Essential Free Security Tools List revised 2012

[MikeN.]

ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS ARE FREE!


IF STARTING A THREAD CONCERNING POSSIBLE MALWARE / INFECTIONS PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING LINKS FIRST!!!!!!!!

http://forum.worldstart.com/showpost...98&postcount=1 Machine infected, stick with the cleanup!

http://forum.worldstart.com/showthread.php?t=151388 SYSTEM RESTORE INFO

WANT TO KNOW WHAT MALWARE IS

http://www.sophos.com/sophos/docs/eng/sophos-a-to-z.pdf

TIPS FOR KEEPING YOUR MACHINE CLEAN OF MALWARE

http://www.mcafee.com/us/threat_center/tips.html


HOW TO COPY AND PASTE (for logs)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c66pvfilotA

ONLY HAVE ONE OF THESE ANTIVIRUS' INSTALLED AND RUNNING


AVAST Antivirus

http://www.filehippo.com/download_avast_antivirus/

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivir...-Edition.shtml


Manual update link for Avast http://www.avast.com/eng/updates.html

Critical Settings for Avast 8

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=cef4e...Eh6sQM8SV--dhQ



AVIRA Antivirus

http://www.avira.com/en/support-down...free-antivirus

Manual update link for Avira http://www.avira.com/en/support/vdf_update.html

CRITICAL SETTINGS FOR AVIRA Antivirus

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ts1shfxlku73qvs

ANTIVIRUS REMOVAL TOOLS (McAfee,Avg.Avira,CA,etc)

http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&id=SOLN146


NORTON REMOVAL TOOLS

https://www-secure.symantec.com/nort...=1&pvid=f-home

ONLY HAVE ONE OF THESE FIREWALLS INSTALLED AND RUNNING (make sure Windows Firewall is off after installation)


http://www.online-armor.com/downloads.php ONLINE ARMOR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwiIJwUY7Cc TUTORIAL FOR OA

http://www.filehippo.com/download_outpost_firewall/ OUTPOST FIREWALL

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Securit...firewall.shtml PRIVATE FIREWALL



HD IMAGING PROGRAMS

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/easustodo.html EASUS


http://majorgeeks.com/Macrium_Reflec...ion_d6034.html MACRIUM REFLECT

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...Fg3b4FH7E2Zj5g PARAGON



REGISTRY BACKUP TOOL

http://dundats.mvps.org/Files/erunt-setup.exe ERUNT


ANTI MALWARE TOOLKIT

http://www.lunarsoft.net/downloads/finish/1/2

ANTISPYWARE/MALWARE SCANNING APPS


http://majorgeeks.com/downloadget.ph...d909666f809b26 MALWAREBYTES Updates and scans are manual only in the free version.



http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html SUPERANTISPYWARE Updates and scans are manual only in free version.

http://forum.worldstart.com/attachme...6&d=1309224485 Adjust settings so the program does not start with Windows(free version)


http://www.filehippo.com/download_sp...7f3aa08bf53c0/ SPYBOT S&D Do not use Tea Timer function

http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/ DR WEB CURE IT


ANTISPY/KEYLOGGER/HIPS PROTECTION SPYSHELTER This can be run alongside your antivirus, it does provide realtime protection

(Settings help choose Ask User and do not put a check in Auto Block Suspicious Behavior,program is a bit strong in this area)


http://www.spyshelter.com/

WHAT IS HIPS PROTECTION

http://www.techsupportalert.com/cont...-explained.htm

ANTIMALWARE/SPYWARE BLOCKER

http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloadge...7615f4682b4cef SPYWAREBLASTER Silently blocks malware,etc. MUST HAVE PROGRAM

http://forum.worldstart.com/attachme...7&d=1237785966 How to enable all protection in Spywareblaster



HIJACK THIS Shows whats running and items can be removed with this

http://free.antivirus.com/hijackthis/ XP ONLY


ONLINE SCANNERS Disable your own Antivirus first to run these

http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

http://www.bitdefender.com/scanner/o...=scan8/ie.html

RKILL (Stop running malware processes to allow removal) Same tool,different extensions,1 gets blocked by the malware or doesnt work try one of the others

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic308364.html SMALL DOS WINDOW (black) APPEARS FOR A FEW SECONDS ONLY THAT IS THE TOOL STOPPING MALWARE PROCESSES ALLOWING REMOVAL


TDSS ROOTKIT REMOVAL TOOL

http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses...?qid=208280684

WANT TO GET STARTED CLEANING YOUR MACHINE,FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS THEN START A THREAD AND POST ALL LOGS TO INCLUDE DDS LOGS


Note: for some infections, Rkill needs to be run first for Malwarebytes to work.

