[Roshith]

There are a lot of posts on the site where people complain that their computer is running slow.

And the first few steps that the person is told to take is always the same....so i thought i'd help save some time and list the steps people before posting here on the site.

Following these steps will get more than half your problem solved and it will be easier for others to help you improve your computers performance.

First, do a free online scan to eliminate the possibility of viruses. Run atleast one of these or run BOTH of them if you can .

Trend Micro's Housecall Online Virus Scan

Panda Software

After you have done that, download Ad-aware from Here.Instal it and download the latest updates. After that, run the scan. This will eliminate most adware that is on your system. It is very important that you have the latest updates.

Then, download Spybot Search & Destroy from Here .Install and download the latest updates. Run it. This will help to remove some more adware that were not found by Ad-aware.

After you have done that,download the latest version of Hijackthis from Here.Download it and install it to its own permanent folder. Run hijackthis and DONT FIX ANYTHING! Instead, post the log on the site and more knowledgeable people will tell you what to remove and what not.

Using a firewall also helps to prevent unauthorized access to your computer. Zonealarm is a good one.

Posting your hijackthis logs after running all the above programs will make it a lot easier for people on this site to help you solve the problem.

Hope you have found this post useful.

[rez410]

ok my problem is whenever i get on the internet i cant go to any website b/c whenever i type in the web address and hit enter the "can not be displayed " comes up. and where the web address is that i typed is changed. i.e. www.yahoo.com i hit enter then it changes to http:///020yahoo.com. or something really close to that. i do have spybot and i ran that but it didnt help. i cant do panda b/c i cant get to the page. what should i do?
thanks
ross

[Mastertech]

Step 1 and 2 of Optimize XP will do the same (a little more thorough) and prevent reinfection.

[Roshith]

ross...i cant really think of any solution to your problem. Why dont u try posting a thread on the "internet" forums?

[Roshith]

and mastertech.....thanks for the link..

[rez410]

ok today i ran ad-aware SE and spywareBlaster. I also ran spybot last night. It found like 24 things but it could only delete like 15. Also today when i started up my computer it was REALLY messing up. I had a hard time just starting windows. So i have used them 3 programs. but still having the internet problem. Im thinking since my computer is so new, would it be smart to just save everything i need (which isnt much) on a flash disk and just restore?? Then install avast anti-virus before i go back online?

[Fidelista]

Originally Posted by rez410

ok today i ran ad-aware SE and spywareBlaster. I also ran spybot last night. It found like 24 things but it could only delete like 15. Also today when i started up my computer it was REALLY messing up. I had a hard time just starting windows. So i have used them 3 programs. but still having the internet problem. Im thinking since my computer is so new, would it be smart to just save everything i need (which isnt much) on a flash disk and just restore?? Then install avast anti-virus before i go back online?

Hello Rez. Go here >>>>> http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3155.html
and download this program---save it to a folder.
Double -click it {no install is required} and choose scan. DO NOT "FIX" anything.
Save log--- and copy the results to the Security Forum.
If Spybot or Adaware cannot remove an identified item/items, other means have to be used. My best >f

[grundelman]

download and run winsock fix from http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html

Also download and run the beta version of Microsoft Antispyware, you can download it from there site...... very nice piece of work!!!

[Big-K]

As I remember, being unable to remove an item doesnt mean its required, but that its in use at that moment in time. It's the same as if your trying to replace a system file, you have to go into dos mode or use Replacer to do it.

[Roshith]

I have been using Microsoft's Anti Spyware beta for a while and i must say that it is very good.
You should use it in addition to ad-aware and spybot s&d.

[bkpeck]

That's a very good link Mastertech! I downloaded XP Antispy....Great

[pctech_wannabe]

Roshith,getting back to your original post,you may want to include in that to disable system restore before doing the scans so viruses cant restore themselves. Just a thought.

[Mastertech]

Ad-aware by default scans system restore and Avasts boot time scan will as well.