Slow Computer Response:

[Colin Barnhorst]

The free versions of AVG and Avast! run real-time scanners by default.
Unless you have turned them off they just run.

Robert

Anti-virus and anti-virus programmes are not the same. I was asking
about anti-spyware programmes. You can find composites that cover both
aspects.

With regard to anti-spyware programmes you will find that some have free
versions not providing real time protection with corresponding paid
versions providing real time protection. You need to know exactly what
you have installed.

--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I went into the settings of Avast, Kapersky and AVG and didn't see
anything to make them run in real time. Perhaps its because they are
free and free trial versions?

I understand what you mean that some programs offer protection from
virus's and spyware, hackers etc such as upgrading my AVG or buying
Kapersky.

Although you mention that I wouldn't hear from Bleeping computer for
awhile it's been viewed 21 times with no responses. Perhaps they are
just analyzing the problem?

I think after I get the (2) sticks installed and the malware problem
resolved I'll do a Clean Boot as Daave suggested just to make sure
everything is ok. What do you think?


Robert

 

[Gerry]

Robert

AVG 7.5 offer a free Anti-Virus programme , which I think you have and
there is a free Anti-Spyware programme, which I suspect you do not have.
The free Anti-Spyware programme does not include real time protection
http://www.grisoft.com/doc/21/us/crp/0
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/download-free-anti-spyware/us/frt/0

Avast provide a free anti-virus programme.
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

Kaspersky offer anti-virus and internet security programme but neither
is on a freeware basis.

A-Squared offer a freeware anti-malware scanner but this does not
include real time protection.

Commodo offer a free firewall.

Spybot S & D provide a freeware anti-spyware scanner, which does not
include real time protection.

Microsoft offer Windows Defender a freeware anti-spyware programme,
which includes real time protection.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

I suggest you consider changing to:

AVG 7.5 Free Anti-Virus ( or Avast 4 Home Edition ).

Windows Defender for spyware protection.

Spybot S & D as a support scanner.

Windows Firewall to replace Commodo.

Install a Host file:
http://www.accs-net.com/hosts/index.html

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Gerry]

Robert

Viewed 21 times means probably 20 other users and guests having a nose.
Only Bleeping Computer helpers can post and they are days behind. Look
at the older logs posted and you will see you have to go some way before
you find posts.

On Clean booting I would wait and see how things look when you have your
extra RAM installed and malware removed.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Daave]

Robert

Anti-virus and anti-virus programmes are not the same. I was asking
about anti-spyware programmes.

[snip]

You have to bear with me, as I'm not as computer literate as you and
Daave. For example I thought these were the same: Anti-virus and anti-
virus programmes.

Robert, Gerry meant to say:

"Anti-spyware programmes and anti-virus programmes are not the same. I
was asking about anti-spyware programmes."

 

[Gerry]

Colin

AVG 7.5 Free Anti-Virus does have a Resident Shield. However, the
concern is to gain real time anti-spyware protection. The AVG Free
Anti-Spyware does not offer real time protection:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/download-free-anti-spyware/us/frt/0

The latest Avast offering does have a web shield. I had thought of Avast
as an anti-virus programme but it does seem to go beyond that function:
http://www.avast.com/eng/whats_new_in_avastve.html

--
Regards.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Robert]

Robert
Anti-virus and anti-virus programmes are not the same. I was asking
about anti-spyware programmes.

[snip]

You have to bear with me, as I'm not as computer literate as you and
Daave. For example I thought these were the same: Anti-virus and anti-
virus programmes.

Robert, Gerry meant to say:

"Anti-spyware programmes and anti-virus programmes are not the same. I
was asking about anti-spyware programmes."

Ah,. now I understand

 

[Robert]

Robert

Viewed 21 times  means probably 20 other users and guests having a nose.
Only Bleeping Computer helpers can post and they are days behind. Look
at the older logs posted and you will see you have to go some way before
you find posts.

On Clean booting I would wait and see how things look when you have your
extra RAM installed and malware removed.

--

Hope  this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~








- Show quoted text -

Agreed

Robert

 

[Robert]

Robert

AVG 7.5  offer a free Anti-Virus programme , which I think you have and
there is a free Anti-Spyware programme, which I suspect you do not have.
The free Anti-Spyware programme does not include real time protectionhttp://www.grisoft.com/doc/21/us/crp/0http://free.grisoft.com/doc/download-free-anti-spyware/us/frt/0

Avast provide a free anti-virus programme.http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

Kaspersky offer anti-virus and internet security programme but neither
is on a freeware basis.

A-Squared offer a freeware anti-malware scanner but this does not
include real time protection.

Commodo offer a free firewall.

Spybot  S & D provide a freeware anti-spyware scanner, which does not
include real time protection.

Microsoft offer Windows Defender a freeware anti-spyware programme,
which includes real time protection.http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

I suggest you consider changing to:

AVG 7.5 Free Anti-Virus ( or Avast 4 Home Edition ).

Windows Defender for spyware protection.

Spybot S & D as a support scanner.

Windows Firewall to replace Commodo.