ADW CLEANER

You need to do the following:

Download AdwCleaner from here:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/

Follow these instructions which are given on the download page:

Simply download the program and run it. You will then be presented with a screen that contains a Search and Delete button.


First click the Search button.

AdwCleaner will search your computer for unwanted programs and then display a log showing the various files, folders, and registry entries used by these programs.

Then click on the Delete button, which will cause AdwCleaner to reboot your computer and remove the files and registry entries associated with the various adware that you are removing.

On reboot, AdwCleaner will display a log showing the files, folders, and registry entries that were removed.

Post back with that log


Please download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (MBA-M) to your Desktop.
http://majorgeeks.com/downloadget.ph...d909666f809b26

* DoubleClick mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install MBA-M.
* Be sure a checkmark is placed next to Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, then click Finish.
* If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version if one is available. There are always new updates to the definitions.
* Once the program has loaded, select Perform full scan, then choose the drive(s) then click Scan.
* When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
* Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected if malware is found.
* When MBA-M finishes, Notepad will open with the log. The log can be retrieved by opening up MBAM and clicking on the Logs Tab at the top of the program .

Reboot the computer


ESET Online Scanner

http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/scanner.php?i_agree=14
* You can use Internet Explorer to complete this scan and you will need to allow an Active X to be installed or you may use Firefox
* You will need to temporarily Disable your current Anti-virus program.
* Be sure the option to Remove found threats is checked and the option to Scan unwanted applications is Checked.
* When you have completed that scan, a scanlog ought to have been created and located at C:\Program Files\EsetOnlineScanner\log.txt.


(One note,if the Eset scan finds malware,choose a few of the online scanners to run from above and run them before posting the DDS LOGS but add those logs to your post also)



Reboot the computer.

DDS LOGS

Download DDS by sUBs and save it to your Desktop.
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/anti-virus/dds
Be sure follow the instructions below carefully
• If your AV has a script blocker, please disable it
• DoubleClick on dds.scr to run the tool
* A command box will open, displaying added information for your reading pleasure while DDS completes its scan.
* Upon completion, a Dialog Box should open instructing you to save and post the TWO resulting logs (DDS.txt & Attach.txt).
• Copy&Paste both the DDS.txt and the DDS Attach.txt into your post for assistance.
Notice I say copy/paste BOTH logs. The Attach.txt log says at the top to attach it, please do not attach it but copy/paste it also
Both of these logs are very long and because of that will take multiple replies in order to post them here. Please split the logs carefully as each and every line must be seen.


IS YOUR SYSTEM SECURE? SHIELDS UP

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2


MACHINE BECOME SLUGGISH

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic87058.html

TEST YOUR DEFENSES HERE

http://www.misec.net/trojansimulator/ XP ONLY


FASTONE SCREEN CAPTURE

http://www.aplusfreeware.com/categor...neCapture.html

UNLOCKER

http://majorgeeks.com/downloadget.ph...41ebea520d92f4 UNLOCKER Stubborn file or folder that wont delete,install this, right click on the file/folder and choose UNLOCKER then delete


MCAFEE SITE ADVISOR

http://www.siteadvisor.com/

WEB OF TRUST (Warns about risky links)

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3456/ WOT FOR FIREFOX

http://www.mywot.com/ WOT FOR IE

FIREFOX SECURITY AND PRIVACY ADD ON LINKS WOT,ADBLOCK PLUS,NO SCRIPT ETC

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fir...ranoiapackage/

BLOCK ADS IN IE

http://simple-adblock.com/downloadpage/

HARDWARE DRIVER BACKUP TOOL

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/...riverMax.shtml DRIVERMAX


JUNK FILE CLEANER

http://www.ccleaner.com/download CCLEANER
http://www.techsupportalert.com/vide...e-ccleaner.htm Video tutorial on use of Ccleaner


FIREFOX BROWSER

http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

MVPS HOSTS FILE

http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts2.htm

STARTUP ITEMS WEBSITES

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/ Need to know more about a particular startup item

http://www.systemlookup.com/ Need to know more about a particular startup item

START UP CONTROL PROGRAMS

http://www.winpatrol.com/download.html WINPATROL STARTUP CONTROL

Differences between the paid and free version http://www.winpatrol.com/whyplus.html

