Sorry, I should have told you how to Exit when done, and given you the
link to the manual that explains its use:http://download.bitdefender.com/rescue_cd/Old/bd_rescue_cd.pdf
The way you're supposed to exit the BitDefender CD when the scan is
completed and closed, is to right-click the BitDefender desktop, and on
the menu that appears, click EXIT. Then you wait for the GUI to close,
and on the black screen a message will soon appear telling you to remove
the CD and restart.
You computer is almost definitely not infected, if you passed the
BitDefender rescue CD scan. We can TRY again to get back on track with
your original issues. I have some instructions for you to follow
exactly, if you can bear with me and avoid trying the other myriad
suggestions that may be posted by others, until we are done.
I'm going to give you one thing at a time, since you have more than one
issue, based on the Spybot and SpywareBlaster problems, and other issues
evident from your Event Viewer log. If I give instructions for all at
once, I think you will become confused....so we need to do a back and
forth through a few messages.
First: I assume you are using Internet Explorer as your default web
browser. Go to Control Panel> Internet Options> Connections tab ....OR
from within Internet Explorer, click its Tools menu> Internet Options>
Connections tab.
On the Connections tab, click the "LAN Settings" button near the bottom
right.
In the LAN Settings window that appears, in the "Proxy Server" section
on the bottom half, there is a check box for "Use a proxy server for
your LAN.." Make sure there is NO check in that box. There should be
NO checks in ANY boxes in the LAN Settings in a normal broadband setup.
Remove all check marks, and click OK, then back in the main Internet
Properties window, click Apply.
IMPORTANT: Tell me if any of those boxes in LAN Settings had check marks
in them when you looked.
While still in Internet Properties, click the Advanced tab at the top.
In the list there, scroll ALL the way down to the "Security" heading,
and put a check in the box for "Empty temporary Internet files folder
when browser is closed" and click Apply.
Now click the General tab at the top of Internet properties.
In the "Browsing History" section, click the Settings button. In the new
window, use the box of numbers in the Temporary Internet Files section
to set the Disk Space To Use to 50. Click OK. This brings you back to
the General tab.
If you have Internet Explorer 7, in Browsing History, click the Delete
button. Then click the "Delete Files" button for "Temporary Internet
Files" and click OK in the confirmation message that pops up. When it's
done deleting files, click Close, then click OK to close Internet
Options.
If you have Internet Explorer 8, in Browsing History, click the Delete
button. In the Delete Browsing History box that appears, put a check in
ALL the boxes EXCEPT Passwords, and click the Delete button.
Close Internet Explorer if it was open.
Now open SpywareBlaster, go to its Update section and try to update.
Post back with your results.
--
Glen Ventura
MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009
CompTIA A+http://dts-l.net/- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Sorry, I should have told you how to Exit when done, and given you the
link to the manual that explains its
use:http://download.bitdefender.com/rescue_cd/Old/bd_rescue_cd.pdf
The way you're supposed to exit the BitDefender CD when the scan is
completed and closed, is to right-click the BitDefender desktop, and
on
the menu that appears, click EXIT. Then you wait for the GUI to close,
and on the black screen a message will soon appear telling you to
remove
the CD and restart.
You computer is almost definitely not infected, if you passed the
BitDefender rescue CD scan. We can TRY again to get back on track with
your original issues. I have some instructions for you to follow
exactly, if you can bear with me and avoid trying the other myriad
suggestions that may be posted by others, until we are done.
I'm going to give you one thing at a time, since you have more than
one
issue, based on the Spybot and SpywareBlaster problems, and other
issues
evident from your Event Viewer log. If I give instructions for all at
once, I think you will become confused....so we need to do a back and
forth through a few messages.
First: I assume you are using Internet Explorer as your default web
browser. Go to Control Panel> Internet Options> Connections tab ....OR
from within Internet Explorer, click its Tools menu> Internet Options>
Connections tab.
On the Connections tab, click the "LAN Settings" button near the
bottom
right.
In the LAN Settings window that appears, in the "Proxy Server" section
on the bottom half, there is a check box for "Use a proxy server for
your LAN.." Make sure there is NO check in that box. There should be
NO checks in ANY boxes in the LAN Settings in a normal broadband
setup.
Remove all check marks, and click OK, then back in the main Internet
Properties window, click Apply.
IMPORTANT: Tell me if any of those boxes in LAN Settings had check
marks
in them when you looked.
