I find that it is often helpful to have a second opinion.
Hi imbart -
Here is another on-demand scanner which I highly recommend for Vulnerability Scanning:
http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/
You can run the PSI online or download it to your system.
Hope this helps.
Message Edited by Compumind on 05-26-2009 11:52 AM
Compumind wrote:Hi imbart -
Here is another on-demand scanner which I highly recommend for Vulnerability Scanning:
http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/
You can run the PSI online or download it to your system.
Hope this helps.
Message Edited by Compumind on 05-26-2009 11:52 AM
If you run it online, it will only scan a limited number of major apps. If you download and run it on your computer, it has a huge database of programs it will check for you.
Hi imbart -
BTW - forgot to mention that it is a *free* scanner.
If you download it, that is fine, but be sure to keep it updated!
Thanks again for all your suggestions. In closing I thought I'd just let you know what I have since discovered elsewhere. Firstly I find that I do have Windows Security Center on my Control panel but not in the Classic View - I switched to Category View and the icon was immediately there large as life to be opened. Secondly I found an old 2005 posting on the Spybot Forum concerning the strange registry entries where a member of Team Spybot explains that since July that year Sypot had picked out these entries which are not false positives or a bug but as information just to let you know that "someone" disabled one or more notifications in the Windows Security Center e.g. notifications that your virus protection is not active or not up-to-date. It also mentions that other security programs such as NIS also disable the Windows Security Center to take care of things themselves but as mentioned in this thread by the experts there are malware programs that can also disable the notifications so that the user doesn't realise his security program is not effective. I am quite happy that my NIS works fine so I shall leave it at that.
Hi imbart -
Thanks for you explanation.
imbart wrote:... I found an old 2005 posting on the Spybot Forum concerning the strange registry entries where a member of Team Spybot explains that since July that year Sypot had picked out these entries which are not false positives or a bug but as information just to let you know that "someone" disabled one or more notifications in the Windows Security Center e.g. notifications that your virus protection is not active or not up-to-date. It also mentions that other security programs such as NIS also disable the Windows Security Center to take care of things themselves but as mentioned in this thread by the experts there are malware programs that can also disable the notifications so that the user doesn't realise his security program is not effective. I am quite happy that my NIS works fine so I shall leave it at that.
... as I mentioned (in message #12). I am pleased that you are comfortable with NIS now.
To close this thread and to let others know that the problem is resolved, it would help if you would find the post that best presented the solution you ended up with and mark it solved by clicking on the solved button. That way others with the same issue will be able to find the solution without having to read through every post.
Good luck.
Message Edited by mijcar on 05-27-2009 07:30 AM
Hi all -
mijcar wrote:
To close this thread and to let others know that the problem is resolved, it would help if you would find the post that best presented the solution you ended up with and mark it solved by clicking on the solved button. That way others with the same issue will be able to find the solution without having to read through every post.
Only if there *is* a clear Solution, otherwise others might get quite confused, IMHO.
Message Edited by Compumind on 05-27-2009 09:44 AM
Compumind wrote:Hi all -
mijcar wrote:
To close this thread and to let others know that the problem is resolved, it would help if you would find the post that best presented the solution you ended up with and mark it solved by clicking on the solved button. That way others with the same issue will be able to find the solution without having to read through every post.
Only if there *is* a clear Solution, otherwise others might get quite confused, IMHO.
Message Edited by Compumind on 05-27-2009 09:44 AM
If you read message 12, you will see that it is identical with the information he found out at the Spybot site, and which left him comfortable with his NIS product.
What do you think might be confusing?
Message Edited by mijcar on 05-27-2009 07:48 AM
As I mentioned the person who gave the solution in the 2005 Spybot Forum was shown as a member of Team Spybot who I assume was privy to the creation of the then recent Spybot update programmed to find these registry entries and the reason for it. mijcar, Phil D and Quads in this thread gave similar solutions which I am happy with but Compumind advises caution it seems. Compumind's reservation maybe because persons reading this thread will assume the registry entries are benign when malware has unknowingly caused it. As a complete non-expert liable to be corrected I would say that if these are turned up in scans make absolutely sure that your NIS is working properly.
imbart wrote:As I mentioned the person who gave the solution in the 2005 Spybot Forum was shown as a member of Team Spybot who I assume was privy to the creation of the then recent Spybot update programmed to find these registry entries and the reason for it. mijcar, Phil D and Quads in this thread gave similar solutions which I am happy with but Compumind advises caution it seems. Compumind's reservation maybe because persons reading this thread will assume the registry entries are benign when malware has unknowingly caused it. As a complete non-expert liable to be corrected I would say that if these are turned up in scans make absolutely sure that your NIS is working properly.
Is this what you are talking about?
... Because establishing those settings would also be the target of malware, they are often flagged for user awareness - you know if your system has other non-Windows security software and if so you can ignore the flags.
BTW, there is absolutely nothing wrong with marking your own post (#25) as being the best solution since it summarizes the valid points.
Message Edited by mijcar on 05-27-2009 08:19 AM
Here's the 2005 Spybot Forum thread I mentioned for anyone to read for themselves:
imbart wrote:Here's the 2005 Spybot Forum thread I mentioned for anyone to read for themselves:
http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=1059
That's great. But still mark one of these posts (your choice) as a solution, so interested readers can go directly there. If you want, mark your own earlier post that summarizes the spybot data.
BUT MARK SOMETHING!
You press me to pick a posting as the solution, mijcar - IMHO yours and Quads were good although Compumind has his reservations. I am also a cautious person. If I have to pick I'll go for the original 2005 thread from the Spybot Forum which certainly relaxed me about it all although I was surprised that no Symantec employee stepped in to explain and the posting I placed on Malwarebytes Forum has so far not been answered on this subject. Here's the Spybot link again and my choice as the solution:
http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=1059
Caveat: Remember these registry entries can either be benign or caused by malware so ensure your NIS program is fully functional if they are turned up.
imbart wrote:
You press me to pick a posting as the solution, mijcar - IMHO yours and Quads were good although Compumind has his reservations. I am also a cautious person. If I have to pick I'll go for the original 2005 thread from the Spybot Forum which certainly relaxed me about it all although I was surprised that no Symantec employee stepped in to explain and the posting I placed on Malwarebytes Forum has so far not been answered on this subject. Here's the Spybot link again and my choice as the solution:
http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=1059
Caveat: Remember these registry entries can either be benign or caused by malware so ensure your NIS program is fully functional if they are turned up.
Excellent. The perfect choice, imho.