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/starter.html CODE STUFF STARTER


DO NOT USE MSCONFIG TO DISABLE STARTUPS

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=149804

FOOTNOTE:
Only have 1 Antivirus and 1 Antispyware/malware application that has real time protection running at startup(This would pertain to paid versions of Malwarebytes and Superantispyware from this list)
You can have as many of the Antispyware type programs installed to scan with as long as they dont have real time protection(start with Windows with real time protection enabled) as you like.
Spywareblaster does not run with Windows. Install it, update it regularly, enable all protection, close the program
__________________

[jholland1964]

Brand new ready to roll! All Safe Links!!!!

[Mosesfaith]

thank you for the hard work you both do. I totally appreciate all the help and great information that you give
thank you for the updated information.

[jholland1964]

Bump to the top. This is BRAND NEW. Ignore the OLD ESSENTIAL TOOLS STICKY.

THIS ONE RIGHT HERE CONTAINS ALL SAFE LINKS!

[BigBarney]

Mike,

You have obviously gone to a lot of trouble and effort to update this post.
Well done and congratulations to you.
I had to update my Roboform app this morning and the update was available via CNet.
I was very aware of your warnings re CNet but took the plunge and downloaded from there. There was no evidence of CNet's own downloader being used.
Everything seems to be OK but I am about to do a scan using Malwarebytes just to be sure.

[MMFELL]

Wow - what great work - I have passed this on to our club president so it can be disseminated.

[MikeN.]

Would like to thank everyone that contributed to helping keep that Cnet information up front in the old sticky and for providing good clean links for the new sticky.

Would also like to thank KerryWS for getting things fixed so quickly for us all to include guests and members

MMFELL,Yorkshire Lass, Acer, BB( I hope you ran Mbamthank you...

Special thanks to Judy for her great help in providing help behind the scenes to help me get this put together so quickly

[jholland1964]

Not a problem Mike. It was "fun"? Don't think I have ever had so many "test" links open at the same time ever! Know one time last night while testing I had 38 tabs open on Firefox before I closed it out and started over!

[delig8dor]

Originally Posted by yorkshire lass

Many thanks and congratulations on producing such a great Essential security tools List; obviously meant a great deal of research and work which is very much appreciated.

Many thanks.
I have often shared this post with people that are not members here, but have had computer problems.
I have suggested joining for more personal help, but they haven't .

They also thank you for your great list and all the time and effort in putting it together is appreciated by far more than you will ever know.

[lynn]

I know a lot of hard work went in to this.....Thanks Mike..

[jerrypc1]

Originally Posted by jholland1964

Brand new ready to roll! All Safe Links!!!!

Thanks very much Judy.Jerry

[stringbean]

This is a really interesting and helpful thread. Thanks for the post!

[KerryWS]

Thanks Mike!

[domingus]

Originally Posted by delig8dor

Many thanks.
I have often shared this post with people that are not members here, but have had computer problems.
I have suggested joining for more personal help, but they haven't .

They also thank you for your great list and all the time and effort in putting it together is appreciated by far more than you will ever know.

Thank you, Mike. I will bookmark this.

[MikeN.]

Originally Posted by domingus

Thank you, Mike. I will bookmark this.

Your welcome, that reminds me, anybody that has a link in their signature to the old one needs to change it, including me

[Rosie]

All your time and hard work are very much appreciated.

Rosie

[jholland1964]

Originally Posted by MikeN.

Your welcome, that reminds me, anybody that has a link in their signature to the old one needs to change it, including me

Thanks for the reminder Mike! Changed mine just now

Thanks also Jerry and Rosie!

[yorkshire lass]

Originally Posted by MikeN.

ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS ARE FREE!


