System files

[frankhartx]

Can anyone identify the purpose and legitmacy of a folder
in the system files called Prefetch? There have been some
suspicious files appearing embedded in the system files
which may be why some problems have been occuring lately.
I have used the date stamp to locates and eliminate some
highly suspicious files with a suspect origin. But I am
not all that familiar with all the myriad of file types
in windows so there are some i am not sure of but do
suspect. Perhaps the Internet Explorar portal has been
used to hack into the system with some virus/worm that is
immune to detection. At any rate the portal has been open
to a rush of spam--why MS does not stop this is unknown--
unlike other pop ups these IE pop ups can cause loss of
dats, freeze ups, work interruptions and are in essence
hacking and should not be allowed

 

[purplehaz]

You're off on like two different subjects here. Don't get confused and start
assuming things. The prefetch folder is a legitamate windows folder. It
"pre-loads" commonly used programs to make them start and respond faster.
Anything in the prefetch folder can be deleted. The files will be recreated
as needed. This should be done with your regular computer maintenance.
The prefetch folder has nothing to do with popups. If your getting popup
ads, then 1 - you need to turn on the xp firewall or install a firewall, and
2 - install a popup killer.

 

[Bran]

The Prefetch folder is a legitimate, but not necessarily
essential, part of XP. Some people disable it or clean it
out with programs like "Windows XP Prefetch Clean And
Control." The folder itself is not your culprit.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

As the others have already said, the Pre-fetch folder is
legitimate. It will have absolutely nothing to do with pop-ups.

There are at least three varieties of pop-ups, and the solutions
vary accordingly. Which specific type(s) is troubling you?

1) Does the title bar of these pop-ups read "Messenger Service?"

This type of spam has become quite common over the past several
months, and unintentionally serves as a valid security "alert." It
demonstrates that you haven't been taking sufficient precautions while
connected to the Internet. Your data probably hasn't been compromised
by these specific advertisements, but if you're open to this exploit,
you may well be open to other threats, such as the Blaster Worm that
recently swept cross the Internet. Install and use a decent,
properly configured firewall. (Merely disabling the messenger
service, as some people recommend, only hides the symptom, and does
little or nothing to truly secure your machine.) And ignoring or just
"putting up with" the security gap represented by these messages is
particularly foolish.

Messenger Service of Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;168893

Messenger Service Window That Contains an Internet Advertisement
Appears
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=330904

Stopping Advertisements with Messenger Service Titles
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp

Blocking Ads, Parasites, and Hijackers with a Hosts File
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

Oh, and be especially wary of people who advise you to do nothing
more than disable the messenger service. Disabling the messenger
service, by itself, is a "head in the sand" approach to computer
security. The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups;
they're actually providing a useful, if annoying, service by acting as
a security alert. The true problem is the unsecured computer, and
you've been advised to merely turn off the warnings. How is this
helpful?

2) For regular Internet pop-ups, you might try the free 12Ghosts
Popup-killer from http://12ghosts.com/ghosts/popup.htm, Pop-Up
Stopper from http://www.panicware.com/, or the Google Toolbar from
http://toolbar.google.com/. Myself, I use Norton Internet Security,
which, in addition to containing Norton Anti-Virus and Personal
Firewall, also blocks many of the pop-up adds on the Internet.

3) For pop-ups caused by some sort of "adware" and/or "spyware,"
such as Gator, Comet Cursors, or Bonzai Buddy, that you've
deliberately installed, two products that are quite effective at
finding and removing scumware are Ad-Aware from www.lavasoft.de and
SpyBot Search and Destroy from http://security.kolla.de/. Both have
free evaluation versions.


Bruce Chambers

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