Jump to content
  • Welcome Guest

    For an ad free experience on Online Baptist, Please login or register for free

Viruses...grr.


Recommended Posts

  • Members

I do NOT know how I can even remotely have virus risk to my computer, I rarely click on anything even remotely risky, and I stay usually on the same basic sites.

I had trouble with my AVG recently...Windows was reporting it turned off while it seemed to be still running. Then today I went to a website looking for quotations and suddenly some gibberish popped up and then an AVG warning. In light of the recent AVG prOBlems I had, I was afraid it was a fake popup (I did have a few other popups right before that one, wondering why they had not been prevented) so I closed it from the bottom of my screen (not clicking on the popup) and uninstalled AVG and a few other free downloads I had, and then went ahead and grudgingly downloaded Norton Security from Comcast.

Norton ran, and only found some risky cookies but no virus. Maybe there really was a virus on the quotation page and AVG stopped it? I don't know. I guess it remains to be seen. I've had a few strange things happen with my computer recently, nothing big..but you know how you know your computer almost like a kid, and then when it starts to act slightly different, you can tell something is up? Anyway...oh also my Google Chrome seems buggy at times...is it an unsecure browser? I have so many things saved on it now, I'd hate to switch but I dunno.... I think I'm one of the most careful computer users there is as far as watching out for viruses and not clicking links...but still it seems like the virus risk is everywhere nowadays...fake websites and corrupted websites and whatever.

Anyway I was just frustrated at how careful I am, and how it still seems I am running into mild trouble. Something really WAS up with AVG I think...I hope the uninstall fixed it.

Vista just released a service pack too...will download that tomorrow, hopefully it will secure things up a bit more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Recently I had clicked on to see some pictures of flowering shrubs from a Google search of flowering shrubs. I don't remember just what the page that opened in a new tab said, but it said something abut me having a virus and it would scan my computer. In the new tab it looked similar to the "My Computer' folder that will open when you click 'Start,' them click 'My Computer,' and this tab was showing it was scanning my computer, I quickly X'ed it out.

I went back to my search page and clicked on another image, it did the very same thing, only this time X'ing it out did not close the tab, I had to use the 'Task Manger' to close the browser.

I looked at some images of wasp and hornets today for not far from our church door we saw what we thought to be hornets. Sure enough looking at a few pictures from a search on Google for hornets, I found they were what are called bald faced hornets. This time this all worked well. Makes me think on the other search something was imbedded in the Google search page.

This is the only questionable thing I've had happen lately. After that happened I did scan my computer with the Microsoft Anti-Virus I'm using, it came up with nothing.

I suppose I should have paid more attention to it and what it said, but when it happened I felt the quicker I got it stopped the better off I would be.

I'm still using XP with service pact 3.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

Ha, you and computers do not always get along. :bleh: I would try running a few scans on your computer other than antivirus. I would run a good spybot cleaner and clean the registry out.

Registry Cleaner
Advanced Windows Care
Spybot

I run Advanced Windows Care and Eusing reg cleaner on a regular basis on Vista and I never have a prOBlem.
There are plenty of others that you can use, those are just the ones that came to my mind first.

As far as Chrome goes, it is as stable as you can get. Which version of Chrome are you running? If you are running a Dev. branch then it may be unstable. As of right now the stable version is 5.0.375.55.

Also, if you want to try something other than AVG you can give Avast a try.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Ha, you and computers do not always get along. :bleh: I would try running a few scans on your computer other than antivirus. I would run a good spybot cleaner and clean the registry out.

Registry Cleaner
Advanced Windows Care
Spybot

I run Advanced Windows Care and Eusing reg cleaner on a regular basis on Vista and I never have a prOBlem.
There are plenty of others that you can use, those are just the ones that came to my mind first.

As far as Chrome goes, it is as stable as you can get. Which version of Chrome are you running? If you are running a Dev. branch then it may be unstable. As of right now the stable version is 5.0.375.55.

Also, if you want to try something other than AVG you can give Avast a try.


I had Advanced Windows Care and IOBit Security as well as AVG and AdAware!!!! I have the most current version of Chrome. I never do anything risky online or click questionable links and I am careful with email as well. I do think maybe a website I visited the other day was corrupted...hm.

I downloaded Norton off Comcast now, and it made me get rid of Advanced Windows Care but honestly, on my system, the AWC seemed somewhat buggy at times anyway. The computer seems to be running well today. I also got rid of AVG because evidently something had corrupted it.

The new Norton Security from Comcast seems to have a registry cleaner and all that stuff with it as well as spyware/malware/virus protection. I know Norton acts like a virus itself in that it embeds itself pretty deeply into the system, but at least I can sue Comcast when it messes me up. (Haha just kidding.)

If I start getting buggy again I'll check out some of those links....I also saw Vista just put out a service pack so before I leave today I think I'll set my computer to get that set up too.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

You keep saying that softwares are buggy, I tend to believe that you have something on your computer that is stopping programs from working properly. You may have a program that is conflicting with something. With AWC, check to see what programs are running at start up, something may be running in the background that is conflicting with Vista.

FYI: The last SP for Vista was released a year ago. You sure there is a new one?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Bro. Matt, your a smart man, I have Eusing reg cleaner, + Spybo, Ad-Waret, & CCCleaner, SpywareBlaster, & Ad-Aware they are all pretty good. Perhaps I like CCCleaner better than Eusing for the registery. The reason is here while back, I use Microsoft Works to do my sermons, it started shutting down all of a sudden for no known reason and I would lose everything, for it would not give me the opportunity to save it. I installed all the back ups from having run Eusing, the prOBlem disappeared. I've been using CCCleaner since them. For some reason Eusing seems to have been stealing a critical part of Works.

