Metropolitan Police ransomware - advice requested

I agree, time to reinstall. Clean is Lean

After clean install use firefox with some plugins, i.e adblock, noscript are just a few i use

Hi,

Don't go overboard with the anti-malware : one would be likely to detect the 'signature' of another as malware, leading to false positives.

Suggestions come down to personal preference and personal experience. My recommendation would be:
- MSE
- Malwarebytes (paid if you want it to be resident)
- Windows Firewall
- Keep Java, and the Adobe suites (Flashplayer & Reader) updated (if you don't use them, uninstall them)

Note : the only difference between free and paid Malwarebytes, is that the paid version offers:
- malicious IP blocker
- automatic database updates
- update and scanning scheduler
- resident in memory
The actual scanning engine in both the free and paid versions is exactly the same.

Regards,
Golden

Their are as many opinions on security programs as their are stars in the sky. Here is what I use.
1. Windows 7 built in firewall (active)
2. Microsoft Security Essentials (active)
3. Malwarebytes Anti Malware Pro (active)
4. Filehippo Up Date Checker (on demand)
5. Super Anti Spyware (on demand)
All updated/checked several times a day
Lastly I try to keep myself updated so I don't do dumb things. Works most of the time.

Besides a look at VIPRE the Web Of Trust browser addon mentioned before is a good one to have. The firewall in VIPRE does quite a bit more then what you would see with the Windows firewall for sure like adding web filtering and intrusion protections. The Windows version is more like another UAC rather then an effective block of things.

Another one to grab would be the Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI) being a free program that keeps everything you have updated when you run the checks with it. When everything is up to date you are less vulnerable.

The one thing I found immediately here once i started running VIPRE was the need to dump rather then add multiple malware removers and other things. I got sick of that when running AVG previously plus the need for 3 or 4 other programs?! to fill in the gaps.

As far as browsers are concerned none are ever 100%! FireFox sees as many trojans, trojan droppers, and other crud as any other browser. With the 64bit flavor of that WaterFox being used here I went to try out a new program and new tool bar I couldn't get rid of by uninstalling WaterFox was to be in the Mozilla folder since I still had FF installed! Once I dumped FF and reinstalled WaterFox no unwanted addon tool bar!

As far as jumping at the generally "Last Resort Option" of wiping the drive entirely that depends on the type of bug(s) found as well as how Windows was effected if at all. If you are seeing numerous problems despite having every bug cleaned off then you would need to consider starting over fresh even nuking the C primary to see a brand new to remove any possible traces.

The reason for the wipe would be similar to what was seen recently on a Vista laptop with a fake ware removed but somehow the OS was trashed! Without a full wipe turning off the System Restore feature to see all present restore points dumped would be the smart move which will then see fresh points made when turned back on later.

As far as being struck by a bug I could bet you some 90% of the pcs out there already have something on them without the owners even knowing about it! A great deal of the time they are hidden in free programs you download or connect to download unwanted items or put you through the accept or deny prompting for junk while trying a new program out during it's install. Bugs come in all forms!

Avast isn't that good to start with! The MS SE on the other hand can be installed along with VIPRE while one simply replaces the need for the other and offers much more being a paid for full featured software.

VIPRE itself will run in the background and won't even be noticed regardless if you are running a full screen app or game. AVG went on after the initial VIPRE Antivirus Home Premium being the 2010 name without running into any clash but was surpassed by the newer updated software.

Typically however two av programs will try to nuke the other often seeing a second as a system security threat. The active protections each offers don't mesh well together from the beginning.

The best protection is prevention however. The better the web filtering the less likely chance of getting stung while browsing online! 99% of bugs are placed on a system from where? A bad site! or by phantom chain letter type self replicating I-Worm type viruses which grab the contacts list from your email account if you have Windows Mail enabled or have Outlook by way of an MS office suite.