What's the best software to prevent malware infection?

[BobLewiston]

What's the best software to prevent malware infections? The best to detect infections? The best to eradicate them? The best single all-in-one product?

[sashi]

I wonder if there is such a product as of now. You still might need to work a few to ensure best result :)

[AmberJain]

I agree with sashi on this.
For example see this. The section "Failures in Detection (Last 24 Hours)" tells that a every malware detection tool fail to detect a great number of malicious files.

Therefore, no one can boast that a particular application is perfect, all in one, best malware detection tool. All we can tell you are personal opinions from our experiences. And as I always say: "Opinions have an inherent property to differ".

I'll recommend that you use an application that has high malware detection rates.
My personal opinion/suggestion is:
1. Use Linux/Unix/BSD.
2. Avast home edition Anti-virus.
3. Keep a copy of sysinternals Autoruns on your system and use it as and when needed.
4. Don't download (and use) pirated apps, keygens, program cracks etc.
5. If a file appears suspicious, use VirusTotal service.
6. Keep a copy of ClamWin portable antivirus on your USB drive.
7. Don't login to Windows using an account with administrator (or higher) privileges.
8. Disable autorun (using autorun.inf) of removable media using TweakUI on your PC.

There are more points that I would like to add to this minimal list. But I don't remember them right now.

[AmberJain]

Thanks gits.
I'll try this sometime tomorrow and will reply back when I get time.
And yeah, sorry for late reply. I'm not able to visit bytes frequently as I'm busy with my college :( studies.

[sashi]

I prefers using Kaspersky, some say it slows down PC. To me, it satisfies me :)

[BobLewiston]

Attention, AmberJain:

Don't login to Windows using an account with administrator (or higher) privileges.

Why not?

[sashi]

Hi BobLewiston,

Most of the extensive settings / configuration change requires Administrative access. It is always best to work with limited access type of account, i.e. standard user level.

Login with administrative access only when required, i.e. software installation, change configuration, registry modification and so on.

Take care :)

[AmberJain]

The purpose of Administrator (root account in *nix) accounts is to administrate important system specific actions on a PC. Don't use them for day to day tasks.

If you login to an account on windows with administrative (or higher) privileges, then all programs that are run by user are executed with Administrator (or higher) privileges (including malwares that can use autorun/autostart techniques to execute without you knowledge). So, if you login with limited user account, malwares will have less privileges than an admin account which will suppress to a large extent their ability to harm your system.

And yeah, whenever you wish to run some program with Administrator privileges, then either use 'runas' command or use right click context menu of exe file (and select 'runas').

[BobLewiston]

I've always logged in under my "regular" (standard?) user account, even to install all my software (which never caused any problems).

AmberJain:

In fact, when I just now experimented with right clicking on an exe file and selecting "run as", switching to another user account - including "administrator" , which is in fact the only other user on my PC - activates a field in which to enter a password. Since I have never set up an admin account, presumably my admin password would be null, but I didn't proceed from that point, so I'm not 100% sure about that. Is that in fact correct – that admin accounts have a default password of null, just like regular user accounts?

(And yes, my regular user account is set up to require a password.)

Nonetheless, although all I did was search on Dogpile for "winter solstice" and then click on a very innocent looking link that came up from the search (I don't remember the URL or verbiage), and I was INSTANTLY alerted by Webroot Security Essentials that I was infected with a malware bundle consisting of:

these "very highly severe" Trojan horses:
1. Trojan-Phisher-Snifula (Unique Code 6FANL78I),
2. Exploit-Java (Unique Code DSHQ6ADG), and
3. Rootkit.Gen (Unique Code IQ1LCWD7), <-- specifically: swerftx.sys, (unique code IQ1LCWD7) at LBA sector 0 of my MBR!

and these "highest severity" viruses:
1. Mal/Bredo-B,
2. Mal/Hiloti-A,
3. Mal/JSRedir-C,
4. Mal/ObfJS-CM,
5. Mal/ObfJS-H,
6. Mal/ObfJS-X,
7. Troj/Istbar-DQ,
8. Troj/PDFEx-CM,
9. Troj/PDFJs-ER,
10. Troj/PDFJs-FZ, and
11. Troj/PDFJs-GE.

BTW, AmberJain:

…(root account in *nix)…

What does this mean?

…an account on windows with administrative (or higher) privileges…

What type of account has higher privileges than an admin account?

Thanks for your help.

[BobLewiston]

Please pardon my ignorance; I've just learned that when you set up a user account under XP, by default it has admin privileges. I'm now up-to-speed on how to set up a limited privileges account. But if you don't ask stupid questions, you'll never get to the point where you can ask intelligent ones. Thanks again.