View Full Version : New novice user..sorry
pharmer69
2015-01-01, 21:20
My friend thats an IT installed spybot FREE VERSION 3 days ago and said to watch tutorials to learn about it..That helped, but I'm such a novice with computers that I have some questions:)
1.Last 2 mornings, when I woke computer, I had "permissions" boxes from spybot asking to make changes to my hard drive..I think the 1st day's was to get my permission to do "immunization" with Firefox...not sure what 2nd day's request was. When I allowed it, scan system box popped up..
2.When I did system scan it found 8 low threat items..should I always select fix or will this possibly quarantine stuff that I need for the puter to work properly? I think they were mostly tracking cookies but not sure. Should I purge this stuff?
3.one of my scans showed "error": Service check file: "services.sbs file is missing..use the update to get new copy"(is the referred to update in spybot's start center update or where?
4. Does it slow surfing down to disable 3rd party cookies? Spybot said Internet Explorer had cookies blocked and recommended doing same for Firefox..Will doing this wipe out my saved user ID and passwords on sites and slow surfing in general?
5. How often do you recommend scanning system for someone who rarely if ever down loads something??..I originally downloaded Malwarebytes and Spybot because my computer seemed like it had slowed...I got the Spybot from a freeware site and also got Vosteran and Generictrojanhorse.832 or something as hidden bugs...Malwarebytes finally got rid of Vosteran and AVG the trojan horse..and my IT guy said I'm clean now and installed a clean version of Spybot..THANKS
Hello. :)
1.Last 2 mornings, when I woke computer, I had "permissions" boxes from spybot asking to make changes to my hard drive..I think the 1st day's was to get my permission to do "immunization" with Firefox...not sure what 2nd day's request was. When I allowed it, scan system box popped up..
On Wednesdays,there is a refresh immunization task scheduled,and at the first of every month,there is a scan scheduled to run.The permissions boxes are from UAC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_Account_Control),because these tasks need administrator permission to run..It's okay to allow these particular permissions,because they are a normal occurrence with Spybot.
2.When I did system scan it found 8 low threat items..should I always select fix or will this possibly quarantine stuff that I need for the puter to work properly? I think they were mostly tracking cookies but not sure. Should I purge this stuff?
Yes,it's generally okay to select fix,Spybot should only be removing malware or usage tracks,which aren't needed for the computer to work properly.This is what usage tracks are:
http://www.safer-networking.org/faq/usage-tracks/
Some people like to remove usage tracks,others don't like to because sometimes their passwords to various websites are removed,etc.
I see removed passwords are a concern in your fourth question,so if you aren't sure if your IT friend disabled scanning for them,please open Spybot-S&D Start Center,checkmark Advanced Mode,click Settings(saying yes when prompted by UAC),then the categories tab,and somewhere in the Spybot window,rightclick and select Spyware scan only.
As for purging,I don't like to recommend it.Every so often a false positive might happen,and it's always good to be able to recover those from quarantine.Best policy is to leave items in recovery for awhile,just in case.This is the definition of a false positive:
http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/42987/false-positive
3.one of my scans showed "error": Service check file: "services.sbs file is missing..use the update to get new copy"(is the referred to update in spybot's start center update or where?
Yes,it is.You will see update once you checkmark Advanced User Mode.You will click on update,Spybot will run a test,and once that is done,you can click the update button at the top,and services.sbs should be downloaded as an update.
4. Does it slow surfing down to disable 3rd party cookies? Spybot said Internet Explorer had cookies blocked and recommended doing same for Firefox..Will doing this wipe out my saved user ID and passwords on sites and slow surfing in general?
No,disabling third party cookies shouldn't slow down surfing noticeably at all.Most of my browser's have third party cookies disabled,and I've never noticed a difference.Disabling them won't wipe out your saved user id,and it won't remove your passwords.
5. How often do you recommend scanning system for someone who rarely if ever down loads something??..I originally downloaded Malwarebytes and Spybot because my computer seemed like it had slowed...I got the Spybot from a freeware site and also got Vosteran and Generictrojanhorse.832 or something as hidden bugs...Malwarebytes finally got rid of Vosteran and AVG the trojan horse..and my IT guy said I'm clean now and installed a clean version of Spybot..THANKS
You have the scheduled scan once a month,that should be good,but if you would like to be a little more cautious,I'd say scanning once a week,or even every two weeks would be a good idea. :)
pharmer69
2015-01-22, 20:10
Thanks so much. Your answer clarified a lot of my questions..I have a couple other questions:
Ran scan yesterday and spybot found 38 items..under various categories 1.Macromedia.FlashPlayer.Cookie 2.MSDirect3D 3.MSDirect Input 3.Windows Explorer 4.Windows Media SDK 5.Cookie 6.Cache 7.History..These all had level 1 or 2 severity..
1. Is there a tutorial on what exactly these categories are(I don't even use Windows Explorer..I use Firefox)
2. How does the data (In MSdirect3d, msdirect input, windows media SDK for example) that spybot detected get put on my computer? The scan results say changes have been made to my registry..which sounds ominous.
3. Which category is most likely to contain user name and password info so I know which ones to uncheck so I won't "fix" it and lose them.
Sorry for being so dumb!!!!
