Would Kapaskey fix my problem

[leon]

Hi Guys, yes this is another post about the same slow computer as before, however a different question.

I run XP have only Microsoft essentials as my virus protection, and that seems to have served me well.

The question is this: if i have a virus or slow computer and i bought a new virus protection, say Kapaskey or similar would that sort out all the bugs in my computer.

Thank you.

Leon :thumbsup:

[mithrandir]

Leon, AVG free edition has served me well for years, but none of the A/V products will clean up all the damage done by some of the viruses/trojans/etc.
CCleaner and Malwarebytes do a pretty good job of fixing what they can, but in some cases a complete wipe and reinstall is the only way to go.

[noeyedeer]

hi Leon,
shame it's still slow :(. AVG is excellent for free, would be better than Microsoft's that you're using. Kaspersky is decent as well for $40 and I think that's with a 2 year license.

as was mentioned in the other thread, ctrl-alt-del and run task manager and look for any conspicuous programs running and or hogging cpu.

if there's any dodgy looking ones, Google the exact file etc and it should tell you if it's meant to be running or not.

also I thought Microsoft stopped updating xp after they realeased service pack 3, so I doubt you've had any updates for a few years.

matt

[AndrewJ]

Gday Matt



Nope. The problem i alluded to in the other thread is as a result of "windows update" disappearing up its own black hole. Happened as recently as 4 weeks ago ;)

Andrew

[leon]

Well guys have checked the the cpu usage and all programs are running normal, so it is probably elsewhere, as mentioned a reinstall might be the way to go if i cant find a solution.

thanks for your help.

Leon

[noeyedeer]

thanks for that Andrew.
maybe it's Microsoft's new way to make people upgrade to windows 8. lol that sucks :(

good luck Leon

[leon]

Buy the way guys, as i was checking the cpu usage it also told me that it had 2.8 gig of RAM, however there are 2x2gig installed, could one be faulty, causing the slow speed.

leon

[noeyedeer]

when you reboot, how much ram is stated when it checks the memory? if it says 4096mb then you should be ok.

that's probably free memory in task manager. also check device manager to make sure there's no errors on your hdd controllers etc.

ps been a long time since I've used xp.

[BlackWidow]

Thats normal Leon.. Often some of you RAM is used for other computer functions like virtual drives and your Video card...

[noeyedeer]

also Leon, when you say windows takes ages to load, is that when the windows screen comes on, or from the very beginning when you reboot?

how does it run in safe mode? if you have a friend nearby that knows about your win.ini config.sys autoexec.bat and windows.sys files is get them to have a look at those ... and the reg.ini (or whatever regedit opens)

if it is a virus or mallware or whatever, a lot of the times they attack those files, and for some reason not all is removed when they are detected. sure the virus is removed but not what it has done.

registry cleaner? I think will remove old entries that are no longer associated with installed programs.

anything if worth a shot before a reinstall I think.

matt

ps how much free hard drive space do you have? that virtual memory triggered that your swap file may be bigger then what space you have left of your HD

[Marios]

You can try a online anti virus scanner that will detect and remove any rogue programs try this one.
http://www.eset.com/au/home/products/online-scanner/

However Windows, being Windows eventually you will need to reinstall from scratch.

[leon]

Hi Matt, when i press the on button it starts from there, it takes ages just to start, then it eventually gets to the blue screen and i put in my password and it crawls from there as well.

I will try all your suggestions and if all fails a reinstall or maybe an up grade to a newer computer, now that would be nice.

Leon

[noeyedeer]

hmm have you tinkered with your bios at all? if you do .. there should be somewhere in there "turbo mode" make sure that is enabled.

on the old computers the turbo button use to be on the case. some virii do play with the bios. apart from that I'm out of ideas without physically sitting there and mucking around with things .. sorry

a new comp wouldnt be a bad thing either :)

matt

[acropolite]

Leon, XP can only address 3.2Gb of ram, the rest is unavailable to the XP OS. If your PC is not too old it would be worth a new load, live on the edge and install W8.

I'm probably one of Win8's harshest critics, but if you load the free Classic start menu it's friendly enough and certainly boots heaps faster than the older OS'.

