Plastic Nev

Hi, Which firewall do you have, and have you had a look at the settings in it?

Hi, OK about the Malwarebytes, leave that one for now and try the next step which is the "Superantispyware". If that won't install, or open go on to the Eset scan and try that, You can leave your Avast on or off, it shouldn't interfere with the Eset scan, but if you want to be sure turn your antivirus off if you wish. Let us know if any of the others will work. If not we can advise how to get Malwarebytes and the others to work, but it is slightly complicated to do, so for now try what you have first.

Hi, have you run a scan with Avast recently? if not, do so and let us know if it turns anything up please. I think you may have something you don't want, but will wait for your answer first before going any further. Nev.

Hi, and a belated welcome from me too. Good to see someone helping out as well, good work.

For those of us who use Avast you will no doubt have seen this news. Avast are reporting that there has been quite an increase of hacked websites recently that can lumber unsuspecting surfers with something they don't want. More about it here from Avast. Beware of the threat from hacked websites

Don't you just wish you had the same ball control eh? that is superb stuff Dougie, nice find mate.

Hi again Amanda, keep the Windows firewall on until you have downloaded it. Then go off line, turn off Widows firewall, then install whichever you have decided to try. Once you have installed it, check out any help files on how to set it up and configure it so you can go online without similar problems to the Comodo one. Then you will be OK to go back on line. It is always best staying off line while setting up a new firewall, then no one can get at you. Hope that helps. Nev.

Hi, perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned the Comodo,:) it does take quite a bit of initial setting up and configuration so that it will allow connections, and is not really for the uninitiated. :confused: Although I don't know the other two firewalls recommended by us, they do have a good reputation and are I believe a little easier to configure. Try the Sunbelt perhaps first and see how you go with that. I will also recommend that considering the sunbelt is only a firewall, you should also install either Avast or Avira anti virus. Nev. :cool:

Thanks for letting us know Amanda, and glad we could sort things for you. Please don't hesitate to come back if any other problems.

Hi just to add, if you are using Firefoxes ability to remember passwords, these will also get deleted, so I would write them down rather than trying to back those up.

Most security related computer folk do recommend a third party firewall and to turn off the Windows one. This is because the Windows firewall is only one way, although great at stopping stuff getting in, doesn't stop anything getting out if it has got in, and there are many ways malware can get past a firewall to get in. A firewall that monitors outgoing traffic, can see something suspicious and either block it or at least let you know that something is phoning home that you may not want it to. So I would say yes install a firewall and turn the Windows one off. I use Comodo and find it good for my needs, but do have a look at the others mentioned, after all, any choice is down to your personal needs.

Well I hope I can help there with security stuff at least. At the moment we aren't that keen on AVG, and would normally recommend others. However we have a page on what we recommend here- http://extremetechsupport.com/forum/malware-removal-av-firewalls-etc/3597-free-pc-help-recommended-security-products.html The Malwarebytes, and the Superantispyware you downloaded during the malware fix, you can keep installed. Update them regularly and then scan with them.

Very strange Amanda, sorry about this, but did the malware procedures find anything? and if so did it remove what did get found?

Hi Amanda, I honestly don't know why, but if Internet explorer is OK, then something must have corrupted Firefox. I am afraid the only real answer to this may be to uninstall Firefox, then get a fresh download and reinstall it.

Hi Oldtymer, the Eset scanner, are you using Internet explorer to download and run it? it will not work with Firefox or other browsers, it must be Internet explorer. Secondly, is it actually getting to start scanning but then seems to freeze? That is normal as far as I can see, It stops on a file it has just scanned, then it would appear to download a bit more from the net, so seems to freeze while it is doing so, consequently it does take some time to do a full scan. As a trial I ran it and it took two hours twenty minutes to complete. Fortunately found nothing I am glad to say. So please try again, best perhaps early morning when the internet isn't quite as busy. Let us know how you get on.

I am sending this to everyone who sends me e-mail. One of you sent a virus. It is a very severe virus. Look what it did to my mouse. http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/plasticpig/Mouseskeleton.jpg

Hi, and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. So far, I cannot be sure if you actually have permission to use the hotel internet connection. In this case I can only recommend that you ask your employer if it would be possible to install a connection in your room.

Hi, and welcome to Free PC help. Try to force it into safe mode by tapping F8 as soon as you push the start button. if it will go into safe mode try "Last known Good configuration" let us know how you get on. Nev.

In short, it isn't that complicated. If you go for an internal drive, be sure to match the types. Is the existing drive SATA or IDE, ideally it should be the same, though if there are ports for either on your mother board, you can have one of each. If you go for an external drive, a lot depends on the make as to how you set it up, but in most cases there is a help file either on the drive itself or in acompanying literature.

That is sad news, but thanks for letting us know, and at least he is now free of pain. It is a terrible disease. My sympathy and condolences to all. Nev.