While still in Internet Properties, click the Advanced tab at the top.
In the list there, scroll ALL the way down to the "Security" heading,
and put a check in the box for "Empty temporary Internet files folder
when browser is closed" and click Apply.
Now click the General tab at the top of Internet properties.
In the "Browsing History" section, click the Settings button. In the
new
window, use the box of numbers in the Temporary Internet Files section
to set the Disk Space To Use to 50. Click OK. This brings you back to
the General tab.
If you have Internet Explorer 7, in Browsing History, click the Delete
button. Then click the "Delete Files" button for "Temporary Internet
Files" and click OK in the confirmation message that pops up. When
it's
done deleting files, click Close, then click OK to close Internet
Options.
If you have Internet Explorer 8, in Browsing History, click the Delete
button. In the Delete Browsing History box that appears, put a check
in
ALL the boxes EXCEPT Passwords, and click the Delete button.
Close Internet Explorer if it was open.
Now open SpywareBlaster, go to its Update section and try to update.
Post back with your results.
--
Glen Ventura
MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009
CompTIA A+http://dts-l.net/- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
I will be glad to follow ONLY your instructions to resolve this issue.
I did as you said to the letter and it may be worth noting that In the
Temporary Internet Files and History settings I had already had the
disk space to use as 50. However when I tried to download updates from
Spywareblaster it gave me the same message as before.
I wont do anything until your next set of instructions.
Please answer BOTH these questions I asked you to answer in my last
post:
- In the LAN Settings window, in the "Proxy Server" section, were any of
the boxes checkmarked when you went there?
- Are they all unchecked now?
Open Spybot, switch the Mode to Advanced Mode, then go to Tools>
Resident, and UNcheck the boxes for both SDHelper and Tea Timer. Close
Spybot.
Open SpywareBlaster, and click on "Updates" on the left side, then click
the "Options" link.
Select "Use a direct connection to the Internet."
Also make sure the box for "Use Alternative Download Method" is
UNchecked.
Close SpywareBlaster.
Reboot.
Start SpywareBlaster and try the Updates again.
--
Glen Ventura
MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009
CompTIA A+http://dts-l.net/- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Navyguy said:None of the boxes in the Lan settings were checked and I left them
that way and closed the window. So all boxes are UN-checked.
I had uninstalled Spybot in favor of Spywareblaster per your
recommendation and I didn't want a conflict of anti-malware programs.
So I reinstalled it but suprisingly while going through the
installation procedures after checking for updates, I was able to
complete the immunization and passive immunization process.
IN any case, I did as you requested and unchecked the SDhelper and Tea
Timer and closed Spybot.
I then open Spywareblaster>Updates>options but it already had the
settings you described including the ' Use Alternate Download Method'
being UNchecked. I closed Spywareblaster, rebooted, started
Spywareblaster again and checked for updates but it gave me the same
message as before.
The server may be temporarily unavailable or there may be a conflict
with firewall (Windows) software installed on your pc. The update file
may have gotten corrupted during download.
Another thing I've noticed is that of late when loggin off it has that
window that pops up for ending the session but then it comes back and
says not responding and I have to click iot again to end the session.
It may or may not have anything to do with this problem but I thought
you should know.
Apparently there's an issue in the recent update from Avira Anti-virus
...which I believe is what you said you are using... causing
SpywareBlaster to fail to update, as well as other issues in other apps.
It is described here:http://www.wilderssecurity.com/show...rssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=288444&page=2
There is a workaround described here:http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=288615
<quote>
It is possible to disable the buggy component of Avira AntiVir Personal,
and continue using the rest of the product (until a fix is made
available by Avira).
1. Open Avira AntiVir Personal. (There is likely an icon on your
desktop, or in your system tray by the clock.)
2. Click the "Configuration" link on the main screen. This opens the
configuration panel.
3. Check the "Expert mode" option.
4. Click on General > Security.
5. *Uncheck* the option titled "Protect files and registry entries from
manipulation".
6. Click the "OK" button.
7. Reboot your computer.
After a reboot, you should now be able to use SpywareBlaster (and any
other affected applications) without issues.
</quote>
Exactly what does it say in the box you are referring to, that pops up
when you try to log off? I don't know what box you mean.