Install a Host file:http://www.accs-net.com/hosts/index.html

--

Hope  this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello Gerry,
I have AVG 7.5
Downloaded Windows Defender
I have Spybot
Windows Firewall is already checked (although from what I've read it
wasn't really effective till Vista)
downloaded DNSKong

Would you suggest I remove the following? Avast, Kapersky free trial
versions, Everest, Hijackthis, HD-Tune, Java(6 update 3),
PRO200WL,Shockwave, Spywareblaster v 3.5.1, Hive Cleanup, Quicktime?

I fully realize the issue lies with only 256MB of RAM but I'm just
trying to lean out my computer of programs I don't really need.


Robert

 

[Robert]

Hello Gerry,
I have AVG 7.5
Downloaded Windows Defender
I have Spybot
Windows Firewall is already checked (although from what I've read it
wasn't really effective till Vista)
downloaded DNSKong

Would you suggest I remove the following? Avast, Kapersky free trial
versions, Everest, Hijackthis, HD-Tune, Java(6 update 3),
PRO200WL,Shockwave, Spywareblaster v 3.5.1, Hive Cleanup, Quicktime?

I fully realize the issue lies with only 256MB of RAM but I'm just
trying to lean out my computer of programs I don't really need.

Robert- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Boy, this post is getting really long, but then again it may serve
others with similar problems and both of you have given me valuable
links that others may use.

The host file seems a bit confusing, not to understand, but to
implement and it seems I need to download a host file not just
DNSKong, but an actual host file, yet they all seem to be zipped and
would I not need another program to unzip them?


Robert

 

[Robert]

In passing, I spent 30 minutes on the phone(waiting/ talking) to a
representative from Symantec to reverse and delete the automatic
subscription of Norton Anti-Virus and Firewall they charged to my
account. I can't believe how difficult they make to get rid of their
products. Hopefully this will be the last time I ever have to deal
with them!

Robert

 

[Daave]

Windows Firewall is already checked

Do you mean you have been running *both* the Windows and Comodo
firewalls simultaneously? If so, I'm sure that can cause problems.

 

[Daave]

Would you suggest I remove the following? Avast, Kapersky free trial
versions, Everest, Hijackthis, HD-Tune, Java(6 update 3),
PRO200WL,Shockwave, Spywareblaster v 3.5.1, Hive Cleanup, Quicktime?

I fully realize the issue lies with only 256MB of RAM but I'm just
trying to lean out my computer of programs I don't really need.

Robert, the key is not uninstalling as many programs as possible, but
rather to uninstall programs that are running in the background that you
have absolutely no use for (or at least to configure them not to run
automatically at startup if there is a use for them... remember you can
always manually start any program *when you wish*). If a program you
once installed isn't running, then it won't be requiring any memory. If
you think you may need to run it again eventually, there's no waste of
memory if you choose not to uninstall it.

As I mentioned in another post, you can easily see which programs load
at startup by running msconfig (Start | Run | msconfig). Autoruns gives
you the same information and a *whole* lot more info, but for this
purpose, msconfig will do the trick. Then use these sites to research
what you don't need (and for recommendations on how to disable them from
running at startup):

http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php#THE_PROGRAMS

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/

This one is good to have bookmarked, too:

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm

I'm not sure how your QuickTime is configured, but if you have the
QuickTime icon in your System Tray, you can address that issue by
following the instructions at:

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist_q.htm

Scroll down to Qttask.

 

[Robert]

Do you mean you have been running *both* the Windows and Comodo
firewalls simultaneously? If so, I'm sure that can cause problems.

Yes, I was running both but have uninstalled Comodo, and all the
toolbars are now uninstalled.

Robert

 

[Robert]

Robert, the key is not uninstalling as many programs as possible, but
rather to uninstall programs that are running in the background that you
have absolutely no use for (or at least to configure them not to run
automatically at startup if there is a use for them... remember you can
always manually start any program *when you wish*). If a program you
once installed isn't running, then it won't be requiring any memory. If
you think you may need to run it again eventually, there's no waste of
memory if you choose not to uninstall it.

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear, I'm not trying to randomly uninstall as
many programs as possible but am trying to do as you suggest. I just
don't know what some of these programs do, such as Shockwave and
Spyblaster. I have gone into Autorun and checked those programs I
didn't want to run at Start-up e.g. MoneyAgent, Microsoft Outlook, and
files not found.

I called to check the status of my order of RAM sticks and they said
they'll arrive tomorrow, so hopefully I will be adding (2) sticks
tomorrow sometime.

I ran A-squared last night and it found the virus and I deleted it,
then ran it a second time but it showed up again. So I guess I have to
wait for the experts on Bleeping Computer to advise me.


Robert

 

[Daave]

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear, I'm not trying to randomly uninstall as
many programs as possible but am trying to do as you suggest. I just
don't know what some of these programs do, such as Shockwave and
Spyblaster. I have gone into Autorun and checked those programs I
didn't want to run at Start-up e.g. MoneyAgent, Microsoft Outlook, and
files not found.