FWIW we had the same problem on an XP machine at work, tried everrything but never managed to find the problem. One thing I did find was that shortcuts on the desktop to anything out in the web can cause real issues, as can links to unavailable network resources.

[leon]

Thanks Phil, and to all those that offered suggestions, buggered if i know anymore, a new fresh start, or another machine looks very inviting at the moment.

Leon

[ZeroID]

How old is this comuter ? What are the specs ?
There is a limit as to processing capability with the state of the hardware. A clean rebuild will probably help somewhat but it's probably not viable for Win 8, Win7 maybe.

[leon]

Your right Brent, did some research and it looks like Win 8 wont even load onto my machine.

All good though, I will probably get a new machine and start from scratch, it has been many years since that has happened.

Leon

[leon]

Hi Guys apparently I picked up a Trojan 32c it has been removed but things have not really improved that much.

Leon

[pw]

You can try a scan with a different malware clean-up tool.
SuperAntiSpyware sounds like one of those scam/fake anti-virus programs that force you into paying to stop the warnings and nagging, but it is actually quite effective and similar to Malwarebytes.
Again, probably best run in safe mode to stop the malware being active and mutating when the scan and clean is being done.

[Grimmeister]

Hi Leon,

Jumped in on this thread but haven't seen the other one about the original infection so am speaking with limited back ground on this specific issue.

FWIW: Viruses can cause all sorts of issues for an operating system and I would suggest a rebuild at the least as a safe guard against repeat infections.

However if not a rebuild make sure you are comfortable you have cleaned the virus fully from your PC, this specific one looks to be aimed at stealing passwords and bank details so I would strongly suggest you use a different PC to change your online account passwords and check your balances. (Mind you there are a number of variants under this name and different AV Developers will call viruses different things).

One item I found was here: http://www.averscanner.com/scan/c9/~!-32c-tmp.shtml

Anyway, have you had a look at the event logs at all?? Usually an older unit that becomes slow like you have indicated is due to imminent hardware failure. Normally you will see errors about disk problems (that would be my bet on what the issue is) or other errors that may explain the root cause.

If all else fails, like I said do a rebuild and save yourself a lot of future pain.

Cheers

Anthony

[leon]

Thanks peter and Anthony, your advice is sound, A bit scary about the possibilities, so i will do some immediate changes, passwords especially.

Thank You.

Leon

[noeyedeer]

for what it's worth, back in the day I used a cracked version of Norton internet security on win xp (still has 100 year liscense).. downloaded and used many keygens etc warez, whatever from usegroups .. never had issues ... back then I rarely ventured onto http it was all nttp or ftp... seems like virii are made by companies that protect us ( that's my pov) ... torrents and file hosting sites appeared and virii escalated... I like the underground thou :)

matt

laugh all you want .. but it was a thrill being on 33.6 and fxping at over 100 meg/s between t1 servers back in 1998

[pw]

Unfortunately Norton/Symantec became synonymous with bloatware and so sapped performance that PCs became almost unusable.

[noeyedeer]

that's why I never upgraded .. :) last version was the 98 version I ever had (thou now I don't even have a computer)

[Exfso]

Leon, I have one of these and in my opinion they are absolutely fool proof. http://www.fixmestick.com/

and some reviews here: http://www.amazon.com/The-FixMeStick-External-hardware-based-programs/product-reviews/B006ZCHVM2

This will find stuff that all the others miss I reckon, assuming that there are indeed any nasties lurking

[noeyedeer]

that's what ropes people in .. is the fool proof part :( sadly people want one click fixes .. it's never going to happen .. sorry Leon .. that's not directed at you. but overall you need about 10 programs to scan your system all ofhe time if you use http .. especicially if you click random links etc

and a good firewall ...!

matt

[noeyedeer]

I wonder how many of those reviewers know about port forwarding ... hmm.

goto dos prompt and type netstat, and work out what should or shouldnt be connecteded to you. port 80 or 163.373.826:80 is a website etc ... or if they use dns it's more like www.Google.com:80 etc .. if there's a lot if other open ports with connections.. give or take torrents and other things which you can eliminate yourself .. then there is something wrong

