Portable antivirus, any suggestions?

[G)-(OST]

I have absolutely no experience with antivirus software, I have just found out the hard way that school PC's are infected with virus's too. Basically I brought home & infected my laptop with a virus through my USB thumb drive from a school computer. None of the school PC's have antivirus software, I my self do not use an antivirus, as I see no need because I do not visit unsafe websites & I do not open unknown email's, I find that all antivirus does, is slow down your PC. We, the students do not have administrative rights to install software on the schools PC's, so what I would like to do is, use a portable antivirus that I can keep on my USB stick. My question is, has anyone had a similar experience, what have you done about it to protect your self from bringing home a virus from a public computer? is there any portable antivirus software that is worthy of doing a scan from a portable device? I have googled with a few suggestions, but I would like to here from our worthy community, any suggestions?

[IKnowNothing]

Have a look at http://www.pendriveapps.com/ they have lots of stuff all aimed at being run from a pendrive.

Also McAfee have stinger (http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/ ) which you download and run which will scan the machine for the most common virii out there.

IMHO your best policy is to install AntiVirus software such as AVG which are free and regularly updated. It's far better to be safe that have to totally recover your HD or start again with a blank drive

M

[SatStorm]

www.clamwin.com

It does the job for me and it is opensource AFAIK.

[freebird73717]

I my self do not use an antivirus, as I see no need because I do not visit unsafe websites & I do not open unknown email's, I find that all antivirus does, is slow down your PC.

You can get infected by visiting a legit website that has been hacked. It happens. A while back a sony website was hacked and people that went to the website was redirected to a site that installed a virus.
http://cyberinsecure.com/sony-usa-playstation-website-sql-injected-and-redirects-visit...ti-virus-scam/

I tell people that surfing the net is like having unprotected sex with hookers. You may be okay for a while but eventually you are going to catch something.

Yeah antivirus software slows the pc down but it's better than the alternative.

A good free a/v app that doesn't hog a lot of system resources is Avast Home Free
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

[Jim44]

Have a look at http://www.pendriveapps.com/ they have lots of stuff all aimed at being run from a pendrive.

Another good one is http://portableapps.com/ - they have a portable version of Clamwin.

I use their suite, and a few apps, on a 2GB thumb drive.

[Snakebyte1]

School and library computer labs (from elementary through to university) are notorious for being infected. I'm shocked that a school would have its PCs completely unprotected. You should bring this up with the administrators of that network.

Computer labs see an large number of users, ranging from the completely computer illiterate to the smart ass. Someone tries to install something from a CD a friend gave them, tries to visit a site they might not on their personal machine, or is angry and wants to be malicious. It just takes one event and an unprotected network gets completely infected.

You should always scan any media you insert into your personal machine after its been used on a public network.

[JimmyS]

Although this is not exactly what you are requesting, here is a tool that can be helpful if you should get an infection that will not let your system boot correctly or not run a scan after booting. Download the Avira Antivir Rescue System ISO from here:

http://www.avira.de/en/support/support_downloads.html

It will create a bootable CD AV scanner. Its virus definitions are updated regularly. so you may want to get a current version if you should need it. Also, it starts up in German, but there is an English translation button at the bottom left.

[G)-(OST]

Thanks for the responses, yeah it is shocking that antivirus software's are not installed on the school PC's, our teacher even said it may be possible to catch a virus, anyway, I am going to look in to all of the suggestions. Regarding protection for my PC, I have installed Avast, so thanks Freebird.

[freebird73717]

Hey no problem. I just hate to see anyone surf "unprotected".

It doesn't matter where you go it's easy to pickup a virus. Just yesterday I was looking for some software to transfer shows from my tivo to my pc since tivos "tivo desktop" software wasn't working for me. While googling I saw some people suggesting software called tivoplaylist. I googled it, clicked the link and before firefox could open the page avast popped up and stoped the page from opening saying that it was trying to install a trojan. Their webpage had been hacked. Avast saved my butt there.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Also disable autorun on your PC for thumbdrives:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967715/
http://antivirus.about.com/od/securitytips/ht/autorun.htm

[G)-(OST]

Hey no problem. I just hate to see anyone surf "unprotected".

