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    Free Antivirus

    Discussion in 'Security and Anti-Virus Software' started by jsailorca2002, Dec 6, 2011.

  1. jsailorca2002

    jsailorca2002 Notebook Consultant

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    Hi,

    A laptop MAY have been infected by malware/virus (not sure which one). I know there is a lot of free antivirus (I use Avira and Malwarebyte's free version) out there. The problem facing this laptop is that the laptop disconnects (wired or wireless) so there is no way to update the virus.

    How do I manually (instead of automatic update) download the latest definition for Avira AV or Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware for scan?

    If not Avira or Malwarebyte's, any free antivirus where one can install the software THEN manually place the latest definitions in appropriate folders to scan the infected laptop.

    FYI, I am asking for a friend here.
     
    jsailorca2002, Dec 6, 2011
    #1
  2. tiko2020

    tiko2020 Notebook Consultant

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    tiko2020, Dec 6, 2011
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  3. nemt

    nemt Notebook Deity

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    This is something no one likes to hear, but regardless of whatever scanning and recovery tools you use (and there are some excellent free ones available) once a system is compromised it's often best to reformat and start over if you want to be absolutely sure you're clean.
     
    nemt, Dec 6, 2011
    #3
  4. Deks

    Deks Notebook Prophet

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    That is a bit of an overkill nemt

    Have you tried running the machine in Safe Mode and scanning the system with both Avira and MBAM from there?
    If not... do so and see if you get any results (you could do it before or after the manual definition update to Avira).
     
    Deks, Dec 6, 2011
    #4
  5. clone63

    clone63 Notebook Consultant

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    Safe mode is doesn't offer much of an advantage over standard boots.

    Run the scan via "Safe mode with COmmand prompt". That stops a lot of malware in it's tracks since it has no apps or extensions to load with.

    Also, with MBAM, I don't know of a manual download method, but you can take the rules.ref file from an updated machine (in C:\ProgramData) and transfer it to a different machine. If that helps..
     
    clone63, Dec 6, 2011
    #5
  6. violen

    violen Notebook Enthusiast

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    violen, Dec 6, 2011
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  7. Baserk

    Baserk Notebook user

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    Manual updates; Avira link, MBAM link
     
    Baserk, Dec 6, 2011
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  8. Steven

    Steven God Amongst Mere Mortals

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    If MBAM can't find it, chances are, you'll need to reformat your entire hard drive.
     
    Steven, Dec 6, 2011
    #8
  9. jsailorca2002

    jsailorca2002 Notebook Consultant

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    jsailorca2002, Dec 7, 2011
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  10. JOSEA

    JOSEA NONE

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    ^^^^^ OP you should see a prompt to download the definitions from that link for MBAM updates, 7.52 MB size
     
    JOSEA, Dec 7, 2011
    #10
  11. wozofoz

    wozofoz Notebook Enthusiast

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    You could also plug a USB Flashdrive into your computer and download Emsisoft Emergency Kit
    Extract the contents of the ZIP file directly to the flashdrive, update it (should be very quick) then plug the flashdrive into your friend's computer and run EEK directly from the flashdrive.
    No need to install anything to the infected computer.

    There is a chance the nasty will stop you from running something from the USB flashdrive but it's worth a try.
     
    wozofoz, Dec 8, 2011
    #11