[anotherdoyle]

Boy oh boy, I've been on the recieving end of some nasty seasonal "gifts".

I wish I'd found this site a few days ago but the damage is done I guess.

I tried to start my system yesturday and as soon as windows (xp) goes to the personal settings screen, my system shuts down and reboots. I get the message that says the disc needs to be checked...its does and then goes back to the settings screen.

I've tried going into safe mode to see what's going on but a friend told me to try reloading windows, I did and I have the same problem. I do see an error that points to 'vdnt3.sys' 'page_fault_in_nonpaged_area' a number of times.

I now staring at the "administrator" safe mode prompt...but have no idea where to go. Is there anything obviously wrong going on here?

Heidi

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Hi AD. Welcome to GTG.

Let us take a closer look at what is running on your PC. We'll need you to use a free diagnostic tool (HiJackThis) and post a log back here with the results.

Click the HijackThis Guide in my signature, download it and follow the instructions in the guide.

Most of what it lists will be harmless or even essential, DO NOT delete or modify anything yet! Someone will be along to tell you what steps to take after you post the contents of the scan results.

[coachwife6]

Hi AD. Welcome to GTG.

Let us take a closer look at what is running on your PC. We'll need you to use a free diagnostic tool (HiJackThis) and post a log back here with the results.

Click the HijackThis Guide in my signature, download it and follow the instructions in the guide.

Most of what it lists will be harmless or even essential, DO NOT delete or modify anything yet! Someone will be along to tell you what steps to take after you post the contents of the scan results.

[anotherdoyle]

Hi Coachwife6 - thanks for the welcome!

I got frustrated with trying to figure out where the problem files were so I dropped my system off at a shop.

The tech tells me he found "lots" of spyware on it which he said was disabling my virus protection (Norton) and the rest is ...history

He's supposed to have it ready tonight, hopefully I'll have a nice"clean" system again...until my son goes on his game sites...

Can anyone recommend the best course of action to keep my system up to par?

Thanks for your help!

[admin]

and the rest is ...history

i hope that doesn't mean they're going to reformat and reinstall.

How do you prevent spyware from being installed again? We strongly recommend installing SpywareBlaster (it's free for personal use) Click Here.

Prevent the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers, and other potentially unwanted pests.
Block spyware/tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox.
Restrict the actions of potentially dangerous sites in Internet Explorer.
Consumes no system resources.

Download, run, check for updates, download updates, select all, protect against checked. All done. Check for updates every couple of weeks. If you have any errors running the program like a missing file see the link at the bottom of the javacool page.

It's also very important to keep your system up to date to avoid unnecessary security risks. Click Here to make sure that you have the latest patches for Windows.

These next two steps are optional, but will provide the greatest protection.
1. Use ANY browser besides Internet Explorer, almost every exploit is crafted to take advantage of an IE weakness. We usually recommend FireFox .
2. Install Sun's Java. It's much more secure than Microsoft's Java Virtual Machine .

It's okay to delete the Hijack This folder if everything is working okay.

After doing all these, your system will be thoroughly protected from future threats.

[anotherdoyle]

i hope that doesn't mean they're going to reformat and reinstall.

....actually, yeah...he called me back awhile ago and said that he removed everything but something came back again and he said he had to reformat it
He said he might have it ready m-m-m-monday

the good thing is I found your great site which will keep my other comps in good condition, better late than never I guess.

Thanks for the heads up on prevention admin, I'll spend the next few days studying posts and stickies here.

Hey, Happy Holidays!

[admin]

That's too bad Heidi. Like going to get a hair-cut, and leaving with a brain transplant!

The reality is that many shops either don't know how to properly deal with these infections, or they don't want to take the time that's required to fix them.

Have a very merry Christmas!