Blinking Hourglass on Pointer

[Christine]

I have a constantly blinking hourglass on my pointer. It
never goes away! How can I fix this?

 

[Malke]

I have a constantly blinking hourglass on my pointer. It
never goes away! How can I fix this?

This means that something is running in the background. Since you didn't
give us any information about your computer or the software on it, you
can't get a specific answer. Here are standard troubleshooting steps:

1) scan with current antivirus ("current" means a version not earlier
than 2002 but using updated virus definitions); 2) remove spyware with
Spybot Search & Destroy (www.safer-networking.org) and Ad-aware
(www.lavasoftusa.com). These programs are free, so use them both since
they complement each other. You may also want to run CWShredder and
HijackThis from http://aumha.org/freeware.htm. Although CWShredder is
no longer being updated, it will still clean older variants of the
CoolWebSearch malware. Always read the instructions before running a
spyware removal tool. Be sure to update these programs before running,
and it is a good idea to do virus/spyware scans in Safe Mode; 3) delete
temporary and Temporary Internet Files; 4) stop unnecessary
services/programs from starting with Windows - see www.blackviper.com
for services info and www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm for
programs info; 5) look in Event Viewer for clues; 6) make sure you've
visited Windows Update and applied all security patches. Do not install
driver updates from Windows Update; 7) run a firewall.

Malke

 

[Guest]

My apologies. I assumed since I posted in the Windows XP
area it would be apparent that I'm running XP. I have
done several scans w/ Norton Internet Security Prof. but
it has not found any spyware. I have recently updated to
XP Service Pak 2. Thanks for the help/suggestions.

-----Original Message-----


This means that something is running in the background. Since you didn't
give us any information about your computer or the software on it, you
can't get a specific answer. Here are standard troubleshooting steps:

1) scan with current antivirus ("current" means a version not earlier
than 2002 but using updated virus definitions); 2) remove spyware with
Spybot Search & Destroy (www.safer-networking.org) and Ad-aware
(www.lavasoftusa.com). These programs are free, so use them both since
they complement each other. You may also want to run CWShredder and
HijackThis from http://aumha.org/freeware.htm. Although CWShredder is
no longer being updated, it will still clean older variants of the
CoolWebSearch malware. Always read the instructions before running a
spyware removal tool. Be sure to update these programs before running,
and it is a good idea to do virus/spyware scans in Safe Mode; 3) delete
temporary and Temporary Internet Files; 4) stop unnecessary
services/programs from starting with Windows - see www.blackviper.com
for services info and www.pacs-

portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm for

 

[Malke]

My apologies. I assumed since I posted in the Windows XP
area it would be apparent that I'm running XP. I have
done several scans w/ Norton Internet Security Prof. but
it has not found any spyware. I have recently updated to
XP Service Pak 2. Thanks for the help/suggestions.

Yes, of course it is assumed that you are running some version of XP.
But you didn't tell us (in your first post) anything about your
computer's specs, that you have av and what you've already done to
troubleshoot. Check to see what you have running in the background. Try
doing a clean boot.

Malke