You asked what I think you should remove. My point is that there is no
need to remove *anything* as long as it isn't running. Now if you're
just interested in doing some spring cleaning, you will have to be the
one who decides what you want to uninstall. Use Google to find out about
these programs. For instance, you will see that Shockwave is a plug-in
used for certain Web content. I don't know what Spyblaster is, but
SpywareBlaster is useful in preventing spyware by using Internet
Explorer's restricted sites and blocking a large number of potentially
harmful ActiveX controls (and some tracking cookies as well). If you hav
e it, it's important to keep it updated.

I ran A-squared last night and it found the virus and I deleted it,
then ran it a second time but it showed up again. So I guess I have to
wait for the experts on Bleeping Computer to advise me.

What's the name of the virus?

If you can identify it, there should be specific removal steps.

 

[Gerry]

Robert

You only need to remove programmes that you do not intend to use.

You will need HiJackThis as Bleeping Computer will want another log in
due course.

Everest and HD Tune are useful utilities and only load on demand.

PRO200WL is to do with your network adapter. Unless it relates to a
previous network card it should not be uninstalled.

UPH Hive CleanUp is needed to help ensure your computer closes down
efficiently and should not be uninstalled.

Spywareblaster is another anti-spyware programme I did not realise you
had. I would say surplus to requirements.

Shockwave is games software. You must decide whether you value what it
provides.
http://www.shockwave.com/home.jsp

Quicktime is an Apple product for playing music. You must decide whether
you value what it provides.
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Robert]

You asked what I think you should remove. My point is that there is no
need to remove *anything* as long as it isn't running. Now if you're
just interested in doing some spring cleaning, you will have to be the
one who decides what you want to uninstall. Use Google to find out about
these programs. For instance, you will see that Shockwave is a plug-in
used for certain Web content. I don't know what Spyblaster is, but
SpywareBlaster is useful in preventing spyware by using Internet
Explorer's restricted sites and blocking a large number of potentially
harmful ActiveX controls (and some tracking cookies as well). If you hav
e it, it's important to keep it updated.


What's the name of the virus?

If you can identify it, there should be specific removal steps.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I'm sorry, I didn't think to write the name of the virus down, my
fault. I'll run A-Squared again and get it.

I checked out the sites you gave and I went into msconfig and have to
tell you I was rather leary of doing so and clicked ok to the item
that was already checked (I think it said all startup items) and then
it came back with a message that I have to restart my computer for
changes to take effect! That really had me sweating! I'm not at all
comfortable going into msconfig or what I'm suppose to do once I'm
in.

Robert

 

[Gerry]

Robert

To extract files from a zipped compressed folder
Open My Computer, and then locate the compressed folder.
Do one of the following:
To extract a single file or folder, double-click the compressed folder
to open it. Then, drag the file or folder from the compressed folder to
a new location.
To extract all files or folders, right-click the compressed folder, and
then click Extract All. In the Compressed (zipped) Folders Extraction
Wizard, specify where you want to store the extracted files.
Notes
To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.
You can identify compressed folders by the zipper on the folder icon.
If the file is protected with a password, you must provide the password
before the file can be extracted to the folder you specify.
When you extract a file, a compressed version remains in the compressed
folder. To delete the compressed version, right-click the file, and then
click Delete.
When you extract a file from a compressed folder that is password
protected, the extracted file is no longer protected.

Source : Windows XP Help and Support.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Gerry]

Robert

Use Autoruns rather than msconfig. Disable first to test impact and
remove only after a few days testing. It's a safer approach.

First thing you must do with any infestation is to write down the name
of the malware. You can then read up about it.

Same applies with error messages make sure you have the exact text of
the message or ensure you know where a copy of the error report is.



--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Robert, the key is not uninstalling as many programs as possible, but
rather to uninstall programs that are running in the background that you
have absolutely no use for (or at least to configure them not to run
automatically at startup if there is a use for them... remember you can
always manually start any program *when you wish*).

Very well said.

If a program you
once installed isn't running, then it won't be requiring any memory.

I wanted to add a comment here, though. Strange as it sounds, even a
program that is *is* running may not require any (real) memory. That's
because Windows very quickly pages out any memory used by a running
program if that program isn't actively doing anything. So it will be
using virtual memory, but no real memory.

The penalty you pay for using virtual memory in the page file is when
that memory has to constantly be shuttled in and out of real memory
because there isn't enough real memory to accommodate all the programs
that need it at the same time. But some running programs sit in the
background, not doing anything until you use them, and therefore use
no real memory at all (until you use them).

A good example of that last kind of program is one that I keep running
here all the time: Allchars. AllChars lets me (in all applications)
type many common special characters (many of these are used in other
languages) by pressing the ctrl key followed by a two character
mnemonic combination. I need to do this seldom, but it's very handy to
have running for when I need it. But because I use it seldom, the
memory it uses is almost always paged out, and having it running in
the background has no effect on my performance. That's an example of
why I so often say "Despite what many people tell you, you should be
concerned, not with how *many* of these programs you run, but *which*.
Some of them can hurt performance severely, but others have no effect
on performance."

That's also an example of why having programs starting automatically
can slow down your boot time (because they take time to load) without
affecting overall performance.