Maybe off topic : Whats running on my computer?

[LouisG]

My computer thats running winxp sp2 , seems to slow down as the day goes on
and i notice that my router is flashing like crazy and i'm afraid that
maybe somethings going on that should'nt.

Can anyone recommend a program that would tell me what is going in and out
of my computer??

I've had a look around , but i don't know exactly what i should be looking
for.

Thanks for any help forthcoming.

Gord

 

[JS]

If you don't have a software firewall then download and install.
Zone Alarm has a free version:
http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=US&lang=en

JS

 

[LouisG]

Do you really need a software firewall if you have a router? I thought that
the router was in essence a hardware firewall or am i wrong in thinking
this?

 

[Daave]

A properly configured NAT router generally provides adequate incoming
protection. But nothing is perfect. And once malware finds its way onto
one of your PCs, only a 2-way firewall like Zone Alarm or Comodo can
offer you the added protection of blocking outgoing traffic. Otherwise,
your PC runs the risk of becoming a bot.

 

[Lem]

Do you really need a software firewall if you have a router? I thought that
the router was in essence a hardware firewall or am i wrong in thinking
this?

All routers provide network address translation (NAT), which is similar
in effect to a firewall, in that it makes computers on your LAN not
directly visible from the Internet. In addition many (most? all?) newer
entry-level routers incorporate some sort of firewall. For example, in
Linksys's description of its basic wireless router (WRT54G), it says:
"The Router protects your PC from most known Internet attacks with a
powerful Stateful Packet Inspection firewall." In addition, by default,
Windows XP SP2 turns on the Windows firewall. So you don't really need
to install a third-party software firewall (which often just adds more
overhead and slows things down even more).

The reason why some people insist on using 3rd party software firewalls
(such as ZoneAlarm) is that they detect outgoing connections to the
Internet. Thus, if you get infected by some malware that "phones home,"
ZoneAlarm will warn you. The problem is that most people just click on
the "Allow" button because they don't know what the program is that is
requesting Internet access.

As far as finding out what's running on your computer, open Task Manager
(right click on an empty area of the Task Bar) and click the "Processes"
tab. There are several ways to determine what these processes are.
Sometimes the name is self-explanatory (firefox.exe); sometimes you can
search your hard drive and the name of the folder in which the
executable file is located will suggest what it is; you can use Google;
or you can use a resource such as the Task List from
http://www.answersthatwork.com/.

After you've been using a Windows system for a while, you tend to have
installed, either deliberately or inadvertently along with some desired
application, all sorts of things that slow down the computer and use
your Internet connection. Antivirus software, for example, usually is
set to periodically check for new virus definitions; Windows, as well as
many user applications, also check for updates. When you install an HP
printer, for example, HP also typically install all kinds of "monitors"
that occupy your computer, and some of them do check for updates.

There are lots of sites that offer help for "slow computers" but some of
the advice can be potentially harmful. This one seems reasonable,
although I suggest not cleaning your registry (as described in the third
heading): http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=106650

You can "clean boot" your computer to try to pinpoint what applications
are slowing things down by selectively enabling or disabling
applications using this technique. It's a bit tedious because you have
to re-boot many times, but it can be quite revealing. See
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353

Also see this excellent advice from MVP Malke on how to clean up any
malware that may be infesting your computer:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware


--
Lem -- MS-MVP - Networking

To the moon and back with 4KB of RAM and 72KB of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm

 

[JS]

Yes outgoing protection is important and if an application (especially
unknown apps that you know you did not install) ask for access then you at
least have the chance to deny it access to the internet. This allows you
time to investigate what the app name is associated with using a web search.
When you first install Zone Alarm it's going to ask you (pop up with a
warning) numerous times as each application you start (Outlook Express,
Adobe Reader, your main AV software when it goes looking for updates) to
allow access or deny but that part of the firewall's (and the user's)
learning process.

