Slow Computer Response:

[Robert]

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- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I re-ran A-squared and it came up with no errors, strange, because as
I said I ran it last night it found a high risk virus which I thought
was the one I'm infected with. I tried deleting it, but when I re-ran
A-squared it showed up again. So I thought it would come up with this
scan.


Robert

 

[Robert]

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.

--

I tried to create a host file once again, although I have to say its a
bit confusing. Somehow I was able to extract the file and I put it in
MY Documents but when reading the text portion it said it should go
here:

C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc


I suppose what they mean is after opening it, but what should I open
it with?

Since this is all new to me I just want to make sure I'm doing things
correctly.

As I said, I understand the purpose of the host file(its more or less
an address book for all the sites I visit) but not sure if I
understand how to implement it. I mean do I have to add each and every
address that I visit online or is this done automatically?

I'm sure I'm just missing a few steps or not understanding


Robert

 

[Robert]

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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I agree with you concerning Autoruns, its alot safer and I prefer
going into there versus msconfig. However, that being the case I may
not be able to do a Clean Boot as Daave suggested once I get this
virus problem resolved.

As I said it was totally my fault for not writing the virus name down.
I guess its because I have been doing so much on this end I got
overwhelmed. no excuse. However if I see anything like it again or
anything I will be sure to write it all down.


Robert

 

[Daave]

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.

Very helpful information.

 

[Robert]

I  agree with you concerning Autoruns, its alot safer and I prefer
going into there versus msconfig. However, that being the case I may
not be able to do a Clean Boot as Daave suggested once I get this
virus problem resolved.

As I said it was totally my fault for not writing the virus name down.
I guess its because I have been doing so much on this end I got
overwhelmed. no excuse. However if I see anything like it again or
anything I will be sure to write it all down.

Robert- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I ran A-squared again just to be sure and once again it came back with
no errors. Maybe I did delete it?


Robert

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Very helpful information.

Thanks, Daave.

 

[Robert]

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.

I guess I haven't made myself very clear in my replies or questions
but this is exactly what I've been trying to do. To uninstall programs
that I don't use and not do it indescriminately. Daave had mentioned
that he saw other issues aside from the virus he found when looking at
my Hijacklog which what prompted some of this e.g. uninstalling my
Toolbars. Also part of this was to lean out my system and increasing
my pagefile as I only have 256MB RAM although I will be upgrading.

Robert

 

[Robert]

I did a little research and came up with the following sites for
removal of the virus. Could you please take a look at these and tell
me what you would recommend?

http://www.trojan-win32-removal.com.removal-instructions.com/removeTrojan.html


http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor/trojans.php?ref=google_trojan&gclid=CIW58KHR_5ACFRsFagodeW9SGg

http://www.adwarealert.com/glossary_details.php?ID=133856

http://www.uninstall-spyware.com/ov...advanced&OVADID=1248814021&OVKWID=13013972521


Thank you,
Robert

 

[Robert]

This is the link for dogpile where I found the links above:

http://www.dogpile.com/dogpile/ws/r...e/iq=true/zoom=off/_iceUrlFlag=7?_IceUrl=true

What I've done is downloaded AVG Anti- Spyware and have updated it and
it is now scanning my computer.


Robert

 

[Robert]

Here are the results of the AVG Anti-Spyware scan:

It found 26 of the following:

Adware.Generic medium threat
Adware.IntCodec medium threat
Tracking Cookie.Idot medium threat
Tracking Cookie.Navrcholu medium threat
Tracking Cookie.Pocitadlo medium threat
Tracking Cookie.Msn medium threat
Tracking Cookie.Adobe medium threat
Tracking Cookie.Safer-networking medium threat

I was able to delete them all but it didn't find the virus below:

Guid- O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {a2595f37-48d0-46a1-9b51-478591a97764}
- (no
file)

Filename - iesplugin.dll

Status - X

Description - ProtectionBar, rogue "security software", related to the
notorious PS_Guard/SpywareQuake/WinAntivirus foistware and detected as
a variant of the FakeAle aka Zlob or Puper trojan



Robert

 

[Daave]

Here are the results of the AVG Anti-Spyware scan:

It found 26 of the following:

Adware.Generic medium threat
Adware.IntCodec medium threat
Tracking Cookie.Idot medium threat
Tracking Cookie.Navrcholu medium threat
Tracking Cookie.Pocitadlo medium threat
Tracking Cookie.Msn medium threat
Tracking Cookie.Adobe medium threat
Tracking Cookie.Safer-networking medium threat

I was able to delete them all but it didn't find the virus below:

Guid- O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {a2595f37-48d0-46a1-9b51-478591a97764}
- (no
file)

Filename - iesplugin.dll

Status - X

Description - ProtectionBar, rogue "security software", related to the
notorious PS_Guard/SpywareQuake/WinAntivirus foistware and detected as
a variant of the FakeAle aka Zlob or Puper trojan

Robert, I still think it's best to wait for the guided expert help.
Since I'm no expert, I have no idea if the above is merely a leftover
orphaned entry or something indicative of a larger malware problem. I do
know that SUPERAntiSpyware Free has many advocates; it won't hurt
installing and running:

http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html

Scroll down and click on the "Download FREE VERSION Home Users" button.
And it might be more beneficial to run it in Safe Mode.

And if you haven't bookmarked this page yet, do so for reference:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

That's an example of

I guess I haven't made myself very clear in my replies or questions
but this is exactly what I've been trying to do. To uninstall programs
that I don't use and not do it indescriminately. Daave had mentioned
that he saw other issues aside from the virus he found when looking at
my Hijacklog which what prompted some of this e.g. uninstalling my
Toolbars. Also part of this was to lean out my system and increasing
my pagefile

Yes, but...

As Daave pointed out, there is *no* benefit (other than saving a
little disk space) to uninstalling programs. Doing so will not "lean
out your system" or "increase your pagefile."

If you stop programs from *running* (for example, from running
automatically in the background) you *may* increase performance, but
even there, it depends on what the programs are.

There's certainly nothing wrong with uninstalling programs you don't
use, and I'm not suggesting that you not do so. Just don't expect it
to provide any performance increase.

as I only have 256MB RAM although I will be upgrading.

256MB is at the bottom end of the range of memory sizes that might be
acceptable for XP. More RAM *might* help you, depending on what apps
you run; going to 512MB helps many people. How much RAM you need is
not a one-size-fits-all situation. You get good performance if the
amount of RAM you have keeps you from using the page file, and that
depends on what apps you run. Most people running a typical range of
business applications find that somewhere around 256-384MB works well,
others need 512MB. Almost anyone will see poor performance with less
than 256MB. Some people, particularly those doing things like editing
large photographic images, can see a performance boost by adding even
more than 512MB--sometimes much more.

If you are currently using the page file significantly, more memory
will decrease or eliminate that usage, and improve your performance.
If you are not using the page file significantly, more memory will do
nothing for you. Go to
http://billsway.com/notes_public/winxp_tweaks/ and download
WinXP-2K_Pagefile.zip and monitor your pagefile usage. That should
give you a good idea of whether more memory can help, and if so, how
much more.

 

[Daave]

If you stop programs from *running* (for example, from running
automatically in the background) you *may* increase performance, but
even there, it depends on what the programs are.

Ken, in your experience, which programs tend to be the biggest
offenders? I've heard reports that disabling QuickTime and Adobe from
automatically running at startup can improve performance, but I don't
recall seeing hard figures to back up these claims.

Still, it certainly won't *hurt* to disable them from running at
startup.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Ken, in your experience, which programs tend to be the biggest
offenders? I've heard reports that disabling QuickTime and Adobe from
automatically running at startup can improve performance, but I don't
recall seeing hard figures to back up these claims.

Still, it certainly won't *hurt* to disable them from running at
startup.

To tell the truth, I don't have a good answer for you regarding the
biggest offenders. My own personal practice is to not allow anything
to automatically start unless it's something *I* want. If it then
causes me a performance problem, I may rethink whether I really want
it. That's happened to me very seldom.

I don't maintain other people's systems professionally, and don't have
as much experience as others here have seeing the problems that many
people may have with auto-starting programs. So I hope that someone
else who is more familiar with this than I am can answer your
question.

 

[Robert]

Yes, but...

As Daave pointed out, there is *no* benefit (other than saving a
little disk space) to uninstalling programs. Doing so will not "lean
out your system" or "increase your pagefile."

If you stop programs from *running* (for example, from running
automatically in the background) you *may* increase performance, but
even there, it depends on what the programs are.

There's certainly nothing wrong with uninstalling programs you don't
use, and I'm not suggesting that you not do so. Just don't expect it
to provide any performance increase.


256MB is at the bottom end of the range of memory sizes that might be
acceptable for XP. More RAM *might* help you, depending on what apps
you run; going to 512MB helps many people. How much RAM you need is
not a one-size-fits-all situation. You get good performance if the
amount of RAM you have keeps you from using the page file, and that
depends on what apps you run. Most people running a typical range of
business applications find that somewhere around 256-384MB works well,
others need 512MB. Almost anyone will see poor performance with less
than 256MB. Some people, particularly those doing things like editing
large photographic images, can see a performance boost by adding even
more than 512MB--sometimes much more.

If you are currently using the page file significantly, more memory
will decrease or eliminate that usage, and improve your performance.
If you are not using the page file significantly, more memory will do
nothing for you. Go tohttp://billsway.com/notes%5Fpublic/winxp%5Ftweaks/and download
WinXP-2K_Pagefile.zip and monitor your pagefile usage. That should
give you a good idea of whether more memory can help, and if so, how
much more.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
Please Reply to the Newsgroup- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I appreciate your knowledge and explaininng eveyrthing in detail, it
helps. Most of this is on the recommendation of Daave, and according
to him I was using my pagefile significantly. As far as my
applications, I mostly run IE7 with usually two browsers open and
toggle back and forth and Dell's Imagining Software which I use
extensively.


Robert

 

[Robert]

Robert, I still think it's best to wait for the guided expert help.
Since I'm no expert, I have no idea if the above is merely a leftover
orphaned entry or something indicative of a larger malware problem. I do
know that SUPERAntiSpyware Free has many advocates; it won't hurt
installing and running:

http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html

Scroll down and click on the "Download FREE VERSION Home Users" button.
And it might be more beneficial to run it in Safe Mode.

And if you haven't bookmarked this page yet, do so for reference:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hello Daave,
The 256RAM sticks arrived today and I have them installed. I will do
as you suggest. I will also visit Autoruns again to see if I can click
a few more items to not run at Sart-up such as Quicktime.

Robert

 

[Robert]

Robert, I still think it's best to wait for the guided expert help.
Since I'm no expert, I have no idea if the above is merely a leftover
orphaned entry or something indicative of a larger malware problem. I do
know that SUPERAntiSpyware Free has many advocates; it won't hurt
installing and running:

http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html

Scroll down and click on the "Download FREE VERSION Home Users" button.
And it might be more beneficial to run it in Safe Mode.

And if you haven't bookmarked this page yet, do so for reference:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hello Daave,

The (2) 256 RAM sticks arrived today and I've installed them and I do
see a marked difference in performance, the computer is much quicker.
Thank you!

Now, I just need to resolve this virus issue. I will do as you suggest
and wait, and will download the links you provided.

After reading your exchange with Ken I went back into Autoruns to make
sure I had Quck time unchecked at Start-up and I've already
uninstalled Abobe from my system since I never use it for anything.

Robert

 

[Robert]

Hello Daave,

Sorry I posted my reply twice. Gerry had suggested that I create a
Host file and he gave directions to do so but I'm still somewhat
confused as to how to go about it. Have either you or Ken done this?


Robert

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I appreciate your knowledge and explaininng eveyrthing in detail, it
helps.

You're welcome. Glad to help.

Most of this is on the recommendation of Daave, and according
to him I was using my pagefile significantly.

I no longer have Daave's earlier message to refer to, but I'm sure he
would agree with me,that neither he nor I could possibly know that for
sure. What he probably meant is that, with 256MB you are very likely
using the page file significantly (and I agree). My recommendation
however, is that instead of assuming that what is likely to be true is
true, you should check to find out. It's very easy to check, using the
Page File Monitor I mentioned above.

As far as my
applications, I mostly run IE7 with usually two browsers open and
toggle back and forth and Dell's Imagining Software which I use
extensively.

IE7 is not particularly memory-hungry. I don't know what "Dell's
Imagining Software" is, or how much memory it uses.

Do you have two instances of IE7 open at once? Why? Why not use it
tabbed browsing feature?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hello Daave,

Sorry I posted my reply twice. Gerry had suggested that I create a
Host file and he gave directions to do so but I'm still somewhat
confused as to how to go about it. Have either you or Ken done this?

Sorry, I no longer have Gerry's message, and am not sure why he
suggested this, but I assume you mean a "hosts" file. Note the "s" on
the end of its name, and that it has no extension.

The hosts file is kept in the folder \Windows\system32\drivers\etc. It
is there by default, and shouldn't need to be created. It's just a
plain text file and can be easily edited with something like notepad.

If you need more information, please post back with what Gerry
suggested, and exactly what you want to accomplish with the hosts
file.