It doesn't matter where you go it's easy to pickup a virus. Just yesterday I was looking for some software to transfer shows from my tivo to my pc since tivos "tivo desktop" software wasn't working for me. While googling I saw some people suggesting software called tivoplaylist. I googled it, clicked the link and before firefox could open the page avast popped up and stoped the page from opening saying that it was trying to install a trojan. Their webpage had been hacked. Avast saved my butt there.

I think I have just been lucky so far, so it's time I started to take no chances since working on public computers, & you know Murphy, he will be lurking around after I said I have been lucky so far.

Autorun disabled as well, thankyou

[Nelson37]

Assume ANY public computer is infected, just like any gun someone hands you IS loaded, until you have personally determined otherwise. Any computer available to teenage boys is even more dangerous. What you have here is the PC equivalent of swimming in the sewer with an open wound.

Assuming you are correct about the total lack of virus protection, whoever runs the computer dept there is a complete moron and has absolutely no business running such a department.

As for antivirus software and your personal lack of same, re-read the above paragraph. You apparently have no idea whatsoever of the possible infection methods.

You can get infected thru reputable company websites. You can get infected thru an MS Office document. You can get infected from a shrink-wrapped CD from a major software company. You can get infected by turning your back on your buddies for 5 seconds. You can get infected from a one-letter typo on a URL. You can get infected from an E-mail from someone you know. You haven't been careful, you've been LUCKY.

Also, ONE is just not going to cut it. Three is a minimum recommendation. One resident scanner, such as Avast or AVG, and at least two additional on-demand scanners, such as Spybot Search and Destroy and MalwareBytes. I have had multiple instances where one of the three, or even two, reports all OK while the third found and fixed the infection. You are shooting at a constantly changing target.

The McAfee Stinger product does not update, you have to download a new version regularly. Pretty close to a complete waste of time, though better than nothing. In the environment you are dealing with, it's just not good enough.

Update AT LEAST weekly. Do complete scans with all three on the same schedule. If you got buddies that want to surf questionable sites or test similar software, tell them to go damage their own damn PC. Had a customer where one of his son's buddies crashed their hard drive with infected crapware, when asked why he didn't try it at home he responded that he already had and they had to format their hard drive and he wasn't alowwed to use the PC anymore. WTF!!! Little SOB wouldn't have had to open the door on his way out of my house.

[jimmalenko]

It would be ambitious to think that you can stick your pendrive in a public access PC and not expect to pick up a virus of some sort.

FWIW we run a group of 8 Public Access PCs at our Library without AV. They use a product called DynaWizard, which effectively re-images the PC back to a base image (which sits on a locked-down server with AV) upon reboot - takes about 30 seconds to clean files that aren't in the image and then verify the presence and size of files that are. We have timer software that automatically shuts down the PC when their allocated time is up, which effectively forces a reboot between users. This then puts the onus back on the individual users, as any virii they bring in or unknowingly pull down from the web is limited to infecting their own hardware, and it saves us 8 licence fees for AV.

[edDV]

It would be ambitious to think that you can stick your pendrive in a public access PC and not expect to pick up a virus of some sort.

FWIW we run a group of 8 Public Access PCs at our Library without AV. They use a product called DynaWizard, which effectively re-images the PC back to a base image (which sits on a locked-down server with AV) upon reboot - takes about 30 seconds to clean files that aren't in the image and then verify the presence and size of files that are. We have timer software that automatically shuts down the PC when their allocated time is up, which effectively forces a reboot between users. This then puts the onus back on the individual users, as any virii they bring in or unknowingly pull down from the web is limited to infecting their own hardware, and it saves us 8 licence fees for AV.

That is hardball for hackers.

I've only had my Anti-Virus software scream on several occasions.

1. Accessing files from a UNIX based business client. In the past these guys were poor at keeping PC viruses off their UNIX networks*.
2. Loading a CDr or DVDr from an outside source.
3. Giving internet access to visitors. PC isolation and sanitation is needed.

Oh and I once fell for one of those registry repair scams. Took a week to format and reinstall.


* Yes SGI. I am still pissed.

