[grey5730]

Hi there UKBiker!

All seems well now, and I've been accessing his machine via pcAnywhere, so Errant Nephew's presence is superfluous in the final stages of this fix. I also warned him about his, shall we say, unsafe surfing practices. I realise that malware is everywhere, but I know my own nephew!

I'm going to have to go back and reinstall the Microsoft AntiSpyware, the SpywareGuard, Spyware Blaster and a few other things, since they were all lost in the systems restore.

As for CleanUp, we'll leave that alone, since you said there's some question as to its implication in cases of missing files. As soon as possible I'm going to get the Spybot on both of these machines. The Spybot tutorials are going to be near the top of my Mandatory Reading List.

So, I think we can safely put this one behind us.

Thanks for all the help and encouragement!

Cheers,
Grey

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Hi Grey



This is the bit I really Like, just do the defrag bit now as you have done all the rest



Congratulations , your log is clean

Just a general clean up now and we are done

Now you have to clean out your temporary files and flush your restore points:

• Start | Run | type cleanmgr | OK
• Let it scan your system for files to remove.
• Make sure Temporary Files, Temporary Internet Files, and Recycle Bin are the only things checked.
• Click "OK" to remove them.
• Click "Yes" to confirm the deletion.

Flush System Restore.

To reset your restore points, please note that you will need to log into your computer with an account which has full administrator access. You will know if the account has administrator access because you will be able to see the System Restore tab. If the tab is missing, you are logged in under a limited account.

(Windows XP)
1. Turn off System Restore.
On the Desktop, right-click My Computer.
Click Properties.
Click the System Restore tab.
Check Turn off System Restore.
Click Apply, and then click OK.

2. Reboot.

3. Turn ON System Restore.
On the Desktop, right-click My Computer.
Click Properties.
Click the System Restore tab.
UN-Check *Turn off System Restore*.
Click Apply, and then click OK.

4. Finally Defragment your hard Drive.


So now that your PC is clean, how do you keep it that way?

The single most important measure is this. Keep your copy of XP fully up to date after that,

Here are some tips, to reduce the potential for spyware infection in the future, I strongly recommend installing the following applications:

Detect and Remove Programs:

• How to use Ad-Aware to remove Spyware <= If you suspect that you have spyware installed on your computer, here are instructions on how to download, install and then use Ad-Aware.
• How to use Spybot to remove Spyware <= If you suspect that you have spyware installed on your computer, here are instructions on how to download, install and then use Spybot. Similar to Ad-Aware, I strongly recommend both to catch most spyware.

Prevention Programs:

• Spywareblaster <= SpywareBlaster will prevent spyware from being installed.
• Spywareguard <= SpywareGuard offers realtime protection from spyware installation attempts.
• IE/Spyad <= IE/Spyad places over 4000 websites and domains in the IE Restricted list which will severely impair attempts to infect your system. It basically prevents any downloads (Cookies etc) from the sites listed, although you will still be able to connect to the sites.
• MVPS Hosts file <= The MVPS Hosts file replaces your current HOSTS file with one containing well know ad sites etc. Basically, this prevents your coputer from connecting to those sites by redirecting them to 127.0.0.1 which is your local computer
• Google Toolbar <= Get the free google toolbar to help stop pop up windows.

Other necessary Programs:

• AntiVirus Program<= An AntiVirus program is a must! Whether it is a free version like AVG or Anti-Vir, or a shareware version like Norton or Kapersky, this is a must have.
• Firewall<= A firewall is definatley a must have. Two good free versions are Sygate and ZoneLabs.
• More Secure Browser<= Internet Explorer is not the most secure and best browser. There are safer alternatives available. ConsiderFirefox, however Opera and SlimBrowsers are good as well.

And also see TonyKlein's good advice
Spyware Aid's spyware article: Spyware, Adware, Malware: What it is, how it got on my computer, how to get rid of it, and how to prevent it.

Glad to have been of help

[ukbiker]

Hi Grey



This is the bit I really Like, just do the defrag bit now as you have done all the rest



Congratulations , your log is clean

Just a general clean up now and we are done

Now you have to clean out your temporary files and flush your restore points:

• Start | Run | type cleanmgr | OK
• Let it scan your system for files to remove.
• Make sure Temporary Files, Temporary Internet Files, and Recycle Bin are the only things checked.
• Click "OK" to remove them.
• Click "Yes" to confirm the deletion.

Flush System Restore.

To reset your restore points, please note that you will need to log into your computer with an account which has full administrator access. You will know if the account has administrator access because you will be able to see the System Restore tab. If the tab is missing, you are logged in under a limited account.

(Windows XP)
1. Turn off System Restore.
On the Desktop, right-click My Computer.
Click Properties.
Click the System Restore tab.
Check Turn off System Restore.
Click Apply, and then click OK.

2. Reboot.

3. Turn ON System Restore.
On the Desktop, right-click My Computer.
Click Properties.
Click the System Restore tab.
UN-Check *Turn off System Restore*.
Click Apply, and then click OK.

