Computer Virus Help

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CaptainZion
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Computer Virus Help

Post by CaptainZion »

Hi clan mates and friends. After a long break I am back into this game and ready to learn and enjoy playing with all of you. (If you see me online just send a message I would love to play you guys in matches.) Any who I have a dell computer that runs window xp. I am having troubles with the speed of my computer its very sluggish. The turn on takes about 40 mins and while surfing the internet I can online have one page open or I lag very badly. I use shaw secure for virus scans but nothing is ever found. I also use spybot search and destroy also nothing. Recently I just used bit defender and it is still slow. Also I clean delete all cookies and what not from the internent to try and speed it up also I have taken off unnecessary programs, and adjusted what programs load on start up. I am not sure what this virus is from I assume its from a website that is not for kids. (If you know what i mean) Any insight on this subject is greatly appreciated. What virus scans do you use? Are they free? Hopefully I have given you guys enough info so you can help me. Thanks in advance.
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StrokeyBlofeld
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Re: Computer Virus Help

Post by StrokeyBlofeld »

I assume that because of the speed everything is taking that your resources are being taken up by the problem.
Have you used task manager to find out what proccesses are taking up your memory/CPU? This may help you, but without any more definitive info it's really hard to say what your problem is here.
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Hydrovert5
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Re: Computer Virus Help

Post by Hydrovert5 »

You should download XoftSpy - http://www.xoftspy.com/

Very helpful software, and if you are willingly browsing dubious websites, you should at least always have your firewall turned on. This minimizes the risk of your computer becoming infected with trojans, viruses, and other nasty malware.

There's also a program available for you to download that notifies you of any registry changes that are being made. When you download something IE. a recorded game, it will notify you immediatly and ask you to confirm the change was of your decision. The name of it escapes me at the moment though.

Another way to see if you've been infected with malware is to go to Start > Search > All Files & Folders and leave the search bar blank, filter the results for files that have been edited in the past week. If you run your finger down the list, you should recognise immediatly any files that you don't recognise.

Another couple of quick solutions would be to clear the DNS cache - right-click your network connections icon in the system tray or go to My Computer > Control Panel > Network Connections to click it from there. Click repair and see if it helps at all. The other way would be to go back to a system restore point (if one is available) and see if you can restore your PC back to the settings in which it was running fast.

Alternatively, and I mean this should be a last resort, you could reformat the infected HDD (hard disk drive). You'll lose all data for that drive, so at least make sure you take backups.

Essentially, the only way you'll be completely secure on your PC is to stop visiting dubious websites and run your anti-virus often.

Let me know if this helps at all?
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RascalJones
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Re: Computer Virus Help

Post by RascalJones »

Bit Defender sucks.....MAJOR resource hog, even though it claims otherwise.
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I__CHAOS__I
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Re: Computer Virus Help

Post by I__CHAOS__I »

AVG is free and has a good reputation, I used it at home and never got any meanies on my pc... here in china is acts weird tho, not sure why.
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Hydrovert5
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Re: Computer Virus Help

Post by Hydrovert5 »

Yeah I was going to mention AVG - very nice bang for your buck, considering it's free. :)
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Re: Computer Virus Help

Post by wicked_assassin »

my answer: if you got a cd of your windows, etc... format
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deadhanddan
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Re: Computer Virus Help

Post by deadhanddan »

have you tried registrywell? it scans your comp for any and all registry errors , i have used it an i couldn't believe the difference in boost in performance after wards here is a link to the website registrywell try the free download to scan your comp maybe and get a detailed list of anything that can be potentially harmful to your comp's performance , then decide where to go from there
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CaptainZion
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Re: Computer Virus Help

Post by CaptainZion »

I am scared to format wicked assassin. I did that to my 98 and well it took weeks of hard work to get it to work again. Also I do not have an xp cd if i were to do that is there a way to do this for free? thanks for the help guys. It is hard to choose what program to run these scans. What do you know about spybot is it a good program?
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deadhanddan
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Re: Computer Virus Help

Post by deadhanddan »

[quote=""CaptainZion""]I am scared to format wicked assassin. I did that to my 98 and well it took weeks of hard work to get it to work again. Also I do not have an xp cd if i were to do that is there a way to do this for free? thanks for the help guys. It is hard to choose what program to run these scans. What do you know about spybot is it a good program?[/quote] spybot is very good , i use it as well , try registrywell -if error persist try spybot
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IndyBrit
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Re: Computer Virus Help

Post by IndyBrit »

[quote=""CaptainZion""]I am scared to format wicked assassin. I did that to my 98 and well it took weeks of hard work to get it to work again. Also I do not have an xp cd if i were to do that is there a way to do this for free? thanks for the help guys. It is hard to choose what program to run these scans. What do you know about spybot is it a good program?[/quote]

If you have a Dell, it came with a restore disk and they will send you a replacement restore disk for free (they sent mine even after the warranty). That restore disk brings you back to where you were when you got it and works like a charm. Any programs you picked up along the way will, of course, be gone and need to be replaced.

Something along these lines happened to me about 6 months ago and all the virus scan programs in the world (free and otherwise) couldn't put humpty together again, but the restore worked great.

Good luck...
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Re: Computer Virus Help

Post by cheesehat »

For all we know, seeing as none of the spyware scans popped up with anything it could just be a hardware error, i.e. you smashed ur comp accidentally and the RAM dislodged

Also, (stole idea from failblog.org) check if there is any funny messages/irregularities popping up.

For example:

Result: [No spyware was foundED]

This could include small things, such as a missing hyphen, extra comma, etc
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Kaiser_von_Nuben
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Re: Computer Virus Help

Post by Kaiser_von_Nuben »

[quote=""Hydrovert5""]Yeah I was going to mention AVG - very nice bang for your buck, considering it's free. :)[/quote]

True. I had a terrible infection a few months ago. After clearing it out, removing unnecessary programs and making some registry changes, installed AVG and do a daily update/scan. My connection speed and performance has been excellent ever since.

Zion, if you can't get rid of the problem yourself, take it to the professionals. I guarantee they can clean that baby out for you in less than 2 hours.
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ruminator
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Re: Computer Virus Help

Post by ruminator »

The slowdown while running may indicate malware on your PC, but I think the fact that it takes you 40 minutes to boot up means there is a hardware fault - possibly a corrupt hard drive.

If you're not up to swapping bits about yourself then a trip to the PC doctor is called for. You do need to get hold of a copy of your XP disk though as a reinstall seems almost inevitable ...
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CaptainZion
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Re: Computer Virus Help

Post by CaptainZion »

If you have a Dell, it came with a restore disk and they will send you a replacement restore disk for free (they sent mine even after the warranty). That restore disk brings you back to where you were when you got it and works like a charm. Any programs you picked up along the way will, of course, be gone and need to be replaced.
[/quote]

My dell computer didn't come with one of those discs. It had all the information preloaded on the the hard drive. So if i call dell would they send me a disc for free or would I have to pay. I am pretty sure my warranty ran out.
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