--
Glen Ventura
MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009
CompTIA A+http://dts-l.net/- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Navyguy said:I read the links you provided and then followed your procedures and
Spywareblaster updated beautifully!@! Everything seems to be working
normally now. I do have one last question for you however. Which anti-
malware program to keep? Should I uninstall Spybot again and keep
Spywareblaster? I seem to remember you saying that there might be
leftovers of Spybot even if I uninstalled it, so which ever I choose
can you tell me how to completely remove it or is the Add/Remove
enough?
The sign off Window problem I now believe was associated with the
above problem and in any case hasn't re-appeared. If it does or I
encounter other problems I will start a new thread.
I appreaciate all your time and effort in walking me through this to
resolve the problem.
Be aware that turning off the Avira option, "Protect files and registry
entries from manipulation," is a temporary workaround, until Avira comes
up with an update to fix the issue it's causing in XP. Eventually it
should be turned back on....the problem is they likely won't let you
know when it's been fixed. So, you will have to try re-enabling the
setting after a week or so, and see if it causes problems again. If it
does, disable it again and try again in another week. If the problem is
gone, then they apparently fixed it with an update, and you can leave it
enabled.
To test it, you would enable the setting in Avira, and see if it
interferes with SpywareBlaster update anymore.
You can have both SpywareBlaster and SpyBot installed with no problems.
I just don't find SpyBot particularly useful. It has two "resident"
modules....SDHelper and Tea Timer. Tea Timer can cause a lot of
problems, preventing other apps from updating or working properly, or
even installing properly. SDHelper isn't a problem in most cases.
I always recommend disabling Tea Timer, as do most handlers in malware
removal forums.
If you decide to uninstall SpyBot (as I said, there's no reason to, but
do disable Tea Timer), just uninstall normally, reboot, and if it left a
folder in Program Files, delete it. That should be good enough.
I do have more things you should do to clean up some issues that are
evident from your Event Viewer logs. It's pretty much just some
maintenance/cleanup stuff and adjusting a setting....but I have to go
right now, as I have an appointment. I'll post back in a few hours,
with some further instructions.
--
Glen Ventura
MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009
CompTIA A+http://dts-l.net/- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
With regards to Spybot and Spywareblaster if you feel that Spybot
doesn't offer anything worthwhile or useful then I would prefer to
delete it to keep my computer as lean and clean as I can.
Navyguy said:I'll be glad to follow further instructions to clean up the computer
and I wont do anything until I hear from you again.
With regards to Spybot and Spywareblaster if you feel that Spybot
doesn't offer anything worthwhile or useful then I would prefer to
delete it to keep my computer as lean and clean as I can.
I agree with Nil. Keeping SpyBot for its Immunization and similar
features can be helpful.....just turn off the Resident protection
features....particularly Tea Timer!
I'll be back in a while.
Navyguy said:ok, I'll keep Spybot, but again, I will not and have not done anything
until I hear from you.
Your Event Viewer logs showed some issues with System Restore. You said
recently in this thread that you were finally able to create a restore
point, but you had some problems prior to that. To prevent future
issues, let's adjust the System Restore settings, and clear out some old
restore points. At the same time, let's clean up the temporary files.
This link shows how to adjust the disk space allotted to SR:
How to Adjust the amount of disk space System Restore uses to hold
restore points:http://bertk.mvps.org/html/diskspace.html
Right click on My Computer and select Properties > System Restore tab.
Select the monitored drive (the C: drive usually) to be adjusted and
click Settings.
Move the slider to the left to reduce the size of the Disk Space used to
hold restore points.
Adjust your slider to just over 1GB.... make it between 1000MB and
1500MB on the slider, for the C: drive.
Note: Reducing the Store size will purge the oldest restore points on a
First In Firsts Out (FIFO) bases and leave as many recent restore points
as the new size will allow.
If there are any other drives listed besides the C: drive (assuming the
C: is the system/boot drive), they do not need to be included in System
Restore.
This link tells you how to stop monitoring them in System Restore:
How to disable a monitored drive:http://bertk.mvps.org/html/drivedisable.html
OEM computers like a Dell will usually have a D: drive (actually a
partition on the same hard drive) that is for system recovery to factory
state....such drives do not need to be monitored by SR.
Once that is done, you should only see the C: drive being monitored by
System Restore, in that settings window.
Now start Disk Cleanup: Click Start> All Programs> Accessories> System
Tools> Disk Cleanup
Select the C: drive, click OK, and wait for it to complete its scan.
