You may remember, a while ago, I was singing the praises of Microsoft Security Essentials.

I haven’t changed my tune. – Microsoft Security Essentials is a great piece of antivirus software, and I still use it today…

But like I said earlier in the relevant article – or maybe I inferred it: Nothing is infallible. Last month (July 2011), after two whole years, something finally beat MSE.

It was a few nasty pieces of malware by the names of:

• FunWebProducts,
• FunWeb
• MarketScore
• RelevantKnowledge

- Which had managed to infect quite a large number of files on my disk, and were causing slow responses, crashes, and increased unwanted internet activity.

I noticed that my installation of Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium was acting strangely, and scanned with MSE to check for malware. – Nothing reported. – Good. Since my 3-core AMD Phenom CPU has Data Execution Prevention I simply made a note to schedule a software-overhaul soon and left it at that.

The next day I was contacted by BT, my broadband provider, and a strong-Pakistani-accented female ordered me to drop everything and find out why they were reading signs of strange internet-activity. – I had something wrong with my computer.

I replied that I couldn’t find anything wrong with my computer, and she hung up on me. – How polite.

The Man From BT – He Say “You’re Stupid”.

A day later I was phoned by a strong-Pakistani-accented male from BT, who explained in talking-to-an-idiot-style that they were still reading strange spurious internet activity and that my PC was infected by something I’d picked up while browsing. I asked him if he could give me some information on what was infecting my computer. His reply was to ask if I was using antivirus software. I felt insulted but assured him that I always had antivirus software installed. Following that I again asked him if he could give me some information on what was infecting my computer. This time he replied in the same patronising-style that my antivirus couldn’t see it so there was no point in telling me anything. I informed him that he was being a jerk, and told him that if he told me what it was I’d run a purpose-built program from the internet to eradicate it.

He still hadn’t realised that he had met one of his intellectual superiors, the range of which began somewhere on the confluence between plant and animal life, and extended upwards. He told me that I wouldn’t be able to find the malware as it wasn’t in my computer but was on the internet. This was bullshit of the inane variety, and it was time to make Mr Patel perfectly clear as to my abilities. Our Indian friend continued that I don’t have to do anything and that I should just let the MCSEs at BT work  by remote, before the malware “destroyed my computer”.

“Turn off your antivirus…” – NO WAY!

I informed him that nobody who thought that malware was attacking my box from the internet was going anywhere near my machine either virtually or physically, to which he replied that I didn’t have the knowledge to be able to clean out the malware. This was just about to turn nasty, and I really could do without that happening at that moment, so I gave him the full-volley:-

“I built my computer and installed and optimised the software. I’m an online geek, and a computer and technical-advisor with my own self-hosted website + technically-oriented business. I’ll run software on this issue and I guarantee that the malware will be eliminated within 24 hours. – OK?”

The man from BT who talks down to customers rudely hung up in defeat.

- And sure enough, within 8 hours from that point I had the malware isolated, identified, quarantined. and my disk ridded of nasties.

How did I do it?

Malwarebytes.

Google it. The free version is all you need. The paid-for version monitors your system constantly, and quite possibly, in my opinion, if you’re running a decent antivirus program, clashes with it. I envision Malwarebytes paid version noticing MSE and trying to remove one of its sub-processes as malware. As it tries to quarantine it, MSE fights back and identifies Malwarebytes as malware and attempts to remove it… As a result processor activity hits maximum and both programs lock onto one another and cause prolonged system inactivity. Am I right? Possibly. If anyone knows what actually does happen then please leave a comment.

- So I ran the free version of Malwarebytes, and it found, quarantined, and cleaned out the malware, with the help of a requested necessary reboot.

In tests run by Computer Shopper Magazine in 2009, Microsoft Security Essentials managed to protect an XP installation without a firewall from 19 out of 20 live nasties straight from the internet – which was a better result than many paid-for antivirus solutions available at the time.

The moral of this story is that Microsoft Security Essentials is neither 100% reliable nor infallible. I don’t want to lull you into a false sense of ultimate security. – However it is, nevertheless, a very good free antivirus solution, and kept my 64-bit system clear of all nasties for 2 years. If anything does beat it then I suggest downloading, installing, and running Malwarebytes free version; in short because it’s bloody hot… But as a paid-for scanner; as I say, I think it might clash with your antivirus.

But am I right? This is your turn to add your bit – if you have any further knowledge of this subject. – Just use the comment box; all sensible comments that enlarge in any way upon this matter are welcomed. Yes I’m getting all interactive.  

Let’s have some reader-feedback. Maybe you’d even like to link to one of your articles – Go on – fill your boots. Personally I’m looking forwards to it. – I get fed up with doing all the typing.