Cleaning up Windows 98

[Guest Tshaw]

As I previous submitted in the "Windows 98 updates" thread, my parent's

system seems to be a mess. Are there any "Free" downloads out there that you

can suggest in helping me get this thing cleaned up SAFELY. For instance, is

Spybot good to run for spyware and is AVAST better than AVG as a Virus

protection ? I uninstalled their Norton as it was not updated in some time

and was using too much resources and seem to be reeking havoc on the system.

I also saw a site called CCleaner that does quite a bit. Any help is much

appreciated. Thanks Again !!

[Guest MEB]

Re: Cleaning up Windows 98

 

 

 

 

"Tshaw" <Tshaw@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:D9A11BDF-2E25-483C-BF2E-C7A7646A5EEF@microsoft.com...

| As I previous submitted in the "Windows 98 updates" thread, my parent's

| system seems to be a mess. Are there any "Free" downloads out there that

you

| can suggest in helping me get this thing cleaned up SAFELY. For instance,

is

| Spybot good to run for spyware and is AVAST better than AVG as a Virus

| protection ? I uninstalled their Norton as it was not updated in some time

| and was using too much resources and seem to be reeking havoc on the

system.

| I also saw a site called CCleaner that does quite a bit. Any help is much

| appreciated. Thanks Again !!

 

Still some free stuff out there, though they do appreciate donations or an

eventual purchase.

It would be best to first clean the computer before installing any new

software, particularly anti-v programs. Either use an online scanning

service, or install one of the anti-v programs and anti-SpyWare tools, clean

up, un-install them and remove all traces, then re-install and re-run

[redundant check].

 

SpyBot is still useful to help cleanup systems infected with SpyWare and

some other hacks, as are several others.

 

AVG free provides basic anti-v, on-access, scheduled scan, and email

protection.

AVAST provides anti-v, on-access{2shields}, p2p check, instant messaging

check, email pop/IMAP protection, scheduled scan. However, for these to work

properly, you must generally do some manual setup.

Depending upon who, each has its own supporters, however, AVG is stopping

support for 9X this year. There are a few others available but only you can

determine what you/they need, and you must consider how much memory and hard

drive space they have to spare.. The number one issue after cleaning up is

to install a firewall if they have none.

 

SpywareBlaster provides good protection but is not active, nor does it

remove any presently upon a system..

HyjackThis is useful for diagnosing hard to remove issues, but requires

expert analysis of the log; or in-depth knowledge of what is installed, what

is normally found, and other indications.

RegSeeker is also useful for searching the registry for entries and the

drive(s) for actual files once issues are found. This tool also requires

some knowledge to use.

cCleaner can be useful, but again, one must know what one is doing or be

receiving some advise before blindly removing entries..

 

--

 

MEB

http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com

_________

[Guest Gary S. Terhune]

Re: Cleaning up Windows 98

 

Have you considered reformatting and starting over? How bad is the system

running? Have you already run the requisite cleaner-uppers

(http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm)? If the system is heavily infected with

crap, a reformat and clean install is the way to go.

 

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

http://www.grystmill.com

 

"Tshaw" <Tshaw@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:D9A11BDF-2E25-483C-BF2E-C7A7646A5EEF@microsoft.com...

> As I previous submitted in the "Windows 98 updates" thread, my parent's

> system seems to be a mess. Are there any "Free" downloads out there that

> you

> can suggest in helping me get this thing cleaned up SAFELY. For instance,

> is

> Spybot good to run for spyware and is AVAST better than AVG as a Virus

> protection ? I uninstalled their Norton as it was not updated in some time

> and was using too much resources and seem to be reeking havoc on the

> system.

> I also saw a site called CCleaner that does quite a bit. Any help is much

> appreciated. Thanks Again !!

[Guest Bob Harris]

Re: Cleaning up Windows 98

 

I use CCleaner and Spybot Search & Destroy. Both work well.

 

Norton used to run all the time and degrade perfomance, then I realized that

it was set to continuously scan every file on the hard drive. I changed

that to scan on-access, meaning when read, copied, moved, etc. That fixed

the performance issue. However, I do schedule a full system scan once a

week, starting when I go to bed.

 

But, there are some pretty good free anti-virus out there. Besides, last I

heard Norton was also dropping support for win98.

