Computer help thread

[coolasfcuk]

Originally posted by spyretto
can try a program called ad-aware which will find many spyware programs and remove them.

ha ha, yeah... well... since at work i browse the internet more than i work ... all this crap got on the computer... and there was this annoying thing that started everytime i started the computer.. some search window @ top right ahhhhhhhhhhh... and everytime i opened IE some other nasty thing kept opening.. i tried unistalling, deleting.. everything.. but they were persistant .. those nasty things... so i had to tell the comp guy to get rid of them he was not too thrilled about it.. but yes, he used that ad-aware program and now they are GONE ! YEY

[rosh]

Originally posted by coolasfcuk
ha ha, yeah... well... since at work i browse the internet more than i work ... all this crap got on the computer... and there was this annoying thing that started everytime i started the computer.. some search window @ top right ahhhhhhhhhhh... and everytime i opened IE some other nasty thing kept opening.. i tried unistalling, deleting.. everything.. but they were persistant .. those nasty things... so i had to tell the comp guy to get rid of them he was not too thrilled about it.. but yes, he used that ad-aware program and now they are GONE ! YEY

hehe i KNOW how he felt! i get to do that very often in the office at work ! hehe now i tell the office lusers that if they mess up their work machines knowing full well what they can and cannot install then they cant come crying to me anymore. they must sort themselves out. funny how the office has been really quiet in that regard lately

its just afte rmonths of the people in the office not listening that i got really tired of having to constantly fix things they broke by downloading spyware they KNEW they shouldnt download.

anyway, ramble ramble

--disgruntled lan admin :P

[prostrel]

Originally posted by TLFdk
Any questions - do ask. I'll try my best to help out.

This CAN`T BE TRUE!!! My biggest wish has come true! Must be a dream... Someone pinch me please! Cos this thread is going to be THE BEST THREAD EVER! I will always read this one, I promise. My comp skills suck a big time, they are from "there" and from very very deep... TLFdk , you are my hero , I bow you, I kiss you hands and legs, I`ll do whatever you want... And same thing to rosh too...

Well, my first question: When I open my comp and Explorer, this annoying thko.com page appears always 1st, I can`t change my starting page. I don`t know what things I should remove from my comp to get rid off it. I think I got this "thing" when I went somewhere to dl some musik but can`t remember where it was. So, do you have any suggestions what to do?

edit: What the hell is spyware? Doesn`t sound good...

[teeny]

Originally posted by prostrel
This CAN`T BE TRUE!!!

For a while there I was beginning to think I was heading into trouble..

Well, my first question: When I open my comp and Explorer, this annoying thko.com page appears always 1st, I can`t change my starting page. I don`t know what things I should remove from my comp to get rid off it. I think I got this "thing" when I went somewhere to dl some musik but can`t remember where it was. So, do you have any suggestions what to do?

Thank you for listing the page being posted.. From their site:
How do I remove Lop.com as my start page?

This depends on what browser you are using:
-If you are using Internet Explorer, click on tools (in the upper portion of your screen), then click Internet options. In the homepage section, type the address you want to use as your homepage, then click "OK". Then click "Ok" and you are done.

-if you are using Netscape Navigator, Using the Netscape Edit menu, go to Preferences. Within Preferences, select the Navigator category. In the Navigator Starts With section, choose Home Page. Type whatever address you want to use as your homepage in the Home Page Location box, and click on OK.

How did Lop.com become my search engine?

This could happen one of several ways.
You could have clicked the 'make start page' link on the main Lop.com webpage.

You could have downloaded and installed one of our many software applications. In the terms and conditions of any of our software products it is clearly stated that we grant you a free license to use the software and by installing the software on your computer you agree to use our search services in your web browser. Any and all changes made to your system are clearly stated in the terms and conditions and are fully uninstallable via the 'Help' then 'uninstall' option on any of our software applications. Additionally a separate uninstall program may be downloaded here
(from: link to site)

Perhaps the uninstaller listed will work? I hope it will. Otherwise perhaps one of the listed programs will do the trick
Ad-aware - freeware

edit: What the hell is spyware? Doesn`t sound good...

It't not the best thing in the world for sure..
Take GAIN for exampel.. doesn't do anything to the computer itself. But it follows you while you surf the net and popups up "interesting" "useful" ads all the time, since they are remotely related to the stuff you are looking at.
Have to locate a full description somewhere.. it's not a cool thing for sure

[spyretto]

Sometimes you can't even change the start page on your internet browser, I mean you change it and then it's back. If this happens use those programs to locate the parasites and remove them. Look for viruses too, there are viruses which are installed and then open a lot more ad pages and all sorts of crap. Another trick is to restore the registry to a previous time but do that only as a last resort because some programs you didn't have before may need to be reinstalled. ( to restore registry open "run" type scanreg /restore )

But with the combination of registry cleaner, parasite remover, virus killer you should be alright.