JS

 

[baynole2]

There are lots of sites that offer help for "slow computers" but some of
the advice can be potentially harmful. This one seems reasonable,
although I suggest not cleaning your registry (as described in the third
heading):http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=106650

I am far from a geek so I hesitate to comment, let alone give advice,
but the registry cleaner in CCleaner is pretty basic & seems quite
safe. I run it every time I uninstall something, checking first of
course that I have a restore point ready. Thus far, NP.You can back-up
the registry to a file pre-run, & 'merge' it after running to return
to status quo ante if something untoward happens.

 

[dobey]

I am far from a geek so I hesitate to comment, let alone give advice,
but the registry cleaner in CCleaner is pretty basic & seems quite
safe. I run it every time I uninstall something, checking first of
course that I have a restore point ready. Thus far, NP.You can back-up
the registry to a file pre-run, & 'merge' it after running to return
to status quo ante if something untoward happens.

And can you say you have seen some improvement from using it?

 

[baynole2]

And can you say you have seen some improvement from using it?

Good question. The PC works well & is snappy; whether that is a caused
result or just luck I cannot say for sure.

 

[LouisG]

Okay great got that ,, i've tried to install Zonealarm but the computer
really starts to act funky ,,going to try it again tonight to see if it
was another program i installed earlier that was interfering with ZA

 

[LouisG]

All routers provide network address translation (NAT), which is
similar in effect to a firewall, in that it makes computers on your
LAN not directly visible from the Internet. In addition many (most?
all?) newer entry-level routers incorporate some sort of firewall.
For example, in Linksys's description of its basic wireless router
(WRT54G), it says: "The Router protects your PC from most known
Internet attacks with a powerful Stateful Packet Inspection firewall."
In addition, by default, Windows XP SP2 turns on the Windows
firewall. So you don't really need to install a third-party software
firewall (which often just adds more overhead and slows things down
even more).

The reason why some people insist on using 3rd party software
firewalls (such as ZoneAlarm) is that they detect outgoing connections
to the Internet. Thus, if you get infected by some malware that
"phones home," ZoneAlarm will warn you. The problem is that most
people just click on the "Allow" button because they don't know what
the program is that is requesting Internet access.

As far as finding out what's running on your computer, open Task
Manager (right click on an empty area of the Task Bar) and click the
"Processes" tab. There are several ways to determine what these
processes are. Sometimes the name is self-explanatory (firefox.exe);
sometimes you can search your hard drive and the name of the folder in
which the executable file is located will suggest what it is; you can
use Google; or you can use a resource such as the Task List from
http://www.answersthatwork.com/.

After you've been using a Windows system for a while, you tend to have
installed, either deliberately or inadvertently along with some
desired application, all sorts of things that slow down the computer
and use your Internet connection. Antivirus software, for example,
usually is set to periodically check for new virus definitions;
Windows, as well as many user applications, also check for updates.
When you install an HP printer, for example, HP also typically install
all kinds of "monitors" that occupy your computer, and some of them do
check for updates.

There are lots of sites that offer help for "slow computers" but some
of the advice can be potentially harmful. This one seems reasonable,
although I suggest not cleaning your registry (as described in the
third heading): http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=106650

You can "clean boot" your computer to try to pinpoint what
applications are slowing things down by selectively enabling or
disabling applications using this technique. It's a bit tedious
because you have to re-boot many times, but it can be quite revealing.
See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353

Also see this excellent advice from MVP Malke on how to clean up any
malware that may be infesting your computer:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Thanks for the indepth info , i know enough about computers to be
checking the task manager and what a lot of the programs shown are for ,
but i have 3 computers on the network through this router and it seems
that it's lights are going rapidly even though nobody is using the
computers at the time ,, and i was just hoping to be able to monitor them
somehow to see what is going on with them

 

[Daave]

Good question. The PC works well & is snappy; whether that is a caused
result or just luck I cannot say for sure.

The primary benefit of Ccleaner with regard to speed is the cleaning of
temp files, not orphaned registry entries.