Thread: Privacy issues found by scanning software - an extraordinary amount!

Do a search for reviews on "Advanced System Care" protection software.

Mostly very poor reviews, I'm willing to bet that the few 5 out of 5 reviews are bogus.

I'm guessing that the definition of 'privacy issue' is one that the scanning software is making up. It could be anything from a virus/trojan to an unexpected web page redirection.

I run ghostery on the firefox browser and it reports hundreds of redirects a day.
Not running Windows, I don't run any security software as such, everything important is sorted out in the browser (ghostery, ad-blocker, etc)

Thanks chaps.

I dunno that it's that bad Cliff - it certainly gets things back to normal speed. Last week, before I ran it, the old girl was taking 5 minutes just to open an email. It had slowed that much in 24 hours - the day before that the speed was maybe a little slower than usual.

On the super-slow day we received notification that the NBN build had started here and I thought they must have somehow interrupted the ADSL2 service, but then other pgms like Excel then slowed waaaay down even with the modem off so it was obvious that something else was wrong.

Virtually every piece of software written has some sort of vulnerability incorporated in it, generally due to an oversight by the developers in not going around and testing for and plugging every conceivable leak. Thats why Microsoft and others produce updates virtually on a daily basis, every time they discover an unintended point of access, there is an update to plug it before it becomes so obvious that the baddies start to exploit it and use it to access the computer and do their evil deeds with it.
There are responsible labs out in the real world who spend their time and money locating weak points in software, and getting paid for each weak point the advise the software company about. There are also other labs locating the same weak points, but circulating their results among those of evil intent, either for kudos within the fraternity, for cash, or to just display their hatred for the particular software company.
Some companies make their money from developing and promoting their anti virus and internet security software, anti malware software etc. Even these guys get caught out on very rare occasions and have a security issue, the need for frequent updates with these products is mostly based on the regular and ongoing development of new viruses and attack mechanisms in the evil sector, and the protection companies detecting these and developing blocking mechanisms and antidotes, but a small portion of the update cycles has the companies issuing patches to correct weak points in their own software as well. Generally they are very good at pointing out what they have saved us from, but very reticent to mention the number of holes in their own software that they have had to plug.

The best way to secure a machine running XP these days is to air-gap the connection to the internet. I would not recommend XP as safe on the internet to anyone who isn't highly experienced with computers.

It's possible that the slowdowns you have been experiencing are due to a lack of available RAM (and an old, lower density hard drive), along with new programs no longer being optimised to run in an XP environment.

Download a copy (look at the bottom of the page for the link for the free version) of Malwarebytes. You can find it here: Malwarebytes | Free Anti-Malware & Internet Security Software

When installing, at the last question, make sure you *untick* "Enable trial of malwarebytes". You're doing this so that the software simply runs on demand, and doesn't require licensing in the near future.

Run a scan, let it update the definitions. Do not be surprised if it identifies you "Total system care" package as malware - with a number of years in the IT field, I suspect it is, I'm afraid.

Let it clean everything it wants to clean. If it proves useful, and you intend to keep XP for a length of time, I'd highly recommend buying a license - it's worth it.

If you have no current anti-virus, download, Webroot from Next-Gen Cybersecurity & Threat Intelligence | Webroot - I am pretty sure they have a free trial.

Again, let it update, and clean everything it wants to clean.

Again, this is worth a purchase if you have no better tool (please post here with info on what you have).

With both of those tools installed, and working correctly, there is no harm in using XP for a time behind a firewall (which is hopefully included in your ADSL/Broadband router) provided you don't go surfing to dangerous places, though reality does eventually suggest upgrading to either Windows 7 or 10 (I would avoid 8 on anything other than a tablet).

Happy to help if you have any further questions, please ping back, will subscribe to the thread

As regards your question as to what constitutes a privacy risk there are many categories from trackers to your fully fledged key loggers.

Many web sites you visit will install what are called "cookies" which may store information on your computer as to who you are where you were and even your username and passwords in some instances so that you will log back into the site automatically. The cookie may also send your data back to the web site you visited. Malware scanners will typically rate these cookies on their threat level.

It is also possible that a web site can install malicious code on your computer without you knowing. Similar to cookies it can send data back to a web site, redirect your browser or any number of annoying or potentially dangerous things. My daughter installed a "flash update" which was in fact a key logger which took my son-in-law several days to fix and he is an expert in virus removal.

Viruses are another thing altogether. You could go to a week long seminar on viruses and just scratch the surface.

If your software detects a threat they should give you a link which will show you more information on the threat. Sometimes this information is quite esoteric I'm afraid.

FYI MS no longer support XP and no longer provide updates to patch security flaws and it is highly recommended that you migrate XP to a later windows or limit your use of XP if it is not possible to migrate.

John

Ok, reporting back in after a week or so.

I have been running MalwareBytes daily. First time it ran it picked up stuff from PITA Incredimail which I had uninstalled about 4 years ago. I quarantined them but did not delete. The next day it picked them up again, so I deleted them and they haven't returned. It also picked 150 suspicious items from Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles. This is a folder that I routinely do a back up of. Again I just quarantined them, and they don't seem to be a problem for MalwareBytes now.

I used to have MalwareBytes, a couple of years ago, but it created extraordinary problems - even quarantining the volume control! Perhaps it's a bit more refined these days.

In contrast, the IObit anti-malware pgm has never picked up anything, so I have uninstalled that.

Have also installed Webroot on a two week trial. The first time it ran it picked up a trojan. I will but a licence for this when the trial expires, as it seems to be pretty good value for USD30.00.

I have also recommenced running CCleaner every day.

So, coming back to Advanced SystemCare Ultimate, there has also been version 9.0 released. I must say that my observations of it concur with the PC mag review:
IObit Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 9: IObit Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 8

That is, anti-malware and anti-virus seems to be useless, but the System Clean & Optimise finds things that CCleaner and MalwareBytes do not (privacy issues, registry errors and junk files are the most commonly found).

Computer runs pretty well now, with a daily running of Webroot Secure Anywhere, Malwarebytes, CCleaner, ASU Clean & Optimise.

Many thanks for all of your suggestions and help, it is very much appreciated.