I also have SpywareBlaster, I've had it for a very long time.

<span style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Georgia; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" class="Apple-style-span"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-family: arial, verdana, tahoma, sans-serif; color: rgb(28, 40, 55); font-size: 13.3333px; " class="Apple-style-span">I use

Seems this board did not like me giving links where Free Eusing reg cleaner & CCCleaner can be downloaded at. If anyone needs them just send me a PM.

Edited by Jerry80871852
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Ha, you and computers do not always get along. :bleh: I would try running a few scans on your computer other than antivirus. I would run a good spybot cleaner and clean the registry out.

Registry Cleaner
Advanced Windows Care
Spybot

I run Advanced Windows Care and Eusing reg cleaner on a regular basis on Vista and I never have a prOBlem.
There are plenty of others that you can use, those are just the ones that came to my mind first.

As far as Chrome goes, it is as stable as you can get. Which version of Chrome are you running? If you are running a Dev. branch then it may be unstable. As of right now the stable version is 5.0.375.55.

Also, if you want to try something other than AVG you can give Avast a try.

Possible TLDR :))

Never clean the registry. Bad, bad, bad things can potentially happen.

registry.png

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Were I at the helm. Again, this is IM (very) HO.

I would back up all my critical files to an external HDD or hosting site. I would do a complete re install of Windows get all the current updates from Windows, all the current drivers applying to your video card and other hard/software.

Go online and google firewall/antivirus software suites and see whose leading the pack for 2009/10. I found Norton really took the lead. Are there prOBlems with Norton sure they're recorded throughout the annals of the web. But, they've made significant improvements. Again, JM 0.02.

Then, I wouldn't use any other spyware anti virus suite than the one currently installed. I also would take Jerry's advice and install CCleaner and run it at least once a week. But, not to make any adjustments to the registry :P.

Check out Lifehacker for a lot of very sound computer related advice. Just as important install firefox and the add ons No Script and Flashblock. If you go to a potentially harmful website it will warn you (I believe Chrome does the same as well).

Lastly, if I were you Kita I'd burn an Ubuntu ISO image to disc (totally easy I promise). Boot your comp from the disc and have it check your memory. The memory may be going bad. Ubuntu.

All the above JM 0.02. I' ve mad many errors myself and have had to learn the hard way just what works and doesn't. I did many of the same things y'all did to get the comp running a little better and yes faster.

Respectfully Submitted,

Br Steve

Gal. 2.20 Edited by MilkmanDan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

You keep saying that softwares are buggy, I tend to believe that you have something on your computer that is stopping programs from working properly. You may have a program that is conflicting with something. With AWC, check to see what programs are running at start up, something may be running in the background that is conflicting with Vista.

FYI: The last SP for Vista was released a year ago. You sure there is a new one?


Maybe I downloaded too many spyware blockers or something, I dunno...I know something was up with AVG.

I am not sure about the SP....the "live update" reported I needed to download it. Now, its very possible I've ignored it for a year. haha. It was 5-point-something or other.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I do want to ask about a program I had called "smart defrag".... I uninstalled it many months ago, but evidently it still has some fragments imbedded because I keep getting it popping up that I need to upload an update to the program...but the program is no longer on my computer. I have Revo Uninstaller and it doesn't help me with it either....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Another question...lately I've been getting alot of spam emails on my regular email address, which in the past I've avoided pretty well...I have a junk yahoo address I generally use if I sign up for anything questionable.

Can that be from some sort of tracking cookies or something? Norton found 89 cookies it got rid of, but no viruses or malware. Today the computer seems pretty stable but I uninstalled all my security programs except Norton.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators
Never clean the registry. Bad, bad, bad things can potentially happen.


Actually, I disagree with you on that. Not cleaning the registry is like not changing the oil in your car. Plus, every good registry cleaner now makes a backup/restore point where one can easily restore.
Too many prOBlems with computers is a prOBlem in the registry. Windows has a bad prOBlem of not doing a good enough of a jOB on removing software bits from the registry. I've seen some people computer load things in the registry that they deleted 3-4 years ago.

CCleaner is not bad, the only reason why I do not use it is because I did not like the name of it. I thought it was kind of crude, but that is just me. Otherwise it is not a bad piece of software.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Actually, I disagree with you on that. Not cleaning the registry is like not changing the oil in your car. Plus, every good registry cleaner now makes a backup/restore point where one can easily restore.
Too many prOBlems with computers is a prOBlem in the registry. Windows has a bad prOBlem of not doing a good enough of a jOB on removing software bits from the registry. I've seen some people computer load things in the registry that they deleted 3-4 years ago.

CCleaner is not bad, the only reason why I do not use it is because I did not like the name of it. I thought it was kind of crude, but that is just me. Otherwise it is not a bad piece of software.


Amen! So true!

Suzie, PrOBably some spammers got your email address, that would be my guess, there are so many ways they can get it, even from friends.

Oh, that program your speaking of, there is prOBably parts of it left in you registry, and that is why you get the reminder to update that program.

Mine got real bad several months back I ran both Free Eusing and CCCleaner to clean my registry, it fixed it right up.



Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I've cleaned my registry with Advanced Windows Care AND Norton and neither has cleaned out the Smart Defrag thing...I guess I'd have to find it manually...somehow...I don't know how. haha.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...