Recommendation for Computer Use

[db5]

Before I download a new program I research it on the internet looking for safe (and free) often open source programs. Even those that are listed as the top 10 are suspect. I have two programs that I recommend to everyone:

Superantispyware (the free version)
Revouninstaller (the free version)

After downloading a program I usually (not always) run Superantispyware and if something gets flagged as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program) I'll do some more research and if it is potentially bad use Revo to uninstall it.

Don't uninstall if from Superantispyware because it leaves junk behind. When you use Revo uninstall everything by selecting Advanced (not safe or moderate). I may not have the names right but you will find out what I mean when you use it.

Recently I downloaded WebDiscover and JDownloader. JDownloader was listed as one of the top free download programs. It is loaded with spyware and installs stuff you don't want. WebDiscover is built for Chrome and changes your search engine to Bing.

Had I followed my own rule I could have avoided time and frustration getting things back to where I wanted them.

[RFGuy]

Before I download a new program I research it on the internet looking for safe (and free) often open source programs. Even those that are listed as the top 10 are suspect. I have two programs that I recommend to everyone:

Superantispyware (the free version)
Revouninstaller (the free version)

After downloading a program I usually (not always) run Superantispyware and if something gets flagged as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program) I'll do some more research and if it is potentially bad use Revo to uninstall it.

Don't uninstall if from Superantispyware because it leaves junk behind. When you use Revo uninstall everything by selecting Advanced (not safe or moderate). I may not have the names right but you will find out what I mean when you use it.

Recently I downloaded WebDiscover and JDownloader. JDownloader was listed as one of the top free download programs. It is loaded with spyware and installs stuff you don't want. WebDiscover is built for Chrome and changes your search engine to Bing.

Had I followed my own rule I could have avoided time and frustration getting things back to where I wanted them.

I would be very cautious with downloading and installing free software from the Internet. A long time ago, there were decent websites like SourceForge.net and others that were fairly reputable and had few malware/viruses. The past several years though it has become more and more difficult to secure free online software that is without any malware. Often times the base software package is fine, but the problem is the windows installers that come pre-packaged with the free software have embedded malware or viruses. I believe I read a while back that certain free sites like SourceForge had malware in a majority of their downloads from their site, i.e. meaning you really can't trust any of their downloads.

I believe it is safe downloading free software directly from a company's website, but only if they are a reputable and large enough entity. Examples that I can think of are the free version of malwarebytes, Chrome browser from Google, etc. If I ever choose to break my own rule on this, I would recommend running both a virus checker and a malware engine on the software before trying to install it. These tools are doing pattern checking to identify viruses and malware (some tools are better than others at pattern checking). A lot of commercial virus scanners do NOT scan for malware. Another problem is often one vendor may be slower at adding a new virus to their database than another vendor, so it helps to have more than one tool available to scan for viruses and malware.

There are a lot of good tools out there these days. I think I saw recently that Bitdefender is the #1 commercial virus scanner. For checking malware, I have always been partial to malwarebytes (free version or paid version) but there are other good ones too.

[jsburger]

I have been running ESET NOD32 and Malwarebytes both with paid licenses for years and have never had a virus or malware problem. I run them both in real time mode and they both do a full computer scan every day. Highly recommended.

[RFGuy]

For anyone interested, I found a good article discussing what happened to SourceForge.net and why it is filled with malware now (referencing my earlier post). They used to be the premier, trusted site for free software a decade or so ago. Now, I try not to trust anything free online after what happened to them. Caveat Emptor when it comes to free software downloads...I have removed countless viruses, malware and even trojans off of computers belonging to my family in the past (because of free software they downloaded to clicking on links or attachments they shouldn't have). It is always a pain when this happens, so I am sorry this happened to you.

https://www.howtogeek.com/218764/warnin ... n-help-it/