 

The description "system seems to be a mess" is a bit vague. Does it mean

too many files, and low disk space? Does it mean registry errors, like bad

file associations? Does it mean system freezes or crashes? Etc? The

solution(s) will depend on the problem(s).

 

Other worthwhile free programs include:

 

AIDA32, tells you about the system. Not supported, but still available.

AUTORUNS, see what starts up automatically and control them.

MRUBLASTER, removes traces of activities; privacy protector.

PC Inspector File Recovery, gets back erased files, so long as their disk

space has not been over-written.

TWEAKUI, control many windows settings (be sure to get the version for 98,

not XP).

IRFANVIEW, picture and movie viewer; picture editor; slideshow.

WINAMP, music player; also some videos.

Open Office (very large download, almost like full Microsoft Office).

 

 

"Tshaw" <Tshaw@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:D9A11BDF-2E25-483C-BF2E-C7A7646A5EEF@microsoft.com...

> As I previous submitted in the "Windows 98 updates" thread, my parent's

> system seems to be a mess. Are there any "Free" downloads out there that

> you

> can suggest in helping me get this thing cleaned up SAFELY. For instance,

> is

> Spybot good to run for spyware and is AVAST better than AVG as a Virus

> protection ? I uninstalled their Norton as it was not updated in some time

> and was using too much resources and seem to be reeking havoc on the

> system.

> I also saw a site called CCleaner that does quite a bit. Any help is much

> appreciated. Thanks Again !!

[Guest MEB]

Re: Cleaning up Windows 98

 

One thing I forgot for AVG, the ability to create DOS floppy disks for

testing after installing. Last time I used AVG and did the disk, it took 14.

 

If you can still locate any DOS based Anti-virus programs, these would be

extremely useful.. heck I'd like to test them again...

 

Of course, if a CDROM is in their computer, you could use one of the Live

Linux distros to run all the checks...

 

--

 

MEB

http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com

_________

[Guest simpleton]

Re: Cleaning up Windows 98

 

> SpywareBlaster provides good protection but is not active, nor does it

> remove any presently upon a system..

 

um,, the above seeems lika oxymoron,, or self-defeating, or negative,,

 

if it aint 'active', then how would it know to pick its toe-nails or cook eggs for breakky?

and if it dont remove squat,, then its purpose is?

 

not having a go meb,,, just trying to figure out what you mean by 'not active'? does it not

'look for' things its been told to look for? what does it do if not?

 

beena long night

[Guest Buffalo]

Re: Cleaning up Windows 98

 

simpleton wrote:

>> SpywareBlaster provides good protection but is not active, nor does

>> it remove any presently upon a system..

>

> um,, the above seeems lika oxymoron,, or self-defeating, or

> negative,,

>

> if it aint 'active', then how would it know to pick its toe-nails or

> cook eggs for breakky?

> and if it dont remove squat,, then its purpose is?

>

> not having a go meb,,, just trying to figure out what you mean by

> 'not active'? does it not 'look for' things its been told to look

> for? what does it do if not?

>

> beena long night

 

Check out their website :

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

It should answer your questions.

The following was taken from it's Q&A:

"Does SpywareBlaster® remove spyware?

 

Solution

 

SpywareBlaster is a prevention program, unlike most anti-spyware programs

which utilize a "removal" approach after your system is already infected.

SpywareBlaster effectively prevents ActiveX-based spyware, dialers,

browser-hijackers and other malware or potentially unwanted programs from

ever installing on your system in the first place.

 

 

 

 

Many users employ a multi-layered "prevent and remove" strategy by using

anti-spyware removal utilities in combination with SpywareBlaster's

protection. We recommend the free and trusted Spybot Search & Destroy

(http://www.safer-networking.org) or Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoft.de - the link to the

free version is at the top right).

 

 

 

 

 

When you install SpywareBlaster, any spyware already present on your

computer remains on your computer, although SpywareBlaster will disable it

if possible. To remove any spyware/malware remnants, we recommend running

Spybot S & D or Ad-Aware. Thereafter, there should be few (if any) items

needing removal each time you run Spybot or Ad-Aware, and most (if not all)

of the items detected will only be tracking cookies.

 

"