Posts by dlh6213

You can get HijackThis from here:
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread18768.html

To use hijackthis, unzip it into it's own permanent folder before fixing anything with it so that the backups it creates cannot be deleted accidentally (not a temporary folder, directly on the drive, or directly on the desktop -- in a folder on the desktop is fine).

Example:
Click My Computer, then C:\
In the menu bar, click File, New, Folder
That will create a folder named New Folder, which you can rename to "HJT" or "HijackThis." Now you have C:\HJT\ folder; put your HijackThis.exe there.

To use hijackthis, close all browser windows, double-click on hijackthis.exe, select Do a system scan and save a log file. The scan should only take a few moments then a window will pop up to let you name the file to save (or you can just leave the default). After you hit OK, the saved log will open up; copy the entire contents of the log and paste it into the Quick Reply box here.

Have you replaced the battery yet? You should do that before trying anything else. They aren't very expensive or hard to replace.

Without knowing exactly what you've done so far, it's difficult to tell what the problem is. I would suggest going to this thread:
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread11350.html

It describes a dual-boot install, but if you just follow the instructions in the first part it should work.

Windows key + Pause/Break key = System Properties

I will try checking the battery. I found a website online that recommended first trying to leave the computer on for ~24 hours, to "recharge" it, before you decide to replace it. Do you have any other suggestions? or do you know what may have been the cause of such problem? or was it just that the computer is getting old?

i'll get back to you when i know more about the batttery!

I doubt if leaving it on is going to 'recharge' the battery, but hey, it won't cost anything to try :)

From the way you described the events, this seems like the most likely cause to me. If it's not the battery, it could be one of the other suggestions made previously (boot.ini or motherboard).

I'd try replacing the CMOS battery and see if it helps at all.

Windows key + e Opens Windows Explorer

Before fixing anything with hijackthis, please put in a permanent folder (it's now in a Temp folder) so it doesn't get deleted accidently, and so the backups it creates will be safe as well. A safe folder would be something like c:\HJT\hijackthis.exe (HJT can be whatever name you choose) :)

After you move it, close all browser windows, scan with HJT, and post a new log please.

Before you clean out all those temporary folders, you should move hijackthis to a more permanent location (like c:\HJT\hijackthis.exe) :)

If you've already deleted it, just reinstall it and put in a folder like suggest above.

After you've done the cleanup as crunchie suggested, run another Trend scan and let us know the results along with a new HJT scan.

#2, What CPU and how much RAM? OS is XP, isn't it?

Ranxston, you will need to keep IE for your Windows Updates, if nothing else.

You can try IEFix from here:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4467.html

And Winsockfix from here:
http://www.digitalminds.net/index.pl/downloads

Did the problem start after you got SP2?

System Restore usually works, but I always suggest making a backup just in case it doesn't (as recently happened in this thread: http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread20205-system+restore+registry.html)

I'm glad you got it fixed; I'll mark this thread a solved but if the problem comes back let one of the moderators know and we'll resurrect it.

Gibibyte: a unit of information or computer storage; abbreviated GiB.

1 gibibyte = 1,073,741,824 bytes

The gibibyte is closely related to the gigabyte, which can either be a synonym for gibibyte, or refer to 1,000,000,000 bytes, depending on context.

I have a few suggestions you can try.

First of all, before you manually edit the Registry, you should create a backup. At the top of the Registry window, click on the Registry menu, click Export Registry File. In the Export range panel, click All, then save your registry as Backup. Then, if the operating of your PC is affected, you have a way to restore it. Did you try running regedit from Safe Mode?

Try CWShredder, you can get it here:
http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.html

You can also try CounterSpy, link and instructions can be found in post #3 of this thread:
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread20434.html

I'm not sure if you're referring to some type of spyware that may have been installed when you downloaded the software, or if you're talking about your IP address.

What prompted you to ask this question? That may help to better answer it.

Hey Ravengal, good to see you here again. In addition to what Caperjack suggested, I'd like you to get CounterSpy from here (for your mom's computer and your own):

http://www.download.com/3000-8022_4-10337358.html

It has a 15-day free trial which will be plenty of time to get your system cleaned up, or you can purchase it for $20 (US). After you download it, install it; when asked for a registration number, just click next.

Before scanning the first time, make the following adjustments to the settings:

CounterSpy Settings

At the very top, click on File, and then Check for updates
When it’s finished updating, click the ‘Close’ button

Under ‘Spyware Scan’ on the left, click on ‘Run a spyware scan’
In the left pane, click on ‘Scan Options’
Mark ‘Full system scan’
Check all boxes under ‘Full system scan,’ including ‘Save these options’
In the right pane, near the bottom, click ‘Manage Schedule’
On the left side, select your preferred schedule options
On the right side, under ‘Scheduled Scan Options,’ check:
‘Always run a deep scan’
‘Automatically remove spyware cookies’
Click the ‘Update Schedule’ button

At the top, click on ‘System Tools’
Double-click on ‘History Cleaner’
Check the following options (if they are not grayed-out):
‘Internet Explorer History’
‘Internet Explorer Cookies’
‘Kazaa’
‘Temporary Internet Files’
Review the list for any other ‘History’ items you wish to clean

Sorry for the delay in responding to this.

