AV/AS programs and their purpose/Function/Actions

-AV-
K Im trying to fully understand the matrix of these security apps.

For example I have AVG. Now i know that is active because i have the icon in my tray with the colors or is it?
With that said is it actually actively doing anything? I mean if i run into a malicious DL or site will it alert me or act on it?

If not, Whats the purpose if i can get infected but have it just for an after the fact scan? is that necessarily protection :confused

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-AS-

I am running Adaware SE Professional and also Spyblaster.
Is having the icon on' on my desktop enough? is that active? Do i need to open the program manually with the mouse n leave it open for it to work somehow? again whats the purpose if i can catch spyware n it's just there to attempt to resolve it after the fact.
Also would it help to run Adwatch? Im not really sure what thats doing.

Spyblaster, I enabled it all but how do i know for sure if its doing its job?
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Malware.
If this stuff is so inevitable how come in the last few days iv'e had them active i haven't seen any notifications? I do alot of surfing. Mainly my usualy sites of day to day work but in between i use google randomly n go to unknown domains/sites n encounter ads on the page n have seen pop ups (very rarely tho)
Also how do u deal with a pop for example. I had one last night on Firefox. It was on a seperate window. if i remember correctly it was 888.com I clicked on the X in the corner n it brought up a pop box for Yes n No. I kno better than to click either. I also hovered my mouse above the corner actions (min,Xout,etc..) n they were no active. I resolved it by opening the task manager n cancelling FF.
Is that the correct action to take?

Thanks.

 

That is exactly what it is supposed to do. Stop the user from running malicious code in real time. Can't recall whether it will plug into your browser and scan sites, however. This is what the website lists as features:

Well, this is mostly to make it easier on the user. This does the work, where I would advise a user to scan everything they download. No product is 100% effective, and that is why the malware forum will recommend having other scanning-only type apps installed for backup. (Not more than 1 with the 'real-time' features, though - it may cause problems when more than 1 tries to lock a file at the same time, or when one complains about the other's quarantine)

Spyblaster lists real-time protection as one of its features, so it is supposed to behave like AVG, targeting a different threat. Sadly, I can't find any info on what specifically it does (web site scanning, email, files...???)

Since this is real-time, I would NOT advise running adwatch with Adaware, for the same reasons you would not run two or more AV apps with real-time protection. Adaware is for backup scanning only.

I'm using Firefox as well, and I haven't seen a pop up since installing the Adblock Plus extension. This uses a subscription style filter list to block advertisement images. Makes the sites you visit a little cleaner as well.

Of course the best advice from the real experts on the subject can be found in the How To Protect Yourself From Malware! thread.

 

Cool so far so good. I did read the stuff in protection section i just needed specific elaboration.

I have a folder for back with Nod32 setup, SPybot S&D etc...

I actually havent ran adwatch since i had spyblaster.

Is adblock plus a plugin for Firefox? if not can u run it with what i have? already?
thanks again.

 

Yup. Should run fine with your security apps.

 

Thanks A Mill guys. I just Dl it n when i extract or whateva it knows where to go?

I can't wait till I buy a custom PC Im have a monster system with cream of the crop hardware n the first page i log to is MG so i can that sshh fully protected.

Them malware issues were a blessing in disguise!

 

Should I enable check banner links?:confused

 

Yea its cool, i didnt realize it was from the mozilla site. thought it was a random app. its fine, its in the corner of the browser.

Do i enable "Check Banner Links" :confused

Edit: Nevermind. No i dont click on site banners but i didnt know if they were a threat by themselves without clicking like self installing or something.
thanks