Otlistit2 Vs. Hijack This?

[blim]

Posting here because I don't want to bother the malware warriors and get in trouble for posting a "non-critical thing"

Looked in the malware section for the instructions on posting a Hijack-This Log to email to Son and noticed it wasn't there anymore. Instead instructions for a new gadget? Curious....why? Is hijack this kaput or is OTListIt2 better???

Thanks!

Liz

[Matt]

For quite some time now HiJackThis has been the standard "base tool" for malware removal. It's been the first tool helpers turn to to get general information about the system, and to hunt down infections. As time has gone on, new infections have come up, and old infections have evolved to become more difficult to remove. With that, new tools have been create, but HJT had still been the go-to tool to start with.

Recently, the malware staff here at BestTechie have decided that it is more beneficial to start with OTListIt2 than HiJackThis. It's not that HJT is bad, it's simply that OTL2 is better--and least in our opinion. You will find many other tech forums still using HJT, and that's fine. HJT still does the job it was intended to do. Our helpers here discussed it and determined that they need more than what HJT can deliver, so we made the switch.

There are other on the staff here who can provide you with better information than I can, but that's the "in-a-nutshell" version.

[Rorschach112]

OTL allows us to scan for a lot more areas and do pretty much whatever we want to look for malware. It offers huge versatility, great power, and ease of use.

More and more forums are turning to OTL now, I'd expect for it to keep increasing myself.

[Pete_C]

OTL allows us to scan for a lot more areas and do pretty much whatever we want to look for malware. It offers huge versatility, great power, and ease of use.

More and more forums are turning to OTL now, I'd expect for it to keep increasing myself.

True'; unless Trend notices this and comes out with a new improved version of HijackThis.

The main reason Hijackthis got to where it is was the grass roots movement started by Merijn to promote classroom training for malware fighters to learn how to read the log and use the miscellaneous tools available in HJT to identify infections and begin cleanup.

There are other tools (like combofix and dekerds system scanner. etc. ) which list more information than the default HJT scan but there are issues. One has to know how to read what one gets ( I remember when folks used to post all kinds of logs bazooka, kaspersky, Norton antivirus ........and expect any analyst to be able to understand the log no matter what it came from with no identifying what it was; that was where hijackthis really took the lead it was a standard tool).

In the end it comes down to what the analysts are trained to use and feel comfortable with . What gives them the information they need to identify things and the tools to remove stubborn stuff and correct any changes it made.

[blim]

Thank you!!! And good to know about the new guy on the block.

Liz

[Pete_C]

Thank you!!! And good to know about the new guy on the block.

Liz

OT stands for OldTimer

He has been in the malware fight for some time

OTmoveit (and OTmoveit2 and 3 ) and OTViewIT

TFC Temp File Cleaner by OldTimer

WinPFind

And a ton of others.