Avast and AVG are two seperate antivirus programs (as far as I know); having both on your system may cause the problem you described. You should choose the one you prefer and uninstall the other.

Fresh Devices information:

Low threat - Low risk threats pose a very low risk or no immediate danger to your computer or your privacy, however these types of applications may profile user online habits, but only according to specific privacy policies stated in the applications End-User License. These types of threats generally borderline on being a threat to being a standard application that has a complex license agreement that you knowingly installed. You should examine their EULA, terms of service agreement, or privacy policy; if you like the program... keep it.

You can find some info on Netzip (this entry in your HJT log: O2 - BHO: BrowserHelper Class - {EBCDDA60-2A68-11D3-8A43-0060083CFB9C} - C:\WIN98\SYSTEM\NZDD0.DLL) at this site:

http://www.grc.com/downloaders.htm

Scan with hijackthis and have it fix the following entries:

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = http://red.clientapps.yahoo.com/cus.../search/ie.html
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://red.clientapps.yahoo.com/cus...//www.yahoo.com
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL,(Default) = http://red.clientapps.yahoo.com/cus...//www.yahoo.com
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {AB77A7BF-8C5B-486A-B547-F9AD2B41A904} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {656EC4B7-072B-4698-B504-2A414C1F0037} - (no file)

Be sure to close all windows other than HJT before hitting the Fix button.

Of the O8 entries, did …

Just another suggestion for formatting:

For the primary (boot) partition; at the A:/> prompt, type FORMAT C: /S /U (it should look like this when you're done -- A:/>FORMAT C: /S /U -- note the spaces before the slashes) and press enter.

The /S switch copies the system files onto the hdd so that you can install the setup program, and the /U switch ensures a full clean format of the drive.

For all other drives/partitions, just use A:/>FORMAT X:, substituting the X with the letter of the drive you wish to format.

You have some things to fix there, but before you do you should put HijackThis into it's own folder. To do this, right-click on your desktop, select New, Folder; give the new folder a name (like HJT or Hijackthis); after you've named it, drag the hijackthis.exe icon on your desktop into this new folder.

Then, close all browser windows, scan with HJT, and post a new log.

What OS are you using? If you have System Restore available, try going back to a date prior to when you started having trouble.

If I can't find it, then what,....up a creek?

Go ahead and post a new log; it just may have been helpful to know what has already been changed.

For future reference, you should always backup the Registry before making changes... System Restore usually works but, as you found out, not always. Here's how to do it:

If you plan to edit the Registry, you should create a backup before making any changes. At the top of the Registry window, click on the Registry menu, click Export Registry File. In the Export range panel, click All, then save your registry as Backup. Then, if the operating of your PC is affected, you have a way to restore it.

If you saved a copy of the HijackThis log before you made any changes, please post it here along with the results of a current scan.

Did you back up the Registry before making any changes to it?

This thread is being closed because a new thread has been started in the Virus forum (http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread19905.html).

Ya thats what most people think you may want to remove IE tho

You shouldn't remove IE because you still need it to get your Windows Updates :)

Is there any other way to get those files when this happens other than to call a professional?

He also installed Norton instead of Mcafee. Is it better?

The best way to get those files is to download them from a working computer and burn them onto a CD or save them on a USB flash drive. This thread may be useful:
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread16365.html

As far as antivirus protection goes, I think Norton and McAfee are pretty much equal, but Norton reportedly has more problems and uses more system resources.

A good AV program that is free is AVG, and one of the best paid-for programs is Nod32.

Apparently you've already figured out how to reinstall XP, but I'm going to include a link here for complete instructions in case anyone else reads this thread and needs to know:
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread6632.html

It may help to read this thread as well:
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread16365.html

You also need to go to Windows Update and get SP1a for XP.

Annamarie, we need to get your system cleaned up first, and then we can address the update problem. Get HijackThis from here:

http://www.merijn.org/files/hijackthis_sfx.exe

Close all browser windows, scan with hijackthis, save the log, and then copy & paste it in a new thread in the Virus forum.

I was just trying to fix IE

Did you get it fixed?

I have the same problem when going to ebay sometimes, but after trying it a few times, it eventually gets there. Wish I knew why...

The only companies I know of that have a way for you to report spoofing are ebay and PayPal; if you know of a way to report it, I'd say go for it.

MS is working on the problem, however; here's an article about if you're interested:
http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/execmail/2004/06-28antispam.asp

There is an announcement at the top of this forum stating that all hijackthis logs be posted in the Virus forum; if you decide to post a log, please do so there.