4. Finally Defragment your hard Drive.


So now that your PC is clean, how do you keep it that way?

The single most important measure is this. Keep your copy of XP fully up to date after that,

Here are some tips, to reduce the potential for spyware infection in the future, I strongly recommend installing the following applications:

Detect and Remove Programs:

• How to use Ad-Aware to remove Spyware <= If you suspect that you have spyware installed on your computer, here are instructions on how to download, install and then use Ad-Aware.
• How to use Spybot to remove Spyware <= If you suspect that you have spyware installed on your computer, here are instructions on how to download, install and then use Spybot. Similar to Ad-Aware, I strongly recommend both to catch most spyware.

Prevention Programs:

• Spywareblaster <= SpywareBlaster will prevent spyware from being installed.
• Spywareguard <= SpywareGuard offers realtime protection from spyware installation attempts.
• IE/Spyad <= IE/Spyad places over 4000 websites and domains in the IE Restricted list which will severely impair attempts to infect your system. It basically prevents any downloads (Cookies etc) from the sites listed, although you will still be able to connect to the sites.
• MVPS Hosts file <= The MVPS Hosts file replaces your current HOSTS file with one containing well know ad sites etc. Basically, this prevents your coputer from connecting to those sites by redirecting them to 127.0.0.1 which is your local computer
• Google Toolbar <= Get the free google toolbar to help stop pop up windows.

Other necessary Programs:

• AntiVirus Program<= An AntiVirus program is a must! Whether it is a free version like AVG or Anti-Vir, or a shareware version like Norton or Kapersky, this is a must have.
• Firewall<= A firewall is definatley a must have. Two good free versions are Sygate and ZoneLabs.
• More Secure Browser<= Internet Explorer is not the most secure and best browser. There are safer alternatives available. ConsiderFirefox, however Opera and SlimBrowsers are good as well.

And also see TonyKlein's good advice
Spyware Aid's spyware article: Spyware, Adware, Malware: What it is, how it got on my computer, how to get rid of it, and how to prevent it.

Glad to have been of help

[ukbiker]

Oh yeah..


Welcome to GeekU

[grey5730]

Hiya,

Will get right on it to tie up the final threads very shortly (on phone, important call, give me a few minutes). We did the defrag last night, as well as the cleanup and restore points purge, but will do it again if you want to be absitively-posolutely certain. :-)

Cheers,
Grey

[grey5730]

Oh yeah..
Welcome to GeekU

Thankee, thankee, thankee! I've already started perusing the library, but got waylaid with a few other problems here today, not the least of which is why I'm on the phone at the moment -- and speaking of which, I'm still on phone, solving a friend's computer problems -- how ironic!

Back as soon as I can. I'm HOPING this won't be too terribly involved!

Cheers,
Grey

[grey5730]

I've again run the cleannmgr, turned off the systems restore, and rebooted, but before it completely started up we got an error message about Microsoft Visual C++ Debug Library, saying: Debug assertion failed! Program:C:\ProgramFiles\SEC\NaturalColor\NaturalColorLoad.exe File:C:\WORK\nc2_20020220\... and then a bunch of special characters. Can't cut and paste, sorry. Then it says: Line:124 For more information on...blahblahblah. Then there are the requisite 3 buttons at the bottom: Abort Retry Ignore

Is this something we should be worried about?

Grey

[ukbiker]

Hi There Grey

Naturalcolourload is a screen adjustment utility from Sony. I have managed to find a few reports of this error, but no solutions so far. Apart from that message, does the machine boot up OK?

[grey5730]

Hi Ho UKBiker,

Sorry for delay, was AFK for a couple of hours.

Yes, the machine runs fine, and even that little error message, scary though it may be, hasn't seemed to affect the monitor in any way. Resolution looks fine, colours are fine, everything looks the same (I checked it out thoroughly, since I use HIS machine for certain artwork and printing jobs that my little laptop can't handle). Wonder if this is just some sort of hiccough. 'Sound and fury signifying nothing'?

Anyhow, everything else is good to go. The system restore is turned back on, and the drive has been defragmented again. I think we're in the clear!

Cheers,
Grey

[ukbiker]

Hi Grey

Great. If that error message happens again, post a new topic about it in the XP board.

[grey5730]

Hey there UKBiker,

If it happens again, I most assuredly will. Even though it appears that nothing is truly wrong, things like that irk me no end, and there's no rest in my bum until I can find an answer (read: Grey is a needlebutt extraordinaire).

I'm headed for some research and library work now, and maybe the live chat (I have a few Geek Student questions! LOL!)

Cheers,
Grey

Edited by grey5730, 11 October 2005 - 06:36 PM.

[ukbiker]

Since this issue appears to be resolved ... this Topic has been closed. Glad we could help.

If you're the topic starter, and need this topic reopened, please contact a staff member with the address of the thread.

Everyone else please begin a New Topic.