Windows 7 Protection from Malware/Virus?

[jensjo001]

Hey guys!
I am a non tech guy. So please pardon me if my question looks silly. I am currently using a windows 7 laptop. It’s a 3 year old system. Last week it got infected by some virus and malwares and I had to reinstall the OS. A few data including some photos, docs, music and game files were also lost. I have read in this cyber security blog about protection from virus and malware. I had AVG Free installed along with Malwarebytes free, but still my system was infected.

How can I give more protection to system so that It won’t be affected by malware or virus? Do you think windows defender will do a better job than AVG free? Please try to give an answer as soon as possible.

Laptop Details:
Asus
Intel Core i3
4GB Ram
1 GB Nvidia Graphics Card

If anymore details are required, please let me know.

Also, I heard that virus or malware won’t affect linux OS. Is it true?

 

[Neemobeer]

Honestly I'd say you get what you paid for and since it's free, it doesn't include the best level of protection. I would suggest going with a paid antivirus/malware product such as Webroot, Bit Defender, Kaspersky etc. I think it's important to note that malware authors are always finding ways to evade detection from security software so even having protection in place may not guarantee you won't get infected. It's also import to be a safe internet user. I'd suggest reading this https://blog.kaspersky.com/seven-useful-habits-for-a-safer-internet/3717/.

As for your question about Linux. No it is not immune to viruses, but it is attacked far less than Windows primarily due to the fact that not a lot of people use it. One of the main motivations for malware authors is to make a profit and Windows has a much larger market share of the computer space. Larger market share = larger profit.

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Hi,
Certainly what Neem said is true, about you get what you pay for. We disagree on which paid AV program you use, but certainly AVG free or paid does not and will not protect your computer adequately! Period. I see computers come in all the time to my ship that are infected with all categories of viruses; Trojan, Spyware, Worm-Viruses, Day-Zero Attack viruses, and Ransomware running AVG. It used to be good at one time about 10 yrs. ago, but their management changed and the product is just not what it used to be. On the Malwarebytes, make sure you have updated to v3.06 the latest version. Even the old Malwarebytes is good and better than most of the AV programs at detecting spyware viruses, as that's the only viruses it looks for.

You might take a look at this post I wrote yesterday here for more information: Is a anti-virus program needed?

Finally, on the Linux question: I have yet to see any Linux viruses in 15 years, and to me it seems more resistant to viruses than Macs are for example. And the Urban Myth you've no doubt heard that Macs never get viruses is of course BS (check snopes.com for independent debunking of that particular Myth!). Macs represent about 5% of the worldwide 800 million computers on the Internet today, Linux PCs less than 1%. As Neem stated, virus authors and cybercriminals usually spend most of their time writing viruses for markets where they will do the most damage, or be able to collect the most money (via Extortion such as Ransomware). Why write a virus that only affects a few million computers or a few thousand (Macs & Linux PCs) when you can write a virus that affects 800 million computers at one shot! Think about it.

Hope that proves helpful.
<<BIGBEARJEDI>>

 

[Neemobeer]

I have a few friends that didn't have laptops so I set them up with some refurbs with Linux and I did have to reimage one due to ransomware and that was a Linux box.

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

I agree with you there. I am trying to get some of my customers to go with a refurb Linux box, but people are remiss to switch from Windows since it's been around for over 30 years now. Linux distros are getting better and better the last few years. For most home users, who use their computers for only a few basic functions such as reading news on the Web, E-mail, maybe some social media and occasionally write a document such as a letter in Word, Linux would serve their needs quite well. The lack of viruses being written to target Linux PCs is a nice side benefit of making the attempt to get off of windows.
[not to mention you can save hundreds of dollars a year buying paid-AV protection if you have 3 or more PCs in your home.].

BBJ

 

[jensjo001]

Thanks a lot. I have decided to install a paid AV. I am confused about which one to buy. How about Bitdefender Total Security and Kaspersky Internet Security? Both of them have fair share of good reviews.

 

[nmsuk]

I'd just get malwarebytes which works well with windows defender. Is low on system resources and has been trouble free for me for quite some years.

 

[Neemobeer]

I prefer Webroot, low cost, can run with Defender, smallest footprint on a system. They do take a different approach though. A lot of their detection happens in the cloud which means sometimes your system may run the malware and webroot will record all of it's actions. Once the analysis is complete and it's determined to be malware webroot will roll all the changes back, ransomware and encrypted files included.

 

[xprinceofsunx]

I am by far NOT an expert, we learn by mistakes as we go, that being said, I have worked in tech for over 20 years...In the first Computer shop I worked in, too get rid of viruses and such, this is what we did, We ran 3 different scanning programs, McAfee, Norton and back then FPROT, these were a mix of paid and free virus removal programs... Today I do the same...some times I have to use more than 3. Depending on your financial situation I would buy the one you like after doing your homework and get a bunch of free ones, it's time consuming and is sucks but maintenance is the key...Good luck happy scanning, maybe put ur sensitive data on a Linux partition for safekeeping but scan that as well...

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