Bad advertiser
I so appreciate spanishdict.com!
And I appreciate the advertisers as well that make all this possible. Wow! I do notice who advertises, and it does matter to me.
However... I was on today and got a popup from this site wanting to scan my PC for viruses. It gave me dire warnings of gloom and doom, and it wasn't at all clear how I could exit this program that I didn't want, but which appeared to start doing the scan without my permission.
To safely exit, I had to open my task manager and kill Internet Explorer. Fortunately Spanishdict.com was the only thing I had open.
That is simply unethical. I'm sure you police your advertisers diligently, but I'd like to report that a bad one slipped through.
According to my History file, the bad popup is:
scanner.best-protect.info
It's probably jerks like that that gives this site a bad rating with McAfee.
26 Answers
--- delete (I did not notice the age of the thread) ---
Also, after submitting that last post, I noticed an ad at the bottom of the page for AVG. I don't know if it would be for the free version or a paid version.
I used AVG (free version) a year ago, when I got the malware. I switched to Avast, and found it more configurable and lightweight, and it also seemed to protect against more. But I've heard later that AVG has improved as well, so I don't really know.
Regarding the ad that you saw, the advertising software is also getting smarter and more personalized all the time. I noticed after having mentioned in another thread "an Asian guy asking for dating advice" that now I get a lot of ads from "KoreanCupid".. but naaah, that must be a coicidence? :D
This happened to me TWICE. Second time I had to pay 130 dollars to have someone fix my computer. I'm afraid to come on this site now.
Just happened to me in the last half hour, it told me my computer is infected and asked if I want to run a scan to clean it I chose not to and hit close but this thing took control and left me no option but to pull the power cord to stop it. This has happened to me numerous times but only on this site,can anybody explain why.
Ok, I think this problem has been solved. thanks everybody for your input. Please do not use this forum to talk about virus scans.
"The top two" ... in what way? Sales? Ratings by a magazine or company of which they are paying advertising clients? Most computers "protected" (because they give it away or it comes free from certain internet service providers, as it did with mine)?
No, because companies like mine, with 80,000 employees, pretty much insist on McAfee or Norton. My company uses McAfee exclusively.
And I'm not the IT guru at my location, but I do manage that department.
But then again, I've never tried the free version.
Anti Virus Software:
I chose "Avast!" (the free version) for my computer. I had the devil's own time finding an anti virus program that would run on my computer. At the time that I was looking, about a year ago, Norton and McAfee did not have programs suited to my 64 Bit Computer.
I'm running "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition" on a 64 Bit Computer.
"Avast!" works on my 64 Bit computer configuration.
Regards/Recuerdos,
Moe
"The top two" ... in what way? Sales? Ratings by a magazine or company of which they are paying advertising clients? Most computers "protected" (because they give it away or it comes free from certain internet service providers, as it did with mine)?
This is not my area of expertise, but to me, if McAfee can't stop my computer from getting a certain virus, then doesn't know what it is and can't remove it; and if it couldn't detect and remove the spyware that was rampant in my computer, and then I go to the office supply store and buy an antivirus/antispyware program that I have never even heard of and it takes care of all those things, then my experience tells me that it is not the best. (And no need to ask, it was set up to update automatically as often as possible, and no features of it were limited or disabled.)
So I frankly (and respectfully) couldn't care less if it is the highest rated by everybody and every company in the world, if it failed me and another program picked up its slack, then to me it's not the best, and I cannot recommend it.
I only have recent (last 5 years) personal experience with three antivirus programs:
McAfee - had had no problems until it failed me that time
Norton - never had any problems or complaints; the easiest/most versatile of any I have ever used
Kaspersky - cleaned up after McAfee's failure; quickest response time and most frequent updates
To me, the fact that I only had the problem on this site, and Marianne also only had the problem on this site, is more of an indicator that something si really going on with this site.
I just did a spyware/adware scan with Lavasoft's Adaware. It came up with a bunch of cookies, but nothing really dangerous.
I could download Spybot Search and Destry,, but I'm thinking that's not necessary.
