andybeach

My 'MMORPG' Son said it causes problems, though I won't be telling him he was right!! I'll now be keeping PC Guard well away from my machine. Thanks again. Andy

OK - so we're 24 hours later I haven't noticed the problem (and have been spending quite a bit of time online) so fingers crossed I think the problem was (as suggested by Randy) the PC Guard software. Perhaps I could have reinstalled it to overcome the problem but I think I'll stick with Avira now. Many thanks for the assistance. Quite a simple problem at the end of the day but in the process hopefully sorted a few things out to avoid future problems. Andy

Oh! I've jumped the gun a bit and uninstalled PC Guard and now installed Avira (free version). For information: The persistent dvpapi.exe is no longer running so I can only assume it was part of the Virgin installation. Andy

You are correct. Formerly Blueyonder (I still have a blueyonder.co.uk email address) it was acquired by Virgin Media a year or two ago, and as you rightly say PC Guard is the 'free' AV software available on certain packages. I keep mine up to date so if there's a problem it'll be with the latest version as well. I will try as you say - I'll try one of the other packages recommended in this forum and see how I get on - I'll let you know. And

Yes - I'm with Virgin and using PC Guard as my AV and firewall - no worries about changing this if you can suggest something. Just checked add/remove as you suggested: Have 'Broadband Adviser' and 'PC Guard' but no specific reference to Radial Point software BUT if I look in WinPatrol at services I see that Virgin Broadband PC Guard Update Service is running (rpsupdaterR.exe) from Radialpoint Inc. Andy

Randy May have misled you with this comment - Firefox is now working on this website again - all the formatting and file attachment functions (see earlier notes) - I still have the intermittent response issue. I had the problem again several times yesterday and checked that dvpapi.exe was NOT running at the time so I guess I can rule this out. Looks like your advice to wipe the system and start again might be the only way to sort it. Thanks for your support - appreciate it. Andy

I use a local guy to do my PC maintenance (and have done for many years - a former colleague from times gone by) - he upgraded my system (processor, disks etc) a part of which was an upgrade to XP64. However, due to too many incompatibilities I elected to reinstall XP Professional which he did for me as a clean install (or so I thought). The problem I have, while frustrating, is not a line-stopper so I'm reluctant to be quite so drastic in case other, more serious issues, arise. I can understand why you say what you do, and I really appreciate the support I'm getting here, but I don't feel quite confident (or competent) enough to do such a fundamental reinstall. You guys might say it's simple - doesn't look it from where I'm sitting!! Thanks again. Andy ps - reinstalled Firefox and all working normally!

OK - did all this - TWICE to make sure it was gone - and then watched it reinstall before my eyes when I retarted windows normally!! Tried frantically to hit the cancel button but it was having none of it - persistent little blighter! Note that dvpapi.exe wasn't running under Safe Mode. Really grateful for your suggestions so far. Anything else I should try or is it probably not doing any harm? Thanks Andy

None - the buttons don't respond, but .... I'm now in IE8 and they work fine so it's Firefox specific - I see there's an upgrade (3.5) so I'll go for that and see if it corrects whatever I did. However, I've just had another 'browser not responding' moment (for approx 2 minutes) so whatever is going on is still going on. I see that Authentium is running again - how can I get rid of it?! Latest Hijack This file attached for info. Thanks [Edit - just read post Re: AV - thanks] hijackthis_04.txt

Thouht I did use Add New Post! And the Manage Attachment does not work!!!! Something has changed - what have I done?! [Edit: Quick Reply does not work either!!]

Morning, worked my way through the actions as above - see how it goes. Although I have disabled (I think!) Authentium Antivirus & Pest Patrol I cannot seem to be able to remove them - any advice on this one? A new dimension: I can't add an attachment to this message, nor use any of the message formatting tools. Have I disabled something I shouldn't have in my zeal to clean the system?!! Thanks for the help. Andy

Snow, that's a lot of information! Thanks for taking the time to look. Antivirus: I only use PC Guard - have no idea where the others have come from, nor can I remove them through add/remove programs as they don't register. Advice on next step here appreciated! Will work though the sequence of malware removal when I've finished the stuff I need to get done today - looks like it might take a while! I'm convinced it's not a network speed issue (I may be wrong!) as I've had the problem when at home (like today) and no other user on our network. Virgin speed - We're on the 'L' package so supposedly 10MB (speed check now says 9608 so not bad - I'll try it again this evening). I had heard they do restrict speeds when things get busy. Thanks again. Andy

Randy, no rush - I've been living with this for a while!! Had a go with Win Patrol so done some tidying up on the startup items - revised logfile attached. Thanks hijackthis_03.txt

Hi Randy, Thanks for the prompt response. Guess I'll have to downgrade my experience from 'some experience' to 'knows enough to screw it up'! With you all the way on illegal file sharing - I had my system rebuilt for me recently so looks like I don't know exactly what's been installed. Found Bittorrent and now removed it from my PC (updated Hijack file attached) but will need to check the other computers (two sons) when they get back this evening. Wow - startup items, multiple AV (antivirus?) and dubious programs - too much for you to assist with? Am I going to be better to physically get it to someone who knows what they're doing? Thanks again. Andy hijackthis_02.txt

Hi there - if there's a post on this issue already please point me to it. I've looked but can't find one. My issue concerns browsers (IE8, Firefox3) but the root cause may lie elsewhere so feel free to redirect this to another forum if this is more appropriate. Everything will be working fine then without any apparent reason pages will stop loading and may time out. Then, after several minutes of inactivity, everything kicks back into life as if nothing had happened. Investigations so far …. 1. It’s not a browser-specific issue as it occurs with both IE and Firefox 2. It’s not a network issue as other machines on the network (wired and wireless) do not see this problem 3. It’s not a bandwidth issue (Number One Son and his online gaming!) as I see it when sole user on the network 4. I don’t think it’s related to firewall or antivirus as I’ve disabled these and still had the problem (but I don’t rule this out completely in case there’s something left ‘on’ in the background). 5. I’ve run SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition several times to get a clean report 6. Task Manager reports no significant computer or network activity during these ‘slow’ periods I am now at a loss and would welcome any comments or suggestions. System information …… Microsoft Windows XP Professional Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600 Processor: x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 11 GenuineIntel ~2999 Mhz BIOS Version/Date: American Megatrends Inc. P1.40, 26/06/2008 Total Physical Memory: 4,096.00 MB Available Physical Memory: 2.25 GB Total Virtual Memory: 2.00 GB Available Virtual Memory: 1.95 GB Page File Space: 5.03 GB Firewall & Antivirus: PC Guard Version: 6.0.1.29609 I’ve also attached a HijackThis logfile. Many thanks for your attention. Andy hijackthis.txt