Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Question

Security issues

Dec 11, 2013 1:59AM PST

I recently ran one of those free security scans, and it found more than 700 issues including Trojans, Adware, Viruses etc. I have both Norton and McAfee on my PC and they never find anything. Are those free scans just a scam?

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Answer
1. Both?
Dec 11, 2013 2:06AM PST
- Collapse -
Answer
Not knowing what "free security scan" you ran...
Dec 11, 2013 2:09AM PST

...it's hard to say, but a lot of them are scams. I once did a fresh clean install of Windows 7, then ran one of them, and it claimed to've found several dozen "problems". Anything that wants to "clean" or "tune" your registry is snake oil. I do like MalwareBytes which is a free download. It can usually find spyware and malware that antivirus programs don't.

- Collapse -
Answer
Which scan?

* It would help if you told us which scans you were using.
* As both Bob and wpgwpg pointed out, some scans ARE scams.
* I second Bob's suggestion to follow Grif's advice. (wpgwpg and Grif both recommend Malwarebytes Antimalware but Grif has additional recommendations.)
* I have the feeling wpgwpg was thinking of "Registry scans" when answering your your question. I agree: most registry scans are snake oil. A lot of experts advise NOT to use registry scanners.
* Anti-virus scans, on the other hand, especially if you use the free scans on the website of reputable anti-virus/security companies, are usually trustworthy although, they do occasionally either miss things or flag things in error. For this reason, it is a good idea to run several free scans from different companies or use services like https://www.virustotal.com/ or http://virusscan.jotti.org/en that use a number of different virus scanners.

- Collapse -
Answer
TWO A/V's
Dec 12, 2013 12:46AM PST

First off you do not want two active antivirus packages in your system, nightmares start from there, especially the combination that you have, neither likes the other= conflict. Read Bob Proffitt's link and Grif's tricks. STAY AWAY from many and most FREE scans, especially if they allude to REGISTRY. Good freebies, Malwarebytes, Superantispyware. When downloading either of these, go to their site(s) don't do a 3rd party download. Get rid of one of the A/V's, preferably dump Mcafee, Norton, specifically the 360 would be what to keep. Good luck!

- Collapse -
Two A/V's
Dec 12, 2013 4:07AM PST

I tried Malwarebytes and was quite impressed. It even removed the infections without asking for money. I'm going to buy that one. I have used Norton 360 for about 5 years now and like it, so I'm going to dump McAfee.
Thanks for the advice.

- Collapse -
Answer
free pc scans
Dec 18, 2013 1:30PM PST

I don't know what prompted you to run the scan that got you here, but I'm hoping it hasn't cost you yet if it is one of the scams. You can do a search on google or bing to find out how trusted a site is before you go to it, let alone run it's software. just type in the name of the utility or site in the search bar followed by the words "user reviews" or "tech ratings" ... scroll through the search results page and make sure you click on one that didn't originate from the site your checking into, i go for well known sites as well (cnet, PCMag, sourceforge) and it takes less than a minute to see if it's trouble.
Running more than one security utility will cost your computer unneccessary work, and security will be less likely to function properly to protect you anyway. Be sure whichever ONE you use is kept up to date, as well as the rest of your system. Do a full computer scan when it's first installed (I recommend the thorough scan at that).
Try finding out what's best for your particular system too, and for what you use it for. I'd do a search on trusted sites like PCMag, sourceforge, ehow, or cnet and just look into what other users are happy with as well as what the pro's say.
Here's some freebies for you:
http://www.windows7download.com/freeware-win7-system-optimizer/0-r.html
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security-essentials-download
http://download.cnet.com/AVG-AntiVirus-Free-2014/3000-2239_4-10320142.html
http://www.mouserunner.com/FreewareSites1.html
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_shareware_sites.htm

- Collapse -
your hearts in the right place
Dec 18, 2013 2:00PM PST

But you're giving out bad advice.

In case you haven't noticed or heard , Download.com is no longer a safe venue for downloading Anything.

Everyone's getting these Sweetpacks and Conduit malware bundled in whatever they download Even When They Opt Out or They're Not Even Given The Opportunity To Opt Out.

These things are NASTY and some people end up formatting the computer to get rid of them.

Do Not Download From Download.com Until These Issues Are Rectified.

Digger

- Collapse -
Conduit
Dec 19, 2013 1:22AM PST

Malwarebytes got rid of several Conduit items for me, and I have learned my lesson, thanks to all you people out there in PCland.

- Collapse -
Hide/Unhide
Dec 19, 2013 5:36AM PST

In the process of getting rid of malware it was recommended that I run 'Unhide' so I did and now most of my folders show the 'Thumbs' icon. How do I hide them again?, they bug me and I worry about what happens if I just delete them.

- Collapse -
Hide/Unhide
Dec 19, 2013 5:39AM PST

Forgot to mention My OS is Windows XP

- Collapse -
And you may be using Explorer.
Dec 19, 2013 5:45AM PST
- Collapse -
While thumbs.db and what it does is well documented.
Dec 19, 2013 5:41AM PST
- Collapse -
Use?
Dec 19, 2013 9:11AM PST

I had this problem before, but I couldn't remember how I got it fixed.
Item 1. got me what I wanted. Added it to my 'How to' folder, for next time. Thank you.