By the way- I'm not comfortable with Avast due to experince in the past.
I know you say McAfee doesn't work, but it and Norton are the top two anti virus programs in the corporate world for a reason. And it's not because they're cheap.
Thanks so much...I'm going to look into this. I don't mind paying $65 a year for something that actually works!
If there is a free program that works just as well, then fine; but I agree: either pay for it now and have it working for you all along; or wait until your computer is infected and end up paying for it anyway, along with all the lost time, lost or damaged files, work that couldn't be done when it was due, the hassle of having to "disinfect," then having two antivirus programs on your computer fighting with each other, your lost reputation with your friends and colleagues when your computer sends them a virus, etc.
Thanks so much...I'm going to look into this. I don't mind paying $65 a year for something that actually works!
Also, after submitting that last post, I noticed an ad at the bottom of the page for AVG. I don't know if it would be for the free version or a paid version.
I think if you buy from them after clicking on the link on this site (or even just clicking on the link), it helps Spanishdict.com in some way.
I don't want to be guilty of advertising on the site, but since you asked ... (and I don't stand to profit anything by this)
I purchased Kaspersky Internet Security at a local office supply store, but I had never heard of it before, and made my decision based on more than an hour of standing in the store, reading the boxes of several programs. I must say that Kaspersky can be a little overbearing if you try to "Custom" set up the firewall. That is, while it is in its "Learning Mode," it asks you for permission to go anywhere/do anything on the Internet. If you're not an advanced "computer person," I would recommend going with the automatic/default settings. One strong point about this program ... it updates itself instantly and constantly while you're connected to the Internet, to deal with late-breaking virus threats.
It is about the same price as what you pay for McAfee, and the package I bought was licensed for 3 computers. It comes with antispyware/antiadware, firewall, antispam/antiphishing, privacy and parental controls, and more, all working together in the same program.
Here's what FulanoMcDuck recommends:
The bad rating from mcafee is (from what I've heard) because their server got hacked a few months ago, and some bad links snuck in. Shame on them for that, by all means, but after that was fixed all I've seen are advertisements from google ads. Was your experience from clicking one of those ads? In that case, google will be interested in punishing the advertiser. If not, something else is going on, and I'll advise you to use an antivirus program like Avast or AVG.
Also, a highly respected computer guru has this link on her website for a free download of AVG:
http://komando.com/downloads/category.aspx'id=2519
I don't know if that comes with anti-spyware and firewall, as well, or if those would be "pay" items.
She has links to freebies in those categories, as well:
http://komando.com/downloads/categories.aspx'cat=Security
One more ... one of Komando's featured advertisers (that she actively recommends on her show) is PCTools. They have a good reputation, and also have other useful programs such as a Registry Cleaner.
Can you recommend a good antivirus/antispyware program?
I use Avast (www.avast.com) as an antivirus program, and Spybot Search & Destroy (www.safer-networking.com) to get rid of other malware. They're both free, and regularly updated. They also both have resident modules to keep track of what's going on, and they inform you in a detailed way.
I don't think there's really anything wrong with McAfee per se, but it's a constant struggle between the good and the bad guys on the net, and all anti-malware programs need some time to get aware of the latest threats. In my experience, there's no need to pay for commercial programs, since there's no guarantee that they're faster in blocking the threats, and I've also found that they're not. The programs I mentioned are considered top notch (I did a thorough investigation after having been infected by malware a year ago), and I'm very happy with them both.
From having used SpanishDict a lot and reading the testimonies from you and Greg, I also highly doubt that the malware was caused by this site. Anyway, do a scan with Avast and Spybot S&D, and I'm sure you'll find something to get rid of on your machine.
Good luck!
So I purchased a quality antivirus/antispyware program, and it removed the virus, and found and removed the malware. I have not had ANY such problems since then, 18 months ago. But all the while, McAfee said my computer was "clean"--no viruses or spyware.
I buy McAfee every year for $65 and I'd like to try something different because I agree: how did this spyware get into my system if McAfee is working?
Can you recommend a good antivirus/antispyware program?
Thanks for your help on this.
