[pchelpers] Re: user accounts and malware removal

Hi Scott and PcCowboy

> P> yes, but how do I tell my customers how bad their computer was, and
> P> how many spyware programs they had if I delete them before scanning
> P> them to get a count. The higher the count the better I look and the
> P> better they feel for spending the money. 8-) ( I hope you all know
> P> I'm joking)
> 
> You may be joking, but some people need a whack upside the head to
> understand how insecure their systems have been, and how thoughtlessly
> they've been browsing "on the wrong side of the tracks", and nice big
> numbers might get the point across (especially if you print out the
> results so that they can see that you didn't simply pull a number out
> of thin air). The first time you look at a customer's system, you
> might want to scan first and get the statistics, before you start
> getting serious about cleaning it up and locking it down.

Yes, so far, i've only cleaned computers during house calls or via phone 
or email. What i do then is let some antimalware program run for only a 
while until it's found a nice collection of baddies and the computer 
owner starts getting frustrated about the slow progress of the AM 
program. I then delete the baddies found so far, and tell them i've got 
a trick to speed things up. Then i delete normal temp files and the 
cache of any insecure browsers like IE. When i restart the scan, the 
computer owner is delighted about the increased speed. I don't find this 
to be at all dishonest, on the contrary. Most adults are very childish, 
and some good pedagogy is necessary to show them the baddies they 
collected and the necessity of using basic common sense in protecting 
themselves and their homes.

That is also why, while the scan is going on, i also make it a point to 
tell about "some" reckless people who think that they have nothing to 
worry about because they "don't have anything valuable on their 
computer". I then tell about identity theft and zombie machines sending 
out and storing spam or other much more illicit material, and the owners 
turn into the most rapt listeners and students of security imaginable. 
Most even go get a pen and paper without being asked and write down 
recommendations about what to do and how often to keep the computer in 
shape and secure :-)

If i ever take an infested computer home with me, i definitely will let 
all AM programs first do several complete scans and will record 
everything found and deleted. This for the reasons already mentioned and 
also because i'm in no hurry at home and want to test the AM programs.

Nowadays i never find any spyware on my own computer anymore thanks to 
Firefox and AM programs. So when i get bored or want to test some AM 
programs, i look for something that looks like malware in an email in my 
junk folder (i have my antivirus program's email scanning turned off) 
and save it somewhere else on my HD (my antivirus program is also set to 
not monitor my mail storage folder) and then scan it with several AM 
programs and only let the last one delete it.

In case anyone is wondering about my AV program's email settings, take a 
look at this; it will help all users of all email programs stay clear of 
*all* viruses and other malware, even those not yet detected by their AV 
programs:
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Antivirus_software

Ekhart


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