IF STARTING A THREAD CONCERNING POSSIBLE MALWARE / INFECTIONS PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING LINKS FIRST!!!!!!!!

http://forum.worldstart.com/showpost...98&postcount=1 Machine infected, stick with the cleanup!

http://forum.worldstart.com/showthread.php?t=151388 SYSTEM RESTORE INFO

WANT TO KNOW WHAT MALWARE IS

http://www.sophos.com/sophos/docs/eng/sophos-a-to-z.pdf

TIPS FOR KEEPING YOUR MACHINE CLEAN OF MALWARE

http://www.mcafee.com/us/threat_center/tips.html


HOW TO COPY AND PASTE (for logs)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c66pvfilotA

ONLY HAVE ONE OF THESE ANTIVIRUS' INSTALLED AND RUNNING


AVAST Antivirus

http://www.filehippo.com/download_avast_antivirus/

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivir...-Edition.shtml


Manual update link for Avast http://www.avast.com/eng/updates.html

CRITICAL SETTINGS FOR AVAST Antivirus

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?qfjnl0n4q46kot5 New settings for Avast version 5.

AVIRA Antivirus

http://www.avira.com/en/support-download-free-antivirus

Manual update link for Avira http://www.avira.com/en/support/vdf_update.html

CRITICAL SETTINGS FOR AVIRA Antivirus

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ts1shfxlku73qvs

ANTIVIRUS REMOVAL TOOLS (McAfee,Avg.Avira,CA,etc)

http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&id=SOLN146


NORTON REMOVAL TOOLS

https://www-secure.symantec.com/nort...=1&pvid=f-home



ONLY HAVE ONE OF THESE FIREWALLS INSTALLED AND RUNNING (make sure Windows Firewall is off after installation)


http://www.online-armor.com/downloads.php ONLINE ARMOR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwiIJwUY7Cc TUTORIAL FOR OA

http://www.filehippo.com/download_outpost_firewall/ OUTPOST FIREWALL

http://majorgeeks.com/PC_Tools_Firewall_Plus_d5470.html PC TOOLS FIREWALL

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Securit...firewall.shtml PRIVATE FIREWALL



HD IMAGING PROGRAMS

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/easustodo.html EASUS


http://majorgeeks.com/Macrium_Reflec...ion_d6034.html MACRIUM REFLECT

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...Fg3b4FH7E2Zj5g PARAGON



REGISTRY BACKUP TOOL

http://dundats.mvps.org/Files/erunt-setup.exe ERUNT


ANTI MALWARE TOOLKIT

http://www.lunarsoft.net/downloads/finish/1/2

ANTISPYWARE/MALWARE SCANNING APPS


http://majorgeeks.com/downloadget.ph...d909666f809b26 MALWAREBYTES Updates and scans are manual only in the free version.



http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html SUPERANTISPYWARE Updates and scans are manual only in free version.

http://forum.worldstart.com/attachme...6&d=1309224485 Adjust settings so the program does not start with Windows(free version)


http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html SPYBOT S&D Do not use Tea Timer function

http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/ DR WEB CURE IT


ANTISPY/KEYLOGGER/HIPS PROTECTION SPYSHELTER This can be run alongside your antivirus, it does provide realtime protection

(Settings help choose Ask User and do not put a check in Auto Block Suspicious Behavior,program is a bit strong in this area)


http://www.spyshelter.com/

WHAT IS HIPS PROTECTION

http://www.techsupportalert.com/cont...-explained.htm

ANTIMALWARE/SPYWARE BLOCKER

http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloadge...7615f4682b4cef SPYWAREBLASTER Silently blocks malware,etc. MUST HAVE PROGRAM

http://forum.worldstart.com/attachme...7&d=1237785966 How to enable all protection in Spywareblaster



HIJACK THIS Shows whats running and items can be removed with this

http://free.antivirus.com/hijackthis/ XP ONLY


ONLINE SCANNERS Disable your own Antivirus first to run these

http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

http://www.bitdefender.com/scanner/o...=scan8/ie.html

RKILL (Stop running malware processes to allow removal) Same tool,different extensions,1 gets blocked by the malware or doesnt work try one of the others

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic308364.html SMALL DOS WINDOW (black) APPEARS FOR A FEW SECONDS ONLY THAT IS THE TOOL STOPPING MALWARE PROCESSES ALLOWING REMOVAL


TDSS ROOTKIT REMOVAL TOOL

http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses...?qid=208280684

WANT TO GET STARTED CLEANING YOUR MACHINE,FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS THEN START A THREAD AND POST ALL LOGS TO INCLUDE DDS LOGS


Note: for some infections, Rkill needs to be run first for Malwarebytes to work.