Hi, Are you sure you can't go further back than the end of March, have you clicked the arrow on the top left of the calendar? If that is correct and won't go further back, you may just have an unwanted visitor. Please follow everything below, it looks a lot, but if taken one stage at a time, and read everything thoroughly, you will find it is quite easy. Your computer appears to be infected with Malware. Malware is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. It is a combination of the words malicious and software. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code. It is in your best interest to note the following: Please disable your resident security applications (such as AVG, Spybot, WinPatrol, etc.) before performing the below procedure so that they do not interfere with the process. Perform all the steps in the order listed to avoid any conflicts. If unsure, please stop and voice your doubts. You might be required to go offline during the disinfection process. Therefore, it is recommended to print off the instructions below for ease of reference. If you stick to the above guidelines, all should go smoothly. ================================================ STEP 1 Download ATF-Cleaner by Atribune. Save the file to your Desktop. Double-click on the file to run the program. On the Main tab, check the Select All button. Next, click on the Firefox tab (if applicable) and check the Select All button. Note: If you would like to preserve your saved passwords in Firefox, then click No at the corresponding prompt. Now, click on the Opera tab (if applicable) and check the Select All button. Note: If you would like to preserve your saved passwords in Opera, then click No at the corresponding prompt. Press the Empty Selected button and click OK to acknowledge the corresponding prompt. Click on the Exit button to quit the program. ================================================ STEP 2 Please click here to download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. Save the file to your Desktop. Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program. At the end, make sure a check mark is placed next to: Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware [*]Click Finish. [*]The program will download and update itself if it finds the necessity to do so. Please allow this. [*]Once the program has loaded, select Perform full scan, then click Scan. Note: Depending on your computer specifications, the scan may take some time to complete. Please wait patiently and do not interrupt the process. [*]When the scan is complete, click OK, and then Show Results to view the results. [*]Make sure that every entry is selected, and click Remove Selected. [*]Restart your computer. ================================================ STEP 3 Please click here to download SUPERAntiSpyware (Free Version). Save the file to your Desktop. Double-click SUPERAntiSpyware.exe and follow the prompts to install the program. Open SUPERAntiSpyware. Under Configuration and Preferences, click the Preferences button. Click the Scanning Control tab. Under Scanner Options make sure the following fields checked: [*]Click the Close button to leave the control center screen. [*]On the main screen, under Scan for Harmful Software click Scan your computer. [*]On the left, make sure you check mark All the Fixed Drives. [*]On the right, under Complete Scan, choose Perform Complete Scan. [*]Click Next to start the scan. Please be patient while it scans your computer. [*]After the scan is complete, a Scan Summary box will appear with potentially harmful items that were detected. Click OK. [*]Make sure every entry has a check mark next to it and click Next. [*]A notification will appear that Quarantine and Removal is Complete. Click OK and then Finish to return to the main menu. [*]Restart your computer. ================================================ STEP 4 Please visit the ESET Online Scanner, using Internet Explorer to initiate the scan. Note: If you are running Windows Vista, then you will need Administrative privileges to complete the latter part of the procedure. To do so, right-click on the Internet Explorer icon in the Start Menu and select the Run As Administrator option in the shell context menu. Check mark the YES, I accept the Terms of Use box. Click the Start button. Click the Install button on the following screen. Click Start. This will will initialize and update the scanner engine. Check mark the box beside Remove found threats. Click the Scan button. This will start the scan. Please be patient while it is in progress. Restart your computer. ================================================ STEP 5 Click on Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools and select System Restore. Choose the radio button marked Create a Restore Point on the first screen and click Next. Give the restore point a name then click Create. The new point will be stamped with the current date and time. Keep a note of this so you can find it easily should you need to use System Restore. Next, click on Start > Run, type Cleanmgr and click on OK. Click on the More Options tab. Click the Clean Up button in the System Restore section to remove all previous restore points except the most recent one. This will remove any infected files that have been backed up by Windows. The files in "System Restore" are protected to prevent any programs changing those files. This is the only foolproof way to ensure the deletion of those files. Note: Do not clear restore points on a regular basis as doing so will clear all previous restore points even those that you may need. System Restore is a useful tool to revert your computer back to a working condition if something goes wrong. Re-enable all your security applications and please return here and tell us how the computer seems to be operating. Happy Safe Computing! http://extremetechsupport.com/forum/../images/additional-smilies/thumb.gif Close browsers before scanning Scan for tracking cookies Terminate memory threats before quarantining

Hi again, I assume this was the latest release of windows live messenger that came out about two months ago? Can you go to System Restore "Start" > all programs > Accessories > system tools > System Restore. Click on "Restore My Computer to an earlier time, then "Next" From the calendar, pick a restore point that is previous to when you downloaded the latest live messenger. Let us know if that stops the freezes.

Thanks for that Amanda, there can be many causes for system freezes and crashes, these can be faulty or damaged files in the operating system, driver files corrupted, or the presence of malware. Can you tell us does this freezing happen at random, or is there any specific thing or command that seems responsible? Although I hope we won't need it do you have preferably, the full windows XP disk, or at least a system recovery disk? When on line and surfing the web, do you get any pop ups, pages that you didn't ask for or other unwanted happenings? If you can answer those for us it will give us some idea where to go next. Thanks, Nev.

Hi Amanda, and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help, lets first find some basic information of your version of XP and other basic stuff. Click on "Start" then "Run". In the box that opens, type in "sysdm.cpl" (without the quotation marks " " ) then click OK. Let us know what is displayed in the window that opens, the tab at the top should be in general. (Be better still if you can show us a screen shot of it) Nev.

Hi, Handbaggirl. So far so good. If you haven't done any changes that you wouldn't like to lose, now four days on, can you still do a restore back to "Working sound"? If so, now you know how, create another restore point in about a weeks time and give that a name of your choosing, but an example could be "one week on". If that proves to be OK I think we can assume system restore has been switched on again. Whatever caused the problem with it will of course be unknown. However if the "Working sound" restore point does not work now, let us know and we can go further.