[Exfso]

Matt, this is not a one click fix, I have used it to find out if I have had issues. Luckily I did not. But if something nasty is on your computer that the others do not seem to be able to find it will sure as hell let you know. I know a couple of people who have had this sort of problem and it found the culprit where others seemed to miss it. It certainly is a unique way of locating crud that can cause damage. Not sure if you read up on the way it goes about its process, but I for one am confident of its abilities, and as I said I have a couple of people I know who swear by it as it fixed them up when others could not locate issues.:D

[noeyedeer]

I read it peter .. uses linux and boots from the usb first etc before the os kicks in. I just don't like the month to month fee, if that's how I read it? if they are happy with it then that's good for them :) I didn't mean anything negative by it, just from the reviews on amazon they sound like they should be more clued on. .. I'm just saying one click fixes can be bad.

matt

[leon]

Thanks for the info guys, I haven't really decided what happens from here, but I do appreciate your assistance.

Leon

[Exfso]

No worries Matt, I only pay once a year, I think it is something around $50.00. When you plug in the usb it updates its data automatically assuming you are all paid up of course.;)
I reckon it is money well spent if it helps one get a useless computer back up and running.

[ZeroID]

Leon, try MBAM run in safe mode to get the Trojan Virus then run AdwCleaner ( I know it sounds potentially dodgy but it isnt ). AdwCleanre will get all the registry llinks, folders etc that the virus installed and you will at least get back close to running again. It may not fix some damage caused by the virus but it should clean it out.

[Marios]

Get a Good local Technician to Reinstall the lot, if you have problems after that look at new hardware. Running all these scanners and tools will remove the virus but will not repair any damage. Once a PC is comprimised it is best to rinse and start over again with some effective security software in place.:thumbsup:

[leon]

I appreciate all your help, however i do think i have to agree with Marios, start again and if that fails a new H/D or upgrade.

Leon

[FlashDrive]

Lot of good suggestions here....you've got to try as much as you can...Spyware removal...Malware removal...Rootkits....Trojans...etc .

As for open ports.....especially Port 139 Net BIOS is a NO NO ... IT SHOULD BE AT LEAST CLOSED....NEVER OPEN

Go here .... https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

when you get to that page....click ' proceed '
on the next page.....click on ' common ports '

it will ' ping ' every port to see if it gets a ' response ' ....if it does....and it shows you have ' open ports ' to the internet.....you could very well be in trouble.

It will tell you if you are safe ....or ....not.

Would like some members here to try this out.....IT IS COMPLETELY SAFE....it is a Sever in Denver Colorado ...which will ' test ' your vulnerability to the Internet ....as Hackers generally use ' Port Scanners '
for a ' door way ' into unprotected computers.

I've checked my computer at this site from time to time just to make sure ' all is as it should be.

This site is used by countless millions of computer users world wide.

Flash......:hi:

[leon]

Thanks col, as you said, try everything, I will have a look at it, cant really hurt anything as the computer is nearly dead anyway, I am just finding the right moment to delete the lot anyway. lol.

Leon

[leon]

Well Col, I just ran the program you suggested and it told me that my computer did not exist and that it was running in true stealth mode, so there you go, that must be a good thing i suppose.

Also, i used the file-sharing option, that also told me that as far as they were concerned this machine did not exist on the internet.

Leon

[doppler]

I love my win xp machine and will stick with it till it dies. My solution was to make a partition and install win7 thus creating a dual boot system. It was simple to install win7 on an xp system , but much more complicated to install xp on my win8 laptop. I find win8 hard to use after xp but the classic shell makes it bearable.

Rick

[FlashDrive]

That's excellent Leon .....

Col...:hi:

[RB]

Thanks for the link Col, my system and router passed with flying colours.
I've always wondered if my system was secure.

RB

:thumbsup:

[leon]

Now you have started something Col. :lol: good stuff. :thumbsup:

Leon :thumbsup:

[FlashDrive]

That's excellent Andrew.....it's good to know that things are ' in order ' especially ' out there' on the WWW.

Col....:hi: