Slow performance question

[Magsmom]

My IT challenged friend has the same brand computer as mine, but newer and
with higher GHz speed, same RAM memory. She doesn't do much with her
computer except for e mail, while I have tons of application programs, files
etc. on mine, but her machine is so much slower than mine. Everything she
does is slower from boot up, to just getting the start menu to open. I have
gone through all the steps to speed up her machine, disk clean up, defrag,
etc. but nothing seems to help. The only thing I can think of, is that she
is running Norton Antivirus and I am running Windows Live One Care and maybe
the Norton settings are set to scan more deeply than they need to for normal
operations?
Also, she keeps getting pop up messages in the lower right hand corner
telling her that something is trying to attack her computer, but nothing
shows up in scans.
Any ideas anyone??

 

[Daave]

My IT challenged friend has the same brand computer as mine, but
newer and with higher GHz speed, same RAM memory. She doesn't do
much with her computer except for e mail, while I have tons of
application programs, files etc. on mine, but her machine is so much
slower than mine. Everything she does is slower from boot up, to
just getting the start menu to open. I have gone through all the
steps to speed up her machine, disk clean up, defrag, etc. but
nothing seems to help. The only thing I can think of, is that she is
running Norton Antivirus and I am running Windows Live One Care and
maybe the Norton settings are set to scan more deeply than they need
to for normal operations?

You thought correctly. Norton has been know to slow many a system down.

Also, she keeps getting pop up messages in the lower right hand corner
telling her that something is trying to attack her computer, but
nothing shows up in scans.

If the only malware protection your friend is running is Norton
Antivirus, then I would say your friend has some other kind of malware
(like spyware). Did you offer to help her? If so, posting the exact
wording of these popup messages will help get you the information you
need. In the mean time, have a look at the following:

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

For a while, AdAware and Spybot Search & Destroy were decent,
complementary, free anti-spyware/adware programs. And they are still
useful. But lately, I've been using and recommending SUPERAntiSpyware
Free:

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

In the event your friend's particular malware infection has too many
tentacles in too many places (and does not respond to the anti-malware
programs mentioned above), it might be necessary to post HiJack This!
and/or Deckard's System Scanner logs to an appropriate forum. Examples:

http://www.thespykiller.co.uk/index.php?board=3.0

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum22.html

http://castlecops.com/forum67.html

http://www.malwarebytes.org/forums/index.php?showforum=7

http://boards.cexx.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=hk5cgome3e4ap9jnrsik301781&board=1.0

Finally, "So how did I get infected in the first place?" is required
reading:

http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showtopic=60955

 

[nass]

My IT challenged friend has the same brand computer as mine, but newer and
with higher GHz speed, same RAM memory. She doesn't do much with her
computer except for e mail, while I have tons of application programs, files
etc. on mine, but her machine is so much slower than mine. Everything she
does is slower from boot up, to just getting the start menu to open. I have
gone through all the steps to speed up her machine, disk clean up, defrag,
etc. but nothing seems to help. The only thing I can think of, is that she
is running Norton Antivirus and I am running Windows Live One Care and maybe
the Norton settings are set to scan more deeply than they need to for normal
operations?
Also, she keeps getting pop up messages in the lower right hand corner
telling her that something is trying to attack her computer, but nothing
shows up in scans.
Any ideas anyone??

Hi,
Don't forget a new machine comes with lots of free pies and trails software
may your friend didn't get around to remove it or renew the subscription!.
Also check to see if Her Norton subscription is up2date and current.

The pop-up is an infection with some Zlob or Vundo variants and you need to
scan with a thorough scanners and manual steps to get rid of this viral
infestation.

Go through these Cleaning steps:
1... Click start >> Control Panel >> Double Click Network and Internet
Connections >> Double click Internet Options, on the IE Properties window
you will see these Options:
General | Security | Privacy | Content | Connections | Programs
| Advanced .

Click on General Tab (1st Tab on the left) and you will see a Button called
[ Clear History ..] click on it to clear your History caches, then click on
[Delete Files..] to delete Internet Files created over the time, click on [
Delete Cookies...] to delete your cookies left by visiting websites.

Then click on Advanced tab and scroll down to under the Browsing Option:
[&] Browsing
[ ] Enable Third-Party browser extensions (Req Rest) uncheck this box.
= Then try to Disable the Add-Ons on your Browser somehow installed on your
browser, On how to disable the Add-ons follow this:
Click on Programs Tab and then click the Manage Add-Ons Button there Disable
the Non/Not Verified Plug-ins/Add-ons ( you need to Renable them one-by-one
later and see which is the culprit .
How to manage Add-Ons:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883256
Scan for malware from here:
SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html
RootkitRevealer v1.71
By Bryce Cogswell and Mark Russinovich
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Security/RootkitRevealer.mspx

Run a scan from here on-line:
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx
Download Avast Cleaner (off-line scanner) from here:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html

Lots of tools to download and disinfect your machine (off-line scanner):
http://www.bitdefender.co.uk/site/Downloads/browseFreeRemovalTool/


Download the Hijackthis and send the report to one of
many
forums for analysis and troubleshooting:
When all else fails, HijackThis v2.0.2
(http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/threat_analytics/hijackthis.php) is
the preferred tool to use.
It will help you to both identify and remove any hijackware/spyware. Post
your log to:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30,
http://castlecops.com/forum67.html,
http://forums.subratam.org/index.php?showforum=7
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial42.html
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/
Or other appropriate
forums for expert analysis, not here.
Can you please send me a copy at (e-mail address removed) , remove
the obvious to email me.
Let us know your progress.
nass

 

[Magsmom]

Thanks, but it's hard to figure out what is going on when I don't actually
see it. As I said, she is IT challenged and I have trouble even walking her
through something over the phone. Asking her to save a screen shot or
something would be like asking her to perform brain surgery and I don't have
the time to spend on her machine going through everything. I've done the
basics, making sure her Norton's is up to date, running the basic system
tools to clean up etc. I go over there a couple times a week and every time,
I look as some more of her system.

My IT challenged friend has the same brand computer as mine, but newer and
with higher GHz speed, same RAM memory. She doesn't do much with her
computer except for e mail, while I have tons of application programs, files
etc. on mine, but her machine is so much slower than mine. Everything she
does is slower from boot up, to just getting the start menu to open. I have
gone through all the steps to speed up her machine, disk clean up, defrag,
etc. but nothing seems to help. The only thing I can think of, is that she
is running Norton Antivirus and I am running Windows Live One Care and maybe
the Norton settings are set to scan more deeply than they need to for normal
operations?
Also, she keeps getting pop up messages in the lower right hand corner
telling her that something is trying to attack her computer, but nothing
shows up in scans.
Any ideas anyone??

Hi,
Don't forget a new machine comes with lots of free pies and trails software
may your friend didn't get around to remove it or renew the subscription!.
Also check to see if Her Norton subscription is up2date and current.

The pop-up is an infection with some Zlob or Vundo variants and you need to
scan with a thorough scanners and manual steps to get rid of this viral
infestation.

Go through these Cleaning steps:
1... Click start >> Control Panel >> Double Click Network and Internet
Connections >> Double click Internet Options, on the IE Properties window
you will see these Options:
General | Security | Privacy | Content | Connections | Programs
| Advanced .

Click on General Tab (1st Tab on the left) and you will see a Button called
[ Clear History ..] click on it to clear your History caches, then click on
[Delete Files..] to delete Internet Files created over the time, click on [
Delete Cookies...] to delete your cookies left by visiting websites.

Then click on Advanced tab and scroll down to under the Browsing Option:
[&] Browsing
[ ] Enable Third-Party browser extensions (Req Rest) uncheck this box.
= Then try to Disable the Add-Ons on your Browser somehow installed on your
browser, On how to disable the Add-ons follow this:
Click on Programs Tab and then click the Manage Add-Ons Button there Disable
the Non/Not Verified Plug-ins/Add-ons ( you need to Renable them one-by-one
later and see which is the culprit .
How to manage Add-Ons:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883256
Scan for malware from here:
SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html
RootkitRevealer v1.71
By Bryce Cogswell and Mark Russinovich
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Security/RootkitRevealer.mspx

Run a scan from here on-line:
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx
Download Avast Cleaner (off-line scanner) from here:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html

Lots of tools to download and disinfect your machine (off-line scanner):
http://www.bitdefender.co.uk/site/Downloads/browseFreeRemovalTool/


Download the Hijackthis and send the report to one of
many
forums for analysis and troubleshooting:
When all else fails, HijackThis v2.0.2
(http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/threat_analytics/hijackthis.php) is
the preferred tool to use.
It will help you to both identify and remove any hijackware/spyware. Post
your log to:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30,
http://castlecops.com/forum67.html,
http://forums.subratam.org/index.php?showforum=7
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial42.html
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/
Or other appropriate
forums for expert analysis, not here.
Can you please send me a copy at (e-mail address removed) , remove
the obvious to email me.
Let us know your progress.
nass

 

[nass]

Hi,
You can forward to Her the Message, it is clear and easy to follow steps,
also if she welling to send me or send the HijackThis log to one of many
forums that can help in analysing the log that will help her to get rid of
the infection!.
Or if it all troublesome, best if she took the machine to her local Repair
shop to look at.
Black Viper's Top tweaks for a faster PC
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/supertweaks.htm

StartupList Index
http://www.castlecops.com/StartupList.html

HTH.
nass
http://www.nasstec.co.uk

Thanks, but it's hard to figure out what is going on when I don't actually
see it. As I said, she is IT challenged and I have trouble even walking her
through something over the phone. Asking her to save a screen shot or
something would be like asking her to perform brain surgery and I don't have
the time to spend on her machine going through everything. I've done the
basics, making sure her Norton's is up to date, running the basic system
tools to clean up etc. I go over there a couple times a week and every time,
I look as some more of her system.

My IT challenged friend has the same brand computer as mine, but newer and
with higher GHz speed, same RAM memory. She doesn't do much with her
computer except for e mail, while I have tons of application programs, files
etc. on mine, but her machine is so much slower than mine. Everything she
does is slower from boot up, to just getting the start menu to open. I have
gone through all the steps to speed up her machine, disk clean up, defrag,
etc. but nothing seems to help. The only thing I can think of, is that she
is running Norton Antivirus and I am running Windows Live One Care and maybe
the Norton settings are set to scan more deeply than they need to for normal
operations?
Also, she keeps getting pop up messages in the lower right hand corner
telling her that something is trying to attack her computer, but nothing
shows up in scans.
Any ideas anyone??

Hi,
Don't forget a new machine comes with lots of free pies and trails software
may your friend didn't get around to remove it or renew the subscription!.
Also check to see if Her Norton subscription is up2date and current.

The pop-up is an infection with some Zlob or Vundo variants and you need to
scan with a thorough scanners and manual steps to get rid of this viral
infestation.

Go through these Cleaning steps:
1... Click start >> Control Panel >> Double Click Network and Internet
Connections >> Double click Internet Options, on the IE Properties window
you will see these Options:
General | Security | Privacy | Content | Connections | Programs
| Advanced .

Click on General Tab (1st Tab on the left) and you will see a Button called
[ Clear History ..] click on it to clear your History caches, then click on
[Delete Files..] to delete Internet Files created over the time, click on [
Delete Cookies...] to delete your cookies left by visiting websites.

Then click on Advanced tab and scroll down to under the Browsing Option:
[&] Browsing
[ ] Enable Third-Party browser extensions (Req Rest) uncheck this box.
= Then try to Disable the Add-Ons on your Browser somehow installed on your
browser, On how to disable the Add-ons follow this:
Click on Programs Tab and then click the Manage Add-Ons Button there Disable
the Non/Not Verified Plug-ins/Add-ons ( you need to Renable them one-by-one
later and see which is the culprit .
How to manage Add-Ons:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883256
Scan for malware from here:
SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html
RootkitRevealer v1.71
By Bryce Cogswell and Mark Russinovich
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Security/RootkitRevealer.mspx

Run a scan from here on-line:
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx
Download Avast Cleaner (off-line scanner) from here:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html

Lots of tools to download and disinfect your machine (off-line scanner):
http://www.bitdefender.co.uk/site/Downloads/browseFreeRemovalTool/


Download the Hijackthis and send the report to one of
many
forums for analysis and troubleshooting:
When all else fails, HijackThis v2.0.2
(http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/threat_analytics/hijackthis.php) is
the preferred tool to use.
It will help you to both identify and remove any hijackware/spyware. Post
your log to:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30,
http://castlecops.com/forum67.html,
http://forums.subratam.org/index.php?showforum=7
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial42.html
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/
Or other appropriate
forums for expert analysis, not here.
Can you please send me a copy at (e-mail address removed) , remove
the obvious to email me.
Let us know your progress.
nass