software has the ability to disable run at startup, java, which can be accessed through the Control Panel you remove the check in front of "Check for updates automatically" under the update tab. With AIM you open the program and in preferences remove the check in front of Start when windows starts. The registry key most are located in is HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. I make a screenshot of the entry before editing it rather than backup the registry, usually. Startup items may also be in the startup folder, this is handy when you want something to run at startup that normally doesn't. Located in the following path C:\Documents and Settings\"User Name"\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
Take it easy when working with regedit, and if you don't have an initial/baseline backup of the registry, make one before you start tinkering. Google registry backup for suggestions, there are programs that will do it for you or you can export/copy the registry settings to another folder and import back if you run into trouble. Take it slow when working with the registry, don't want to hose your system, but editng the registry can really open doors to personalizing your system.
a-squared works well and detects a lot, and the scan will take a while, but it isn't a resource hog so using other applications during the scan shouldn't cause a slowdown. I use Firefox, Opera and K-Meleon as alternative browsers. Have noticed pop-ups getting in once in a while lately with Firefox, not yet with Opera. K-Meleon is still in Beta. Tweak it or the bunny gets it...:major
Bug
:tas

 

I already have the CCleaner but just was not sure if it was worth using or i had to use another specific program after reading the malware removal guide. I just loaded up CCleaner and used it to deselect a few of the startup processes. I use Internet Explorer 6 as i dont really like IE7. Firefox i used to use ALOT but as i play Yahoo pool online i do not use anymore as they dont really agree with eachother that well for me, think thats java related though. I've heard alot about HOST files being a good way of blocking alot of pop up and ads, any opinions on that? Cheers

 

It would work if you had the patience to add a new entry to your hosts file for every pop-up you get.

Really more a reactive measure than a proactive. There may be softwares that will do this for you, but I'm not sure which to point you to.