Please download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (MBA-M) to your Desktop.
http://majorgeeks.com/downloadget.ph...d909666f809b26

* DoubleClick mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install MBA-M.
* Be sure a checkmark is placed next to Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, then click Finish.
* If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version if one is available. There are always new updates to the definitions.
* Once the program has loaded, select Perform full scan, then choose the drive(s) then click Scan.
* When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
* Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected if malware is found.
* When MBA-M finishes, Notepad will open with the log. The log can be retrieved by opening up MBAM and clicking on the Logs Tab at the top of the program .

Reboot the computer


ESET Online Scanner

http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/scanner.php?i_agree=14
* You can use Internet Explorer to complete this scan and you will need to allow an Active X to be installed or you may use Firefox
* You will need to temporarily Disable your current Anti-virus program.
* Be sure the option to Remove found threats is checked and the option to Scan unwanted applications is Checked.
* When you have completed that scan, a scanlog ought to have been created and located at C:\Program Files\EsetOnlineScanner\log.txt.


(One note,if the Eset scan finds malware,choose a few of the online scanners to run from above and run them before posting the DDS LOGS but add those logs to your post also)



Reboot the computer.

DDS LOGS

Download DDS by sUBs and save it to your Desktop.
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/anti-virus/dds
Be sure follow the instructions below carefully
• If your AV has a script blocker, please disable it
• DoubleClick on dds.scr to run the tool
* A command box will open, displaying added information for your reading pleasure while DDS completes its scan.
* Upon completion, a Dialog Box should open instructing you to save and post the TWO resulting logs (DDS.txt & Attach.txt).
• Copy&Paste both the DDS.txt and the DDS Attach.txt into your post for assistance.
Notice I say copy/paste BOTH logs. The Attach.txt log says at the top to attach it, please do not attach it but copy/paste it also
Both of these logs are very long and because of that will take multiple replies in order to post them here. Please split the logs carefully as each and every line must be seen.


IS YOUR SYSTEM SECURE? SHIELDS UP

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2


MACHINE BECOME SLUGGISH

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic87058.html

TEST YOUR DEFENSES HERE

http://www.misec.net/trojansimulator/ XP ONLY


FASTONE SCREEN CAPTURE

http://www.aplusfreeware.com/categor...neCapture.html

UNLOCKER

http://majorgeeks.com/downloadget.ph...41ebea520d92f4 UNLOCKER Stubborn file or folder that wont delete,install this, right click on the file/folder and choose UNLOCKER then delete


MCAFEE SITE ADVISOR

http://www.siteadvisor.com/

WEB OF TRUST (Warns about risky links)

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3456/ WOT FOR FIREFOX

http://www.mywot.com/ WOT FOR IE

FIREFOX SECURITY AND PRIVACY ADD ON LINKS WOT,ADBLOCK PLUS,NO SCRIPT ETC

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fir...ranoiapackage/

BLOCK ADS IN IE

http://simple-adblock.com/downloadpage/

http://www.ie7pro.com/ad-blocker.html

HARDWARE DRIVER BACKUP TOOL

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/...riverMax.shtml DRIVERMAX


JUNK FILE CLEANER

http://www.ccleaner.com/download CCLEANER
http://www.techsupportalert.com/vide...e-ccleaner.htm Video tutorial on use of Ccleaner


FIREFOX BROWSER

http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

MVPS HOSTS FILE

http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts2.htm

STARTUP ITEMS WEBSITES

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/ Need to know more about a particular startup item

http://www.systemlookup.com/ Need to know more about a particular startup item

START UP CONTROL PROGRAMS

http://www.winpatrol.com/download.html WINPATROL STARTUP CONTROL

Differences between the paid and free version http://www.winpatrol.com/whyplus.html

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/starter.html CODE STUFF STARTER


DO NOT USE MSCONFIG TO DISABLE STARTUPS

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=149804

FOOTNOTE:
Only have 1 Antivirus and 1 Antispyware/malware application that has real time protection running at startup(This would pertain to paid versions of Malwarebytes and Superantispyware from this list)
You can have as many of the Antispyware type programs installed to scan with as long as they dont have real time protection(start with Windows with real time protection enabled) as you like.
Spywareblaster does not run with Windows. Install it, update it regularly, enable all protection, close the program
__________________

Bumping and adding my thanks to Mike,Judy and KerryWS; I thought that I had already posted a thank you but it seems to have disappeared!

[Acer]

Thanks Mike, updated my siggy, also. Totally forgot..

[Phil]

This tells about some of the stuff CNET has been up to.

http://forum.worldstart.com/showthread.php?t=157901