Member Avatar for cabigtyler

Hello, I'm new here and I don't know if anyone can help, but I have a problem with my computer. I have Windows Vista, and also Verizon Anti-Spyware. As werid as this sound every time I see the black binoculars in the bottom right hand of my screen, spyware scan in progress the computer freezes up. Ctrl + Alt + Delete doesn't do anything. So I have to reboot my computer manually. Thanks :)

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by crunchie

Dani AI

Generated

Quick note for : start with ’s cleanup suggestions (ATF/Malwarebytes/OTL) and post the logs he asked for — those logs tell a lot. If the system still hard‑locks when the “spyware scan in progress” icon appears, the freeze is most likely caused by a service/process conflict, a driver or disk I/O problem, or a failing component rather than a simple UI glitch.

If the freeze recurs, try these next steps in order:

  1. Identify the tray icon’s program (hover/right‑click or check Task Manager for a matching process) and temporarily disable or uninstall that scanner (do not browse risky sites while it’s off).
  2. Reproduce in Safe Mode with Networking. If it does not freeze in Safe Mode, a startup service or driver is the culprit. Use msconfig to perform a clean boot (hide Microsoft services, disable the rest) and re-enable items one by one to find the conflict.
  3. Check Windows logs right after a freeze with eventvwr.msc and the Reliability Monitor (perfmon /rel) for application, service, or disk errors.

Do the basic system checks:

  • Run sfc /scannow to fix corrupt system files.
  • Run chkdsk /f (and consider a full surface scan) and run a memory test (Memtest86+ or Windows Memory Diagnostic) if freezes are random.
  • Update chipset/SATA/storage drivers and BIOS; scanning often stresses I/O and uncovers driver problems.

Advanced: if comfortable, capture the scan activity with Process Explorer/Process Monitor before starting the scan to see which files or drivers are blocked. If none of this helps, consider a repair install or replacing the security product — but only after collecting logs and ruling out hardware.

Member Avatar for crunchie

Hi and welcome to the Daniweb forums :).

==========

Download and Run ATF Cleaner
Download ATF (Atribune Temp File) Cleaner© by Atribune to your desktop.

Double-click ATF Cleaner.exe to open it.

Under Main choose:
Windows Temp
Current User Temp
All Users Temp
Cookies
Temporary Internet Files
Prefetch
Java Cache
*The other boxes are optional*
Then click the Empty Selected button.

Firefox:
Click Firefox at the top and choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click NO at the prompt.

Opera:
Click Opera at the top and choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click NO at the prompt.

Click Exit on the Main menu to close the program.

==============

Download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (http://www.majorgeeks.com/Malwarebytes_Anti-Malware_d5756.html) to your desktop.

* Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
* At the end, be sure to checkmark the Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, then click Finish.
* If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version.
* Download the update from here if you have problems.
* Once the program has loaded, select Perform full scan, then click Scan.
* When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
* Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
* When completed, a log will open in Notepad.
* Post the log back here.

The log can also be found here:
C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Logs\log-date.txt
Or at C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Logs\log-date.txt

Make sure that you restart the computer.

===============

Download OTL to your Desktop.

* Double click on the icon to run it. Make sure all other windows are closed and to let it run uninterrupted.
* Under the Custom Scan box paste this in:


netsvcs
%SYSTEMDRIVE%\*.exe
/md5start
eventlog.dll
scecli.dll
netlogon.dll
cngaudit.dll
sceclt.dll
ntelogon.dll
logevent.dll
iaStor.sys
nvstor.sys
atapi.sys
IdeChnDr.sys
viasraid.sys
AGP440.sys
vaxscsi.sys
nvatabus.sys
viamraid.sys
nvata.sys
nvgts.sys
iastorv.sys
ViPrt.sys
eNetHook.dll
ahcix86.sys
KR10N.sys
nvstor32.sys
/md5stop
%systemroot%\*. /mp /s
%systemroot%\system32\*.dll /lockedfiles
%systemroot%\System32\config\*.sav
CREATERESTOREPOINT

* Click the Quick Scan button. Do not change any settings unless otherwise told to do so. The scan wont take long.

  • When the scan completes, it will open two notepad windows: OTL.txt and Extras.txt. These are saved in the same location as OTL.
  • Please copy (Edit->Select All, Edit->Copy) the contents of these files, one at a time, and post them back here.
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