Non Avast Related / This is weird. Added Nov. 30

General Topics
1

Just wondering if anyone on here has ever heard of or used this program.

http://majorgeeks.com/Toolwiz_Time_Freeze_d7421.html

Didn’t want to start another thread but something weird is going on with my computer. No ad/spyware or virus but for the past 2 days when I’ve had to restart my computer my default browser has changed from Firefox to IE10. I reset it back to FF but just wondering how this could happen. Also, I was logged onto the forum this morning, tried to download an add on to FF, had to restart my browser and when I got back on the forum it showed my password was wrong so had to enter my email address so I could get a new one.

Any ideas about what might be causing this?

BTW…FF would let me install the add on.

Running Windows 7 SP1 64 bit and I’ve only had this computer for 6 months.

2

Never tried it but the program that contains this feature, ToolWiz
was outlined at:
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=19387.msg859281#msg859281
You’re smart to ask about experience in using this feature because it could potentially
mess up your system.
I suggest making an Image backup before trying it.

3

Thank you. I’m not going to try it.

4

It is amazing as how -midnight could always come up with these rare exotic non-typical tools & proggies, just to hear here to better leave them alone, as bob3160 has great knowledge of what not better allow on your comp…remarkable, remarkable…

polonus

5

At least I asked before downloading the program. I found the link somewhere on the forum today.

6

Was it mine?? 8)

Its is a quite handy tool, i havent really tested the program but what i have read it is quiet a good tool.

I wouldnt recommend it to a normal computer user, i would recommend it to a experienced users like IT techs etc…

BE CAREFULL WITH THIS PROGRAM

7

@-midnight
yes but why?, what is it you use your computer fore?..is it program testing / experiments?
or is it just surfing the web and reading mail?

8

I use it surfing the web, reading mail, online banking, Facebook, searches amongst other things.

9

then why the heck do you fiddel around with all those programs you dont understand diddly about and have absolutely no need fore ::slight_smile:

10

Puts the actual system under protection and creates a virtual environment for system partition.

As stated above it creates a virtual enviroment, anything you do on it will be destroyed.

Lets say you was doing a letter and you saved it to your PC, and you rebooted your file will be gone :slight_smile:

11

I downloaded Avast which I didn’t really know much about at the time. Did I not need that? I download some programs simply because I want them.

So far I’ve never gotten a virus from any of the programs I’ve downloaded.

12

Users that work within a VM or a sandbox are mainly security aware users or security savvy researchers that want to dissect issues without some malcode creeping out of that VM or sandbox. In this way I use Malzilla browser that comes as sort of a VM, and also a tool like jsunpack is handled safest with a script blocker, a request policy extension and run from a browser inside a sandbox. Some browsers have kind of sandbox qualities (e.g. Google Chrome) but not for all parts and all dlls. There are script blocker that are adding loads of additional security and of course the blocking of our highly praised avast shields together with google safebrowser blocks and alerts, etc. also helps. To make sure everything is all clear I end such a browser session with an avast scan of all of the browser file location. But the best strategy is to “cold reconnaisance scan” or dissect or analyze a suspicious URL or piece of code, so never actually going to meet the dangerous code directly and first hand. I would never even try to experiment with a file infector or go somewhere without fully updated and patched OS and third party software. Safe hex, my friends, sort of an attitude, but you have to accustom to this approach…

polonus

13

http://www.techsupportalert.com/how-to-secure-your-pc.php

Have a read of this link

14

+1

@ -midnight,

Need to be careful of what you choose to download and run on your system.

Case in point: A computer user on another forum needed to get restore disks for their computer when it became literally unusable due to a serious malware infection. They went and got the restore disks said to be for their exact system from eBay, possibly because they did not know of a better alternative.

Restore disks installed fine, the Windows key was accepted, but they could not get the needed security updates from Microsoft Updates, no matter what they tried.

Turned out the seller sold them a cracked version of Windows, and Microsoft views such copies as illegal, and will not allow updates to ever occur on such a system. So, they wasted their time, and gave their money away to a disreputable seller.

In this case, one should always go to the vendor of the computer system, and nowhere else, to get the needed restore disks.

Do you have WOT installed in your browsers? This add-on alone will help you tremendously in judging whether a site you want to visit is safe or not, and will also even block a bad or dangerous site from even loading in your browser.

If all you use your computer for is to surf the internet, get your email, online banking, and/or Facebook, you do not really need to place or install a Virtual Machine on your system. I also would be careful also what I downloaded or ran because I did online banking; Trojans are known to infect user’s computers solely to snare a user’s banking credentials. Result: Their account is cleaned out.

Simply put, a Trojan is a program stating it is one thing when in reality it is something else. Not even I can be 100% sure that a program is what it says it is, so I always take certain precautions before I download and install it.

Just so you know.

EDIT: Fixed typos.

15

@mchain

I am careful about what I download. Run a Malware scan every day and usually scan my computer at least every other day.

I’ve been using online banking for years and so far have never had any problems. I also shop online, again with no problems.

For some reason Firefox won’t allow me to add WOT. I have several other security extensions on FF.

Many years ago I clicked on freepresent.com and a few days later my bank called and asked if I had bought $1500.00 worth of merchandise on EBay and at that time I had never ever even heard of EBay. Had a lot of overdraft fees but thankfully our bank refunded the money back into our checking account. Never did find out who bought the stuff on EBay.

Anyway, thanks for your reply.

16
scan my computer at least every other day.
Once you've done a boot time scan and you know your system is clean, on demand and on access protection checks everything you do so, Why are you running scans so often when your system is clean and everything you do is already constantly being checked ??? ??? ???
17

I don’t do a boot scan very often and it’s the quick scan I run every other day. Maybe I should start running a full scan every week.

18

There is no need to run a full scan every week:

  • With a resident on-access antivirus like avast, the need for frequent on-demand scans is much depreciated. For the most part the on-demand scan is going to be scanning files that would be otherwise be dormant or inert. If they were active files then the on-access file system shield would be scanning them before being created, modified, opened or executed.

I have avast set to do a scheduled weekly Quick scan, set at a time and day that I know the computer will be on. If for some reason my system wasn’t on, no big deal I will catch up on the next scheduled scan.

19

My scanning schedule is… Set the screensaver and forget the rest. Can’t remember the last time I did a scan

20

I don’t use a screensaver, if I’m away from the screen it is in standby ;D