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Right now I take care of my computer with scans of these programs:
- Malwarebytes anti malware
- SUPERAnti spyware Free edn
- Spybot search and destroy
- CCleaner
- and a reg scanner
I also have an up to date anti virus.
My question is, is there anything else I should/could do that would be beneficial to make sure I dont have viruses, spyware, etc?
Thank you for your time.
Missing? Not necessarily although you don't mention which browser you use... Firefox or Opera or anything not Internet Explorer adds a good degree of safety as well.
You could also get rid of Spybot.. it's past it's prime as a useful tool.
Many/most of us also don't recommend using registry scanners. Far more often than not they cause more problems than what they can cure and I've personally never seen one actually cure anything.
Also, you don't mention a firewall... While a firewall won't protect you from getting infected it, in many cases, would alert
you once you are infected once a trojan, worm etc tries to send data. The XP firewall doesn't do that.
I use an avg firewall program. Also, I got rid of Internet explorer after trying Firefox just once. Best move I made since I upgraded from a 28k to 56k modem.
Interested in more opinions still.
Super
MBAM
Antivirus
Router
And pay attention to what I am doing.
I'm no fan of AVG but if you are doing well with it, I guess you should stay with it.
A router with a 56K dialup?
They did exist. Probably still do. ;)
OK, you know networking is not my thing. :D
If you've got a good AV it should take care of most of your potential problems although an anti-spyware program (or two) shouldn't do any harm. The good free anti-spyware progs (MBAM and SAS) don't work in real-time so won't help keep any crap off but should find anything your AV may miss. Spybot is well past its best and, if you've got the commercial version of MBAM it probably isn't a good idea to have Spybot's Teatimer running as well.
I'm not a fan of AVG either, especially their firewall, you can do far better for free, Outpost seems pretty easy to use and OnlineArmor is manageable with a little practice. Either of these will give you pretty strong two-way protection, which even routers don't always have.
If you're using Firefox you could maybe keep yourself a bit safer by using the WOT add-on, this takes no effort to use but you might already have LinkScanner. NoScript is also highly recommended but not everyone can get to grips with it.
Same with a Hosts file.
Long but informative thread on the dangers of registry scanners here.
Main thing is to keep all your software up to date as the bad guys sneak stuff past your protection via vulnerabilities in e.g. Adobe Reader and Flash, QuickTime, Java, etc. Secunia PSI will scan weekly and warn you of any out of date software. It's free and simple to use, I'd certainly recommend it.
Good summary, Willy, and welcome to the Virtual Hospital. :D
Firefox in general is a lot safer than IE, because sites have to ask permission to send you files. Also because upgrades are sent when a new vulnerability is found, rather than waiting years, as in IE. MS just found a 12-year old security hole in all versions of Windows.