[prostrel]

Originally posted by TLFdk

How do I remove Lop.com as my start page?
This depends on what browser you are using:
-If you are using Internet Explorer, click on tools (in the upper portion of your screen), then click Internet options. In the homepage section, type the address you want to use as your homepage, then click "OK". Then click "Ok" and you are done.

I have tried this one before but it didn`t work. Next I`ll try those others you told about.

It't not the best thing in the world for sure..
Take GAIN for exampel.. doesn't do anything to the computer itself. But it follows you while you surf the net and popups up "interesting" "useful" ads all the time, since they are remotely related to the stuff you are looking at.

Yeap. I have this thing in my comp.

Thank you so much for help TLFdk and spyretto !

[teeny]

Thank you so much for help TLFdk

no problem.. though try spyrettos advice too
My backup team is a good one.. hehe

[spyretto]

So you surf the internet at work you lucky b...
Here something like that would never happen, the boss would be all over you to ensure that you work as a slave and never do something else. You can do that on your tea break (10 minutes) or your lunch break (35 minutes ) That's why this country is still doing well, everybody works as a slave.
Not me though, I live off the money of other people...well, not exactly but anyway

It really happened to me, I mean the comp was so screwed up, I was changing the start page and the itn was popping back. I thought wtf..it must have been some kind of virus.

use kazaalite, as the others said. It's exactly the same without the spyware. Even better: use emule

[nikki]

I will think I will be needing this thread quite a lot as I am a total technophobe ! Many thanks.

I've been hearing about 2 new anti-tatu viruses. One is supposed to obliterate any files with the word Tatu in them. Is this possible ? Has anyone else heard about them ?

[teeny]

haven't heard anything about them.. sounds disturbing. My harddrive be a goldmine then.
Anyway catch up with the latest threats at: http://www.norton.com/
I think it could be possible to create such a virus.. but if someone will actually do, so I don't know.

Just keep your antivirus program updated and install a firewall. I run Norton in both cases.

[Veggie Delite]

Originally posted by nikki
I will think I will be needing this thread quite a lot as I am a total technophobe ! Many thanks.

I've been hearing about 2 new anti-tatu viruses. One is supposed to obliterate any files with the word Tatu in them. Is this possible ? Has anyone else heard about them ?

u serious...?

jeez...

[teeny]

u serious...?

I suspect backups being done all over the forum right now..

[denial]

Originally posted by prostrel
This CAN`T BE TRUE!!! My biggest wish has come true! Must be a dream... Someone pinch me please! Cos this thread is going to be THE BEST THREAD EVER! I will always read this one, I promise. My comp skills suck a big time, they are from "there" and from very very deep... TLFdk , you are my hero , I bow you, I kiss you hands and legs, I`ll do whatever you want... And same thing to rosh too...

Prostrel ... I know I'm glad that you're happy.


-Denial Shapovalov.

[teeny]

TLFdk , you are my hero , I bow you, I kiss you hands and legs, I`ll do whatever you want...

Re-read this bit.. lol.. I didn't even do most of the work so far. So many helpful people around here.. It's so great
And no need to kiss hands and legs or anything.. I'll just be glad if adwise given will solve problems here and there.

Even had my cousin calling for help today. Not to mention my brother. Oh and fixing my parents cellphone too.. so much to do..

[goku]

Hmm well I was born with computers and have quite a bit of experience... I'll be here to help.

TLFdk, Norton is decent when it comes to virus protection. For firewall protection (which is virtually [excuse the pun] a must-have for interntet users esp. TCP/IP), what I use and would recommend is BlackIce. For Windows, it can be found at www.networkice.com/ This is what I use. It's relatively cheap and is great software for protecting a PC from infiltration I also hear Sygate Firewall is good too.

