ScanSpyware is a questionable product; it is believed to return "false positives" to entice you to purchase/upgrade. The company that makes ScanSpyware also apparently advertizes on sites known to distribute the CoolWebSearch trojan. Use only trusted anti-spyware programs such as Ad Aware and SpyBot.
Much more like like flash-upgrading your computer's BIOS, and as alc6379 mentioned, you shouldn't do it unless you're positive that it will fix your specific problem- a botched firmware upgrade can definitely turn your router into a paperweight.
A lot of manufacturers will suggest upgrading firmware, drivers, and the like as part of their "canned answer" to a wide variety of problems, but since you say that the router worked fine for months and that you've made no changes, I'd hold off on the firmware upgrade until you've eliminated any other possibilities.
Try bentkey's suggestion first; the modem does need to be turned off if you connect a different device to it, and yes- you may need to adjust the network settings on the computer.
Both routers and modems can fail in "soft" ways; a defective device could definitely exhibit the symptoms you describe.
I'd suggest learning Linux specifically at this point, as it is quickly gaining popularity in many areas. Additionally, as Linux is part of the "UNIX family", what you learn about Linux will translate pretty well to other *NIX operating systems.
A great way to start learning Linux without even having to install it on your computer is to get one of the "Live" Linux versions which runs soley off of a CD. Knoppix is probably the most popular distribution of this type, but there are many others. Although these versions of Linux will run more slowly than a version which you install directly to hard drive, because they do not alter your hard drive at all, you don't have to worry about modifying your existing (probably Windows) system in any way. Of course, if you want to dive right in to the real thing, you can either make a partition for Linux on your current hard drive or add a second drive just for Linux. If you currently have Windows installed on the machine you want to put Linux on, the Windows installation should be detected during the Linux installation process, and Linux will automatically configure your system to give you a choice of loading either Win or Linux when you boot.
There are tons of online Linux resources, the Linux Documentation Project being one of the most comprehensive. The site has a huge collection of online books, guides, HOW-TOs, etc. covering aspects of Linux …
Basically, all they do is change the ID of the partition on disk. You can change it to say "Hidden FAT32"...
Yup. When you first create/format a partition, it is marked with a two-digit Hexidecimal ID which identifies attributes of the partition such as the filesystem type (FAT, FAT32, ext2, etc.), whether the partition is Primary or Extended, and other things. The "hidden" attribute is available for most filesystem types, and can be changed with a number of tools, including the Linux version of fdisk.
As mentioned, Linux's support for writing to NTFS is still "experimental" and not recommended. The traditional workaround in a dual-boot system is to create a separate FAT32 partition in which to store data you want to share between Windows and Linux; both operating systems fully support read and write operations to FAT partitions.
You might want to choose the "Prompt" option instead of "Enable" for Active X; allowing any and all Active X controls to run makes your system more prone to infection by spyware, trojans, hijacks, etc. With the options set to "Prompt" at least you'll be asked for permission before a control is allowed to run.
I'm sorry, but I don't know the exact filename of that particular program; is there no documentation on the program which might help you out? Try using the commands below to find it. The commands will search your PATH for executable program names which contain the text you specify (in this case, "xine":
which xine whereis xine
Linux is case-sensitive, so you might also try those commands using an upper-case "x" as well.
If you're using a graphical "Explorer"-type filemanager you should be able to just click or double-click on the filename to run it. As I said earlier, typing the filename at a command prompt will do the same thing.
In terms of Mounting and viewing your Windows partition, the problem is that Red Hat 9 does not, for some reason, support NTFS filesystems at all by default. You either have to compile NTFS support into your kernel, or use third-party NTFS drivers. The following Google link has more info on the whole issue:
That first partition is probably a Dell "diagnostic" partition; I know that HP/Compaq put such beasts on their machines.
You shouldn't see a noticeable speed difference between NTFS and FAT32, so I doubt that's what you're experiencing. Have you installed any programs or enabled any services which might be eating up some system resources? Things like "disk indexing" can cause the system to appear more sluggish.
If you've changed nothing in your configuration which might have caused the speed drop, I'd run a line test to verify the integrity of the physical connection to your phone company. I know that US Robotics has such a test, but unfortunately it's currently offline; a Google search should turn up some other sites which offer the test. You could also try calling your phone company and asking them if they know of anything which occured to the wiring in your area that might account for the change in your connection speed.
I've never seen a description of that little piece of its functionality before. I knew it was an optional component, but I didn't know it "phoned home" to Realtek. If true, I guess that does make it spyware.
The " O4 - HKLM\..\Run:" entries that you see in the HJT log are programs that have inserted themselves into your system's registry in such a way that they are automagically started each time you boot your computer. To find/view/edit/delete these entries:
Choose "run" under your Start menu and type "regedit" (omit the quotes) in the resulting dialog box; this will open the registry editor. In the registry editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run. Do not make any deletes/changes here unless you know what you're doing or have been given specific instructions! Many of these "autostarted" programs will be legit, but "malware" programs can insert themselves there as well.