You're not dumb,you're just new.And everybody has been new at some point,and shouldn't worry about finding out how stuff works. :)
Sorry,no tutorial about the different categories.Anything listed as tracks falls under the page about usage tracks I posted above,anything under the browser category is related to your browser(firefox,or internet explorer,etc.)
Also,if you click on anything found during a scan,and look over to the left,it will give you more info on anything found,plus estimated danger.Level 1 is marginal,and 2 is very low.Show details should search this forum for you,so you can read about it if anything is found on here about it.
The data that gets on your computer that is tracks related usually gets there as you use your computer,basically to make it easier to find things again.Cookies get there when you visit websites.Browser cache is stored in part to make websites load faster.It's normal for these things to be stored on your computer.
Don't worry about seeing Registry Change listed after a scan if it's tracks related.For an example,in my own scan,under the MS Direct3D heading it's listed as Most Recent Application,as Type:Registry Change,Category:Tracks.
So,what Spybot is telling me is that in the registry,under Direct3D,my most recent application that is Direct3D-enabled has it's name listed there.If I leave that checkmarked to be fixed,then Spybot will remove the name of the application for me.Spybot is also telling me that I don't have to worry that this being found in a scan is malware related,because it is only listed as Tracks in the Tracks category.
What's most likely to contain user name and password info are cookies,so you might like to skip fixing those.They should be listed as just "Cookie" after you scan with the name of your browser listed beside each one,so you might like to uncheck those before you fix anything.
(Third party or tracking cookies should be left separate from these cookies,and most likely won't affect your username or passwords on different sites,because they don't come from the actual website you were on.)More here:
http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/52849/third-party-cookie
pharmer69
2015-01-23, 18:04
THANKS SO MUCH...I saw in 1 thread to: check mark advanced user mode on start center box, click on settings and then uncheck "tracks" (there are 2 boxes) if I was concerned about them being on a scan result..From what you're saying, there is very little to no danger from them except for maybe tipping off advertisers what you've been looking at..I guess it's a privacy issue.
You're welcome. :)
Yes,removing tracks basically comes down to a privacy issue,though it can be for different reasons.A computer might be shared,and a person using the computer might like some privacy,and prefers that what they've been doing on their computer isn't as easy to see,or if someone is infected,it can help prevent an attacker gathering information(not all malware would do that,but some types can/would.)
Or,it can be as simple as "I'm scanning with Spybot anyways,removing Tracks cleans up a little,might as well fix them while I'm here",which is my own main reason for scanning for tracks.
If you would rather not scan for tracks until you learn about them a little more,or for any other reason,you can also stop scanning for them by opening Spybot-S&D Start Center,checkmark Advanced Mode,click Settings(saying yes when prompted by UAC),then the categories tab,and somewhere in the Spybot window,rightclick and select Spyware scan only.
pharmer69
2015-01-25, 20:07
While surfing thru various replies to threads and trying to find out what "AS:active and Internet: protected" meant when cursor is put over icon on system tray...I found something else in advanced user tabs that I wasn't sure about..(I never found out what was meant when cursor was over icon either)...anyway in settings I found this page (under the "internet protection" tab)...I use firefox as browser almost always..and dialog recommends I use the 1st option...not sure what the options mean really...Again, sorry for being so uninformed.
11982
pharmer69
2015-01-25, 20:13
11983
No need to say sorry,you're a new user,it's natural you would have questions. :)
I'm not 100% certain,but I believe AS:Active indicates that the single file on-demand scanner is active.Internet:Protected means that you are immunized.
If you checkmark Use Spybot proxy then click Apply and Ok,all browsers should use the Spybot proxy,and what the Spybot proxy does is protect you from bad websites,and bad cookies.
However,if you do choose to use the Spybot proxy,since you mostly use Firefox,you should doublecheck the proxy by clicking menu in Firefox(which appears as three lines in the upper right in the latest Firefox),then click Options,Advanced,then select the Network tab,then click Settings next to "Configure how Firefox connects to the Internet",then if under "Configure proxies to Access the Internet" No proxies is selected,try changing it to "Use System Proxy settings",then click Ok.
If you experience slowdowns or cannot access the internet if you do decide to activate the Spybot proxy,and would rather turn it off afterwards,then you can just return to the Internet protection tab,uncheck the Spybot proxy,then click Apply and Ok. :)
pharmer69
2015-01-26, 17:59
If I could give you a gold star I would...Firefox was already set up the way you suggested...I will try checking the "use spybot as proxy" so I won't accidentally choose a malicious website like I did when downloading Spybot originally (I got a browser redirect called Vosteran)...I'll let you know if it slows me down..
You're very welcome. :)
I will try checking the "use spybot as proxy" so I won't accidentally choose a malicious website like I did when downloading Spybot originally (I got a browser redirect called Vosteran)
This is just for future reference,since you already have Spybot installed,but if you ever need to download Spybot again(due to a program update,etc.),there's a list of mirrors on the Spybot website,or you can download from them,also.
http://www.safer-networking.org/mirrors/
Yes,please let me know if you have any slowdowns when you checkmark the proxy,and I'll help you deactivate it. :)
pharmer69
2015-01-27, 17:23
Check marking the Spybot proxy has had little if any effect on slowing down loading of web pages.I also went into Firefox options and deleted a bunch of cookies that I didn't recognize so that may have slowed down loading some.Thanks, I'll let you know if that changes as time goes on.