If you have networked computers, or just want additional protection, you can buy additional hardware. Sometimes these industrial-strength firewalls actually have computers built in, but often they're little more than a fancy box containing circuits and chips. Firewalls built that way are far more reliable than firewalls based on computers. Recently, a new kind of hardware firewall has started to catch on. This kind of Internet barrier is designed for homes and small offices, and usually includes an Internet-sharing function. These dual-purpose firewalls generally cost between $100 and $200 and can be hooked up in a couple of minutes. They're controlled through a Web browser and don't require any particular kind of computer "downwind" of the Internet connection. In other words, these Internet-sharing firewalls work fine whether you have Windows PCs or Macs on your home or office network. (And they also work perfectly with Linux PCs and Unix computers, too. )
A few months ago I bought such a device to provide a hardware firewall for my home network. It's an EtherFast Cable/DSL Router, one of two or three models in the EtherFast Router line from Linksys, at http://www.linksys.com/. Mine can connect eight computers to the Internet through a single Internet hookup, with all Internet traffic passing through the EtherFast Router's built-in firewall.
The model I bought has the basic functions of a network hub but does them in a smart way. Leaving out the technical stuff, I'll simply explain that a hub serves as the central connection point for a standard network. All the computers on a normal Ethernet network are connected to the hub, and everything that is supposed to go to one computer goes to all computers.
Hubs are dumb, and there's nothing in the way a hub-based network operates that steers data to the right location. Information gets bounced around from computer to computer until the right computer grabs what it needs.
The Linksys device is a router. It steers the data in an intelligent way, eliminating a lot of the sluggishness you'll find in a typical peer-to-peer network. (Networks that don't have servers are "peer-to-peer" networks because each computer has equal ranking.)
This means adding the Linksys Etherfast Router can give your network a boost in all operations, regardless of any Internet activity. If your home or office network has three or more computers and uses a hub, the Linksys Router is almost guaranteed to speed things up. My own measurements showed a 20 to 25 percent speedup in most normal network operations.
The firewall works on its own, whether or not any of the computers on the network are functioning. Your network is protected around the clock.
You can customize the way the firewall works by typing the router's network address into a Web browser on any computer on the network. The router's configuration menu will appear in the browser. You have to type a password to be able to make changes.
The configuration menus also let you bar one or more of the computers on your network from all Internet access, if you'd like. You can even turn off the firewall entirely for one or more ports on any computer. Normally, this would be a bad idea, but it might be the only way to play interactive games such as Quake or Counter-Strike (anyone?) . (Be sure to turn the full firewall functions back on after the game is over.)

The End.

[Lux]

a few months ago i was on a website [britney spears ] and clicked on 'yes' on one of those pop up "do you want to dl this ..." windows...since then, i've been getting popups by the hundres and have two blockers

but still, things get screwed up like ...
- all of a sudden 40 popups will show up and then disappear
- i'll only be able to type in CAPS
- won't be able to type at all
- the keyboard gets screwed up in general i.e. the numbers will the be SHIFT characters by themselves
- if i'm on a website like this, and navigate anywhere, a new window opens up which gets annoying cause i navigate lots
- IE freezes ALL the time, or just disappears on its own OR an error message pops up and everything disappears
- typing again...if i type something random then windows that are open will close i.e. trillian
- things get highlighted randomly if the arrow is moved over them, or if something is scrolled up and down


that's all for now..
i have no idea why things are screwed up as they are, and not sure if it can even be fixed

THAT is what i get for staring at pics of britney instead of yulia. shame on me! such is the price of sacrilege

[spyretto]

Lux look at my previous posts. Get those programs, run them and if it doesn't work I'll get you another computer ( sort of speak ) You must have those spyware, pop-up parasites in triple figures

[teeny]

TLFdk, Norton is decent when it comes to virus protection. For firewall protection (which is virtually [excuse the pun] a must-have for interntet users esp. TCP/IP), what I use and would recommend is BlackIce.

Must admit I know very little about firewalls. I didn't see the need of any until I actually installed one. All the reports of hacker attempts were a bit disturbing, knowing I didn't block them before

[Lux]

thank you TLFdk and spyretto!!!


ahh so far so good! yay for being online for an hour and nothing freezes!!! *dances*

[Kappa]

*dies laughing* Who would be the stupid fuck to program such a virus? The guy must wank to Tatu. :P

People, to generalize:

Pop-up Blockers:
http://download.com.com/3000-7786-10...ml?tag=lst-0-5 <<< Pop-Up Stopper Free Edition, it doesn't carry any spyware with itself and stops bugsome popups.

Spyware scanners:
http://download.com.com/3000-2144-10...ml?tag=lst-0-3 <<< Ad-Aware.
http://download.com.com/3000-2144-10...ml?tag=lst-0-4 <<< SpyBot (IMHO, better than Ad-Aware, has a simple interface and scans to the core, registry and robots).

Explorer Hijackers (that's what your page suddenly changing into another is called):
There are two solutions, the easy one and the computer registry one with which you don't want to mess unless you're big on moving REG key stuff (yes, I'm a Windows wuss. ).

The easy one is to change to another explorer.

I have Mozilla and while it has problems reading certain kind of code (*cough*Frontpage's*cough*MicrosoftSucks*cough*),
it's good. http://www.mozilla.org/

Opera is also good, thought it has problems reading Javascript. http://www.opera.com/

Back into spyware: it doesn't contribute to keep your computer clean if you download a lot of freeware whose creators assumedly get financial support if you install something that comes along the program you just downloaded (per example, I dunno, an online clock-synchronizer which in my experience is worth crap and synchronizes nothing). In these cases, it's better to buy your software instead of downloading it.

(Can I be in the back up team too? Pwetty pwease with a chewwy on top?)