[wtsinnc]

If you are looking for an antivirus application that you can run from a USB flash drive, you have several choices.
If you are looking for a truly effective antivirus application that you can run from a flash drive, you have NO truly good choice.

Clamwin's detection capability absolutely sucks and has since it's inception. That is a fact (unless you believe that 50% detection rate equates to effective protection).

The "portable" scanners from Norton, Avast, Avira, F-Secure, Eset, and Dr. Web (among others) require regular updating or a complete reinstall in order for the virus definitions to be up to date prior to a scan.
Additionally, many of the online or portable scanners have very limited detection databases.

The best you can hope to accomplish is to secure your personal machine as best you can via the use of a high quality antivirus application that has real-time scanning and automatic updating.
I recommend Avast or Avira.
Both offer free versions.
Keep the antivirus updated and scan regularly.

As previously stated in this thread, second and even third opinions are not overkill.
High quality and free on-demand antivirus scanners are available from Bitdefender, A-Squared, Kaspersky, and a few others.

You need at least two antispyware appllications.
Luckily, there are three (A-Squared, Malwarebytes, and Superantispyware) that are free, regularly updated with the latest definitions, and benefit from constant improvements.
Spybot S&D (also free) has some good features, but it's detection capability has not kept pace with the three listed above.
The same is true for Ad-Aware.
Personally, I wouldn't waste my time with either.
Keep your antispyware applications updated and scan regularly.

Employ and learn to PROPERLY configure a good third-party firewall.
Even if you're behind a router, you need outbound control.
Application control is important also.
Take a close look at the (free) Online Armor FW, although there are others that represent a good choice.

Applications such as Sandboxie, GesWall, and Returnil are all available in freeware versions and can offer excellent additional protection.

There are still others.
WinPatrol (free) offers, among other features, basic HIPS as well as startup and cookie control.

If you haven't yet employed a good imaging application, do so asap.
Imaging (or cloning) is your last line of defense in case everything else fails.
Free Imaging applications are available; you might look at DriveImage XML (free) for starters, but check out as many as you need to until you find the one you're comfortable with. The important thing is to have a program in place and in use.


Finally, the most important component in computer security- the user.

Establish and use a Limited User Account as well as an effective Software Restriction Policy.
Disable autorun for optical drives and flash media.
Employ password protection and drive encryption.
Download nothing from a public computer or borrowed flash drive unless and until it can be verified as malware free- NO EXCEPTIONS.
If you violate this rule scrap all of the above.

Treat your computer as you would treat your checkbook. Allow NO unrestricted or unmonitored access- not to anyone.
If you violate this rule, scrap your computer !

[G)-(OST]

Assuming you are correct about the total lack of virus protection, whoever runs the computer dept there is a complete moron and has absolutely no business running such a department.

As for antivirus software and your personal lack of same, re-read the above paragraph. You apparently have no idea whatsoever of the possible infection methods.

You can get infected thru reputable company websites. You can get infected thru an MS Office document. You can get infected from a shrink-wrapped CD from a major software company. You can get infected by turning your back on your buddies for 5 seconds. You can get infected from a one-letter typo on a URL. You can get infected from an E-mail from someone you know. You haven't been careful, you've been LUCKY.

Also, ONE is just not going to cut it. Three is a minimum recommendation. One resident scanner, such as Avast or AVG, and at least two additional on-demand scanners, such as Spybot Search and Destroy and MalwareBytes. I have had multiple instances where one of the three, or even two, reports all OK while the third found and fixed the infection. You are shooting at a constantly changing target.

Are you serious, "Three is a minimum recommendation", maybe I should throw the laptop in the fire. Since I am back & forth on a public computer, I see the need for such protection, I have taken the advice given & installed Avast to protect my school work.

[Jim44]

Are you serious, "Three is a minimum recommendation", maybe I should throw the laptop in the fire. Since I am back & forth on a public computer, I see the need for such protection, I have taken the advice given & installed Avast to protect my school work.

Heck, I follow that guideline on the home PCs. One anti-virus that provides active protection, and a couple of malware scanners that I run manually on a periodic basis (as well as CCleaner, mainly to delete temp files, etc). Security and computer protection involves having a multi-layered/multi-faceted strategy.