Now, put checks in the boxes for Downloaded Program Files, Temporary
Remote Desktop Files, Setup Log Files, Offline Files, Web
Client/Publisher Temporary Files, and Catalog Files for the Content
Indexer. You may not see all of those....just checkmark the ones you
have listed.
Do not checkmark the box for Compress Old Files....you do not need to do
that with all the free space you have available.
We will manually empty the Recycle Bin later, so you don't have to
checkmark that one either.
Now click OK, and wait while it deletes the files, then it will close
automatically.
How to Use the Disk Cleanup Utilityhttp://www.theeldergeek.com/disk_cleanup_utility.htm
Now open check the Recycle Bin on the desktop to make sure there is
nothing there you want to restore, because we will be emptying it soon.
Next, go here and download ATF-Cleaner.exe, and save it to your Desktop:http://www.atribune.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&....
(There is a red download link near the middle of the web page)
Double-click ATF-Cleaner on your desktop, click to checkmark the Select
All box.
If you do not want to delete all your web browser Cookies, uncheck the
Cookies box.
Click the Empty Selected button, and wait while it deletes the files.
When it's done, click the Exit button.
You can use ATF-Cleaner and Disk Cleanup periodically...perhaps once a
month. You should ideally use them right after starting or restarting
the computer, rather than in the middle or the end of a computing
session.
That should clean up the system a bit, and hopefully prevent further
issues with System Restore.
Navyguy said:This is what I did I right clicked on my computer and selected
properties>system restore tab but I didn’t have to select any drive as
it only showed C: drive and there was no settings that I could see,
however it showed the slider. The only position the slider accepted
within the range you indicated was either 200MB or 1752MB (1%) because
it wouldn't let me put it between them so I left it at 1752MB.
When running Disk Cleanup, I checked all the boxes that applied (it
had an Offline Web Pages but not Offline Files) so I didnt click it.
In passing, after doing the ATF-Cleaner, I tried to click and drag my
Excel icon to the quick lauch toolbar but it kept opening it instead
of letting me drag it ( this is a problem I've noticed that my mouse
seems to have gotten overly sensitive and wont let me click and drag
or if it does when I let go of the mouse the highlighted section
disappears. This happens repeatedly, so perhaps I need a new mouse?).
In any case, I unlocked the toolbar thinking it may help but somehow
my taskbar flipped during this process and now it's at the top! Can
you please tell me how I can put it back to the bottom of the screen?
As I understand it, the only thing I need do now is check if Avira has
fixed the problem by restoring the settings, if not then *Uncheck*
the option titled "Protect files and registry entries from
manipulation" until they fix the problem. correct?
For the System Restore slider, 1752MB is close enough....good.
The next time you run Disk Cleanup, put a check in the box for Offline
Web Pages also...unless it already shows there are 0KB there.
Assuming your mouse works normally in other aspects and you have it set
to open with a double-click rather than a single-click, the problem may
be due to a faulty mouse.....they do wear out.
For the taskbar moving to the top, first make sure it is unlocked, then
put the mouse pointer in a blank part of the taskbar, click and hold the
left mouse button, and drag it down to the bottom center. You won't see
anything move till you are almost at the bottom, then the taskbar will
suddenly jump there. When it does move where you want it, you can
release the mouse button. Now you can Lock the Taskbar again.
--
Glen Ventura
MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009
CompTIA A+http://dts-l.net/- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Navyguy said:Since I had to go back to the Admin account I went back into Disk
Cleanup and checked the Offline Web Pages as it had 25kb. I was able
to move the task bar per your instructions and locked it.
As far as my mouse, I apologize, I should have realized when moving
the icons it would open them because I have it set for single click (I
have torn wrist cartilages in both wrists along the multiple other
injuries). I should of changed it to double click to move them and
then back to single click but would that also effect it when trying to
copy/past in Word?
What happens is that I click and drag to highlight the text but when I
release the mouse button the highlight disappears or in other cases it
moves bits of the text. It's become so frustrating that I just cut/
paste. Another example of this is when I save a link and when I try to
drag it to a favorites folder it ends up in another as I'm dragging
it.
I don't mean to keep adding to this thread which is already quite long
and perhaps I should start another just for the mouse issue or perhaps
as I said I need a new mouse?
Again, I wish to thank you for all your patience and good advice in
helping me to resolve my computer problem. I appreciate it very much.