Computer help thread

[Mossopp]

Originally Posted by piojita

Mossop, I never use these programs because they mess things up, there are free info online if you know what to search for. But, it takes time a lot of time to find the problem and removal instructions to get rid of it, deleting the problem doesn't help because when you reboot they will be back.

Hmmmm, yeah I've noticed.

Often you will need to edit the registry to prevent this and it's better if someone with proper knowledge does it for you. So, if you know you have a have a lot of spyware I would recommend to backup/format/install instead. Do you know how to do this?

No. I have no clue how to do this.

Make sure to install a good firewall before you connect to the Internet and you have a clean start. Then make sure to avoid new ones

OK. The Spybot Search & Destroy program that I have says I'm now immunised against all the known virus's in it's list. How effective do you reckon that actually is? Cos I don't have a great deal of faith in it.

Also, can someone just clarify to me how dangerous this spyware stuff is cos I'm still not entirely sure what it does? Some of the bugs Spyhunter found said they were "severely" dangerous. What's gonna happen? What are they doing while they're on my machine?

[rosh]

they relay info about your browsing habits to vendors. they invade your privacy really. some of them open your machine up to attacks from other people and also hacks where people get complete access to your pc

[Mossopp]

Rosh - you mentioned something about that FLDDRRK.EXE that was running on my machine. Did you find out anything about it cos it's still here?

[rosh]

nope not a thing unfortunately. google has failed me

[Mossopp]

OK, thanks for trying.
My supervisor at work told me that completely disabling all cookies would solve my problem but by doing that I found even the most simple things totally impossible - couldn't retrieve my emails or anything, and Christ knows the difficulties I had getting back onto this board!
I just want to say that I know how completely ignorant I may sound to some of you but I really am rubbish with computers. What's simple and obvious to you guys is double-dutch to me. I bow to your superior knowledge!

[rosh]

mossopp : i think the best solution right now is

backup / format / reinstall windows.

the problem with trojans and spyware is that its very hard to get rid of unless you know about registry editing. and how to modify windows files without completely messing your installation up. and honestly not that many people know how to do this without being able to troubleshoot bigger problems which may arise from toying with system files on your operating system.

dont feel stupid or ignorant. stupid people never ask for help ... you have !

[piojita]

Originally Posted by Mossopp

Hmmmm, yeah I've noticed.



No. I have no clue how to do this.



OK. The Spybot Search & Destroy program that I have says I'm now immunised against all the known virus's in it's list. How effective do you reckon that actually is? Cos I don't have a great deal of faith in it.

I can't tell you anything about that specific program but anti virus programs are useless if they are not updated regularly. If you want to keep trying to remove with these programs remember to disable system restore when you scan and clean your comp(if you use winXP).

if you give up: burn the stuff you want to keep on cd or similar.
Format is trickier to explain, maybe I should pay you a visit and it will be quicker
Installing windows is the easy if you have all the necessary cd.

[Mossopp]

That's the thing - I don't have the CD!!

You say to disable system restore - I enable it again after running the scans, right?
I have done something with system restore before when I was trying to get rid of the Blaster virus. Remind me how I did it please, cos it was ages ago!

Also, Rosh mentioned that people can hack into a comp if it has these bugs in it - does having a decent firewall stop/deter hackers as well?

EDIT: Ok, I found the system restore option. Just tell me, do I enable it again after I've run the scans?

This is a lost cause, isn't it?

[rosh]

a decent firewall can deter attacks. however if you can find someone to help you with the backup / format / reinstall it would be much better. honestly.

its better in many cases to start with a clean slate.

[piojita]

you disable system restore, reboot, scan, then enable again.

a good firewall protects you from attacks but also allows you to control the outbound traffic, so if a spyware in your computer is trying to use internet you know about it and are able to block it (in theory at least).

Try to get the cd somehow, you will need it sooner or later. Any windows version will do really, it's better than nothing.

[teeny]

currently fixing my dads computer. I need some kind of spam filter for his email account. Running outlook. Any cool programs to use?
Which free firewall would be the best one to run?

[rosh]

yes i know of one ... spambayes -- > http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/windows.html

works with outlook, just read the help files and ask if you have any problems =-)

firewall : sygate is free and its pretty good. else a shareware version of zone alarm should be fine too

sygate --> http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/fil...RSS,RSS,00.asp

zone alarm website google gives depends on the region you live in . just type zone alarm download into google and it wil tke you to closest link geographically to you

hope this helps

[teeny]

thank you, rosh
currently checking harddrive with spybot and adaware will follow. It's amazing how much junk programs the so-called computer genius that installed the os last time installed.
Avast anti virus just found two viruses aswell.. arrggghhh... good thing is that my dad promised me that noone will mess around with his computer in the future.

[rosh]

no problem =) glad to help

i use norton personal firewall which i like very much as its customisable. one of the only programs ive ever bought [along with norton anti virus] [yeah i dont pillage and pirate everything i have just almost everything hehe]

[teeny]

Originally Posted by rosh

yeah i dont pillage and pirate everything i have just almost everything hehe

hehe.. I have norton at home.. it'll go to my dads computer tomorrow I hope. Cos my granddad has a copy of mine too But until then avast will have to do. At least it detects some of them.. when spyware was checking in those files anyway.. lol.

[rosh]

oh oh try stinger as well. its small and its good. here is the url

http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/

little write up ...

Stinger is a stand-alone utility used to detect and remove specific viruses. It is not a substitute for full anti-virus protection, but rather a tool to assist administrators and users when dealing with an infected system. Stinger utilizes next generation scan engine technology, including process scanning, digitally signed DAT files, and scan performance optimizations.

[teeny]

great..
spyware: about 20 fixes
adaware: 6
avast: 2 viruses
Now we are going shopping and then I'll do a full virus scan and add the listed programs. YAY..

[Mossopp]

I'm not totally understanding you Rosh - I'm a dumbass, you'll need to speak slowly - are you saying that if I have a decent firewall it will reduce the pop-ups even although the Spyware is already in my machine?
There's no way I can get rid of it so if a decent firewall will keep it at bay then I'm totally getting that 'Zone Alarm' shit or whatever it's called!

[teeny]

hehe.. get a firewall mossopp. It'll prevent more from finding the way to your computer. Rosh mentioned a few options a few posts back. Install one of them please.. want you back posting Helping you out are for selfish reasons from my side.
Did you get the updates installed for windows aswell?

[Mossopp]

Yes, I got the updates. It didn't help with the problem.
I also deleted that suspicious program on my machine that Rosh pointed out cos my anti-virus detected a Trojan Horse in it. It didn't help with the problem.
I disabled System Restore and ran all my spyware detectors and anti-virus, restarted my machine and ran them again, then enabled System Restore. It didn't help with the problem.
I already have a Firewall in place but it clearly is useless. I would download another but I've just given up hope now cos everything else I've tried has been useless.