help "fixing" my girlfriend's computer...

okay, now, while my girlfriend isn't computer illiterate or anything, she still needs some "reading up" on things such as spy ware, viruses and etc...

thus, i started this thread...

my girlfriend's computer is extremely slow and so i installed ad-aware on her computer and did a full-system scan...

the scan found a ridiculous number of spy ware / whatever (something like 200-300) and so i proceeded to delete them...

here is where i am having a problem:

i installed avg antivirus and did a scan and it is taking way more time than it should (i know because i use the product)...

her computer uses windows and it has multiple accounts (or whatever they are called) for each of her family members...

the antivirus scans all of these accounts (or, at least, i think it does) and it wastes time on scanning her brother's temporary internet files...

i think the path of the scanning was something like:

c/(brother's name)/temporary internet files/(and then all of the files)...

here are my questions:

is there a way to scan just her account (or is it already scanning just her account)???

also, are there any other programs / tips that you can recommend for me???

i will also try a disk defragment and etc...

thanks!!!

Before you do anything you should restart the computer in safe mode. Then go into the administrators account. There will be an option for administrator if she's running XP.

Then do a complete scan for adware with adaware and spybot search and destroy.
fileforum.betanews.com...

Then do a complete virus scan.

Then I would run ccleaner.
download.piriform.com...

Then run defrag

Then run msconfig and get rid of any startup programs which aren't needed.

Then reboot.

I think it would be easier to "fix" the brothers internet habbits.

Check to see if one arm is bigger than the other, and has he recently started wearing glasses.

My old flat mate was a pig, he would download anything and regularly, completely FUBAR my pc.

Be a good guy and get your missus her own comp for her next b-day or christmas or hanaka or devali or whatever

please excuse cultural spelling issues!!

Originally posted by ChiKeyMonKey
I think it would be easier to "fix" the brothers internet habbits.

Check to see if one arm is bigger than the other, and has he recently started wearing glasses.

LOL!
Don't forget to run the "smellchecker".

Anyway, my wife has a bad habit of downloading "cool stuff".
She has her own computer now..It still gets gunked up from time to time, with spyware..

Definitely run your spyware software against the whole drive, as well as the AVG..At least on the first run.
Does she, by chance, have an expired version of Symantec Anti virus?
I found that an older version can run multiple live updaters, each one can fail, but the process doesn't shut down. Then another update tries to run, it fails, and so on..





[edit on 5-6-2007 by spacedoubt]

Originally posted by CPYKOmega
Before you do anything you should restart the computer in safe mode. Then go into the administrators account. There will be an option for administrator if she's running XP.

i will try this and i will try all of the things that you have shared with me...

thanks!!!

Originally posted by ChiKeyMonKey
I think it would be easier to "fix" the brothers internet habbits.

Check to see if one arm is bigger than the other, and has he recently started wearing glasses.

My old flat mate was a pig, he would download anything and regularly, completely FUBAR my pc.

Originally posted by spacedoubt
Definitely run your spyware software against the whole drive, as well as the AVG..At least on the first run.

okay...

Does she, by chance, have an expired version of Symantec Anti virus?

nope...




[edit on 5-6-2007 by they see ALL]

Originally posted by they see ALL
her computer uses windows and it has multiple accounts (or whatever they are called) for each of her family members...

the antivirus scans all of these accounts (or, at least, i think it does) and it wastes time on scanning her brother's temporary internet files...

i think the path of the scanning was something like:

c/(brother's name)/temporary internet files/(and then all of the files)...

here are my questions:

is there a way to scan just her account (or is it already scanning just her account)???

also, are there any other programs / tips that you can recommend for me???

Each user that has logged on to Windows will have a folder in C:\Documents and Settings. Each user has a different Temporary Internet File Folder several folder layers under their user folder. Any good anti-virus program should definately be scanning these as this is one of the most likely sources of viri and other downloadable uglyness. In fact, you should have IE or whatever browser you use set to delete the Temproary Internet Files often. This will speed up your AV/Spyware scans as well as letting Windows take less time indexing the Hard Drive as it does periodically and in the background.

Ultimately though, almost every heavily virused/spywared/malwared Windows installation eventually goes insane. There comes a time in fighting this scourge that you reach a point of diminishing returns. Then it's better to archive your data, wipe your drive, and setup it up from scratch or using the restoration media/method recomended by your PC manufacturer. Once you have done this, you can re-install your AV and spyware software, import your possibly virused data, and scan it without it being part of or affecting Windows. No, I don't recommend doing this unless you have more than a clue. Hire a professional.

A.S.

Isn't it just a good idea to format your hdd's every so often anyway?

I was told once to do it at least once a year and have been ever sense..

It is a little trouble, but for one night each year, I commit myself and just format all of my drives..

What do you think?

Semper

As long as you keep your computer running smoothly with weekly spyware and virus checks... and as long as you defragment every now and then and run cleaner and maintenance programs you shouldn't format your drive.

I would only format as a last resort. Formatting will only fix virus, spyware, missing or corrupt file problems ect, but if you keep your computer in good working condition you shouldn't have do wipe your drive.

I have rarely had to format a computer because of adware and viruses. If you can't fix the problem with these scans though I would format, but only as a last resort.

There is no need to format once a year. It just makes more of a hassle backing up your data and reinstalling everything and isn't really that beneficial unless your system is ridden with unfixable crap.

[edit on 6-5-2007 by CPYKOmega]

But

Does it harm the HDD in anyway to format it?

Sometimes I am just bored and it is fun..

Semper

It doesn't harm the hard drive.

No, someone who knows what they are doing and doesn't download every supposedly free program they run across or sign up for every stupid website they visit probably doesn't need to reformat. However, most computer users are their own worst enemies when it comes to security and OS maintenance.

I work on PCs and Laptops for a living every weekday. I'm here to tell you that most computer issues are not caused by the Hardware or the Software. Most computer problems are caused by the Bioware.

This is why so much of the security enhancements in Windows Vista seems designed to protect the computer from the most dangerous thing it will run into, the user.

Originally posted by Ambient Sound
This is why so much of the security enhancements in Windows Vista seems designed to protect the computer from the most dangerous thing it will run into, the user.

that's cool...

Originally posted by semperfortis
Sometimes I am just bored and it is fun..

That is one of the most disturbing things I have seen on ATS and BTS, formating for fun!

One of the disk on my computer has a folder with some of the programs I used in Windows 95, so you can see that I do not format my computer disks very often. And I stopped using Windows 95 when Windows 2000 was released in January 2000.

they see ALL
One of the things I use when I suspect unwanted programs are installed on a computer is Autoruns, to see what is installed to run when the system starts. Using Autoruns you can disable suspicious programs and if, after that, you notice that they are needed, you can enable them once more.

Another good program from Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell is Process Explorer, a program that shows all running processes, unlike Windows Task Manager which hides some system processes.

You can also use RootkitRevealer, the program responsible for the finding of the Sony rootkit, but this program's output is a little more complex to understand.