Comments for My anti-virus cleared something off my machine. Should I change my passwords?

Comment from Bonita on 2009-02-08

2009-02-09T02:19:02Z

Leo, thank you for the article.

In a situation like this, would it have been possible for a "two-way" firewall, such as Zone Alarm for example, to keep the Trojan from stealing the passwords in the first place?

Best you can say is "maybe". The problem is that once you're infected there's no way to know that the firewall is in fact blocking it.

- Leo
09-Feb-2009

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A comment on: My anti-virus cleared something off my machine. Should I change my passwords?

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Comment from Nigel Broder on 2009-02-04

2009-02-05T00:49:33Z

I also have an Actiontex model M1424WR amd it IS a router so check before you panic.

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A comment on: My anti-virus cleared something off my machine. Should I change my passwords?

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Comment from Carl R. Goodwin on 2009-02-04

2009-02-04T17:38:12Z

I noticed in the question that they stated that they have an "Actiontek" modem/router. MY Actiontek modem is JUST a modem - NOT a router! BEWARE!

Depends on the model. I once had an ActionTek that WAS a router.

- Leo
06-Feb-2009

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A comment on: My anti-virus cleared something off my machine. Should I change my passwords?

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Comment from Coly on 2009-02-04

2009-02-04T17:07:43Z

Leo, It could have been a false positive. In which case the danger is that AVG deleted something harmless, or possibly deleted an essential file. All antivirus programs "detect" a certain number of non-existent viruses, particularly if 'heuristic search' is enabled.

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Comment from Michael Burasco on 2009-01-28

2009-01-28T21:02:37Z

I agree. Changing you passwords is a lot less of a hassle than having your identity stolen. I change all of mine every 6 months. I keep them in a spreadsheet which I store on a flash drive in an encryoted file (TrueCrypt) in a safe place. I update my spreadsheet on a computer that is not connected to the internet and that file is never on a harddrive of any computer that is connected. Call me paranoid but I have two friends that have had their identity stolen in the last six months.

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A comment on: My anti-virus cleared something off my machine. Should I change my passwords?

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