BigMan said:
I'm using Norton AV - system is clean.
"Interactive session" = session started upon interactive logon (via
the login prompt, i.e. the standard way to log on to windows).
The processes that run in the background are all OK (including any
services running in the svchost.exe processes).
I have not done any troubleshooting yet - I've never come upon such a
disastrous situation like this and have no ideas what could be a cause
ot it, so I'm looking for advice or suggestions.
Since you still haven't told us much about what is running on your
computer except that everything is "all OK", I don't know how we can
help you. Obviously, all is not OK since the behavior you describe is
not normal. If your NAV is a current version and the definitions are
updated and you've done your scan in Safe Mode, you can ignore Step 1.
Here are generic troubleshooting steps. If your NAV is a current version
and the definitions are updated and you've done your scan in Safe Mode,
you can ignore Step 1.
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no longer being updated, it will still clean older variants of the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
