add/remove programs hijack???

[Guest]

for some reason when i open add/remove programs the option to change/remove
has disappeared along with other options, how can i restore it to it's former
state.
i am running xp sp2, norton nis 2006, zone alarm pro, ad-aware and spy-bot
s&d.
i have attemted to restore my system but system restore fails.
upon advice from the newsgroup i have turned off and then turned on system
restore but obviously have now lost all of the earlier restore points.

 

[Guest]

System restore tends to be more problems that it is worth. When I work on
customers computers we usually disable it. The problem is that many virus
and worms now of system restore and embed themselve in them. The symptoms
sound similar to a system that is infected, you do have a lot of programs on
your system to help prevent this but Norton (especially is one that I never
recomend to any cusotmers. Virtually all machines I see with major infection
issues all have one this in common and that is Norton. Go the following
sight http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ and run a free online scan to see if
microsystems detects anything. Note: only do the online scan and do not
download and try to install another anti-virus while norton (for that matter
any other virus program) is installed. You can though run the online scan.

 

[Guest]

Here is another possiblity, on the account you are running, does it have full
admin privileges? Start the computer in safe mode to see if the same problem
exsist.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

System restore tends to be more problems that it is worth. When I
work on customers computers we usually disable it.

A bad thing to do, in my opinion. System Restore is not a cure for all
problems, and is certainly not a substitute for a backup. But it is a very
useful feature, one that has gotten me and many others out of trouble many
times. It's a very easy quick way to revert your operating system to the
condition it was in a day or a few days ago.

The problem is
that many virus and worms now of system restore and embed themselve
in them.

No, not at all. It's not a matter of the viruses and worms *knowing* of
System Restore, it's simply that if a system file is infected when a restore
point is taken, that infected file will become part of the restore point.

As I said above, System Restore is not a cure for all problems; it's not
meant to be a virus removal tool.

Seanpaul99, look at this page to see if it helps you:
http://www.winxptutor.com/arpbuttons.htm I have no personal experience with
this, but it seems to describe your problem and may help.

 

[Guest]

thanks for the advice Ken. un fortunately this has not solved the problem of
add/remove programs not having the option of change/remove.
any further advice would be appreciated.

 

[Guest]

yes i do have full admin priviledges and yes the problem still exists in safe
mode.

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE]

for some reason when i open add/remove programs the option to
change/remove has disappeared along with other options, how can i
restore it to it's former state.
i am running xp sp2, norton nis 2006, zone alarm pro, ad-aware and
spy-bot s&d.
i have attemted to restore my system but system restore fails.
upon advice from the newsgroup i have turned off and then turned on
system restore but obviously have now lost all of the earlier restore
points.

run HijackThis; http://aumha.org/downloads/hijackthis.zip
HijackThis - Tutorial & FAQ;
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Once you have received your registration confirmation, post your HJT
log here: *(for expert analysis)*
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http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm before posting to the forum.

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http://aumha.org/a/hjttutor.htm

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE
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