When you ask HJT to fix "04" entries, it will only remove the registry values which start these programs, but it will not delete the offending programs themselves- hence the need to "fix" the entries with HJT and then reboot. In other words, HJT will remove the "autostart" registry entries so that the program will not start the next time you boot, which should (because the program has not been "asked" to run at startup) allow you to delete it.
memtest does a fairly long and intensive scan. It will make many repeated passes of its tests; but if none of the passes report errors you're RAM is most probably OK.
By the way- the term "memory leak" refers to a bug in software which causes a program not to free up memory that it is no longer actually using; it is not a hardware issue.
I'm moving this to our Security forum. Please read the many "bridge.dll"-related threads in that forum- the error is the result of "spyware" on your system. You'll want to thoroughly check your machine for spyware, but to fix the bridge.dll error specifically:
Choose "run" under your Start menu and type "regedit" (omit the quotes) in the resulting dialog box; this will open the registry editor.
In the registry editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run. Right-click on the entry with the bridge.dll reference and choose "delete".
If you're going to still be using IE at all, make sure you use Windows Update to install the lastest critical fixes; some recently-discovered security holes in IE have been addresses in these patches.
I don't see anything suspicious in your new log; is there a chance the problem is not malware-related? It could be something going on with your network/Internet connection, a problem on your ISP's end, etc.
You could try downloading a different browser (Netscape, Opera, or Firefox) to see if the problem is specific to IE or not.
Hit the "F8" key just as or just before the "Starting Windows" type message appears. The timing can be kind of tricky; if you hit F8 too late your computer will boot into normal statup mode. If that happens, reboot and just start tapping the F8 key a little earlier as the computer is restarting.
Once you get into the "safe mode" boot options screen, just choose the plain "Safe Mode" option.
Bummer- I had a feeling that would happen, but thought it might be worth a try.
Is there any way for you to get your hands on another disk check/fix utilitiy like Norton Utilities or the like? Something like that might be able to fix the problem(s).
I assume the poster has seen and read the sticky at the top of the page...
Unfortunately, most people don't. I don't blame them though- we're used to the "etiquette" of tech support forums because we've worked on them for awhile, but the average user who, until this onslaught of malware, has rarely or never had to avail themselves of such services probably doesn't even know that there are guidelines for sites such as ours.
maybe an extra button should be added for submitting a post in the techsupport forum labeled "SUBMIT HJT log". where the bb could either move the entire post to the secuirty form, or create a new post there.
That is a great idea IMO. I'll pass it by Dani; she'd be the one who would have to implement it if it can actually be done.
I'd agree with the above; the condition of the phone line is most important factor in getting (or not) a good connection speed. A degradation in line quality anywhere between you and your telco's CO will result in a poorer connection speed.
Also, where are you getting the 12-18k figures? Those aren't normal modem connections speeds; are you refering to download speeds? If so, how are you measuring them?
Linux can read/copy files from NTFS filesystems, but the Linux NTFS driver has only (very) limited support for writing to NTFS at this time. More info and possible workaraounds for the write limitations can be found here:
As for xine, you don't open it with anything; it's an executable program in and of itself. Most executables end up in /bin, /usr/bin, or in /usr/local (I think xine ends up /usr/local; can't verify that now though). To run it from the command line you simply type the filename and hit Enter. As I mentiioned earlier, you can also create a link to it on your desktop.
Open Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer), go to the Tools menu, and select Folder Options. In the resulting window, click on the View tab and under Advanced Settings, check the "show hidden files and folder" option.
You should then be able to navigate to the Word startup folder and view the contents. If that doesn't work, repost here.
If by chance you get an error when you start Windows that alludes to bridge.dll not being found (which can happen once spyware removal utilities delete the file):
1. In the "run..." dialog box in your Start menu, type "regedit" (omit the quotes)
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->Software->Microsoft->Windows->CurrentVersion->Run
3. In the right-hand pane of the editor, locate the entry which references bridge.dll
As bentkey alluded to- if you still see some of the activity, you still have active nasties in your system that need to go. The router may be able to be configured to block outgoing attempts to "phone home", but the programs responsible for the activity are still alive and festering on you machine.
This being your first post here I'm sure that you aren't aware of our posting guidelines, but we do ask that members not tag their questions on to a thread previously started by another member. Answering multiple members' problems in a single thread can quickly get quite confusing.
Please post your question in its own thread (in this forum), and have a read through the following guidelines for more info on how/what/where to post in our forums:
Glad the info in that old post did the trick! I saw it as well but wasn't sure if it would be the fix in you particular situation, which is why I suggested a broader search.
Judging from the ~ in it's name, I'd guess that file is an "orphaned" temp file. It should be in the startup folder specified in Word's "File Locations" preferences, but it may be hidden, so you should set Windows Explorer's View options to show all files in order to see (and delete it).
Not sure about msn, but quite a few other people seem to have had similar problems with their msn (and hotmail) logins. You might want to do a search here and at Google for "msn" "login".
