Firewall

[camioneur]

I run XP with AVG and firewall in XP turned on but still getiing virus' every day claiming to be spyware fixers and the like. Is there some other sort of firewall I can use to stop these geting in. It seems AVG merely tells you it's already in rather than stopping it in the first place

[LostSheep]

Have you got Windows Firewall enabled?

Go to Start>Settings>Control Panel>Windows Firewall

[camioneur]

Yes, i did say as much in the first line of my question. Maybe I could have worded it better though, thanks anyway

[OBonio]

How do the viruses arrive? In an email? Is AVG setup to handle incoming emails?

A firewall won't stop viruses arriving via email. It just blocks othe computers from accessing your computer (if it is setup properly).

[LeMarchand]

That's the set-up I have, and I have never had any virus problems. IIRC, the "Spyware Fixer" type viruses/spyware generally need clicking on to activate. If one pops up anywhere on your screen, close it by right-clicking its taskbar "label" and not by pressing anywhere on the pop-up, which will likely activate it.

[camioneur]

AVG set up for everything though I'd never open an attachment from someone I didn't know. No...spyware fixers type things don't havwe a taskbar tab they nearly always just have a damn great balloon pop up (bottom right) and it just won't go away. I've just done a system restore to ged rid and that HAS worked. Now trying Zone Alarm at same time as AVG to see if that stops them. Thanks everyone for help

[theren_911]

I'd say it's more adware than a Virus, Get Spybot-Search and Destroy. It's a free download from Download.com or any other reputable site. I had similar infestations on my PC a while ago. And although it's free. AVG does suck.. Make sure you get the windows updates if you can... They WILL help.

If you still can't get rid, save everything valuable, format your hard drive and do a clean install - an make sure you install good antivirus, firewall and spyware protection, before doing ANYTHING!

[CT]

Try Zone Alarm free firewall. It's much better than the windows firewall. Unless you have AVGpro. If it's AVG free then get Zone Alarm. Just Google for it. AVG works great when combined with a good firewall and an adware scanner. See theren_911's post for an adware checker. Possibly also get Ad-Aware (the free version). This is another type of Adware scanner.