As the title says,is it ok to run regedit and find these files that ad-aware,and my avg antivirus have found,and delete each one,or will i affect the running of my pc,many thanks. ;)

If you plan to edit the Registry, you should make a backup before making any changes. At the top of the Registry window, click on the Registry menu, click Export Registry File. In the Export range panel, click All, then save your registry as Backup. Then, if the running of your PC is affected, you can restore it. You should also set a restore point before making any changes (if you have that option available).

P.S i have never had pop ups before,until i got the pc going again,and have now started to get them.?

This thread may help answer that somewhat as well as help prevent it:
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread16365.html

Some more info would be helpful, like what OS you have, more examples of when the freezing occurs, how long the freezes last, if you've recently added any hardware or software, etc.

I can think of a few possibilities off-hand; memory problems (insuffient, bad, mismatched, memory dump), overheating, or a conflict of some sort (could be hardware or software).

Problems resetting the /safeboot option in the BOOT.INI when the computer decided to never go into safe mode. I have tried reinstalling windows but no luck. Any other ideas on how I might be able to reset that option to off? PLS HELP!!!!

Did you format and reinstall Windows or do a 'Repair'? A problem like this shouldn't have carried over if you formatted and reinstalled.

Try these free online scans and let us know what the results were:

http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm

http://www.trendmicro.com/en/home/us/enterprise.htm

It could be a problem with Norton, firewall settings, or something else, but let's see what these find first.

Please start by following the steps in post #3 of this thread:
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread19661.html

(Sorry I don't have time right now to copy it all over to this one)

Try IEFix from here:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4467.html

Go to Windows Update to get the Critical Updates for your system, at least SP1.

You should post another HJT log just to be sure.

I see by your post count and Join Date that you're pretty new here, have you checked out the Geek's Lounge or any of the other forums yet? Have a look around :)

Crunchie, what about the WeatherBug?

Sorry for the delay in replying to this. You appear to have a CWS infection, please go here to get CWShredder:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/downloads/tools/CWShredder.exe

Run it and press Fix (not scan) and allow it to clean the infection. Close all windows other than Shredder before hitting the Fix button.

There's still more to do, so after you run that, close all browser windows, scan with HJT, and post a new log.

Encryption: the conversion of data into a form that cannot be easily understood by unauthorized people.

Try updating the drivers for your printer and see if that helps:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/siteHome

It's also possible this is a firewall or router related issue, did you install either of these shortly before the problem started?

The poor grammer is one tip that this is a hoax; and I don't think MS ever signs anything "Yours Faithfully." :)

This is reported to be a password-stealing trojan:
http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp?id=description&virus_k=132185

HP-A2027F3 is my model number. Where do I go to get the appropriate drivers. I don't have a CD and I'm not really finding the right stuff on Google.

Did you get that number off the motherboard??

Tips:

Create shortcuts to all your temp folders so you can access them easily. I have a folder on my desktop named 'Computer Care Kit' where I keep shortcuts to all temp folders (for all users on my computer), my history, and the utilities I use (AV, HJT, Spybot, etc.) so everything is quick and easy to access without cluttering up the desktop.

Get SpywareBlaster (link in crunchie's sig)

As far as I know it is safe to remove; you may need to boot into Safe Mode before you can remove it though.

Read this before you do it:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=875350

Hey Alex, didn't expect to see you here :)

I could make this hard by using C++: an object-oriented programming language that is viewed by many as the best language for creating large-scale applications.

But I won't.

How about COBOL: Common Business Oriented Language, the first widely-used high-level programming language for business applications.

OurNation, I think you missed part of the original post :) :

Ok I'm going to post a word, and what ever that word finishes with the next person to post must post a word starting with the last letter of the previous post EASY so if I post MAILTO the flow would go like this OBJECT, TAG.......... Oh and each reply must be technical in some way a tag a term or a name.

So I'm going to start with HTTP

I have a suggestion, how about if we include the definition of the word as well to make this thread somewhat educational? For instance:

I answer the previous post with Yottabyte -- A yottabyte is a measure of theoretical storage capacity and is 2 to the 80th power bytes or, in decimal, approximately a thousand zettabytes, a trillion terabytes, or a million trillion megabytes (written out in decimal, a yottabyte looks like this: 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176)

Let me know what you think of this idea...

Maybey these can be pinned? Please excuse me if they have already been posted or pinned in this forum. Here are 2 sites that will read hijack this logs and they are automated. No waiting for someone to read them. From every thing I have seen they are pretty acurate. Hope this helps. http://www.help2go.com/modules.php?name=HJTDetective or http://www.hijackthis.de/

I tried one of these last week (I think it was the .de one), and it marked several things as being bad that were not, and did not catch several thing that actually were bad.

With new 'baddies' coming out all the time, I don't think a program could even be made that could do an accurate fix. As far as HJT's are concerned, I think the manual method is the way to go.

Before reinstalling IE, try IEFix from here:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4467.html