Virus question

[SammysMom]

First off I ask that no one throws anything at me or rolls their eyes when I ask these questions. Thank You
How do you know you have a virus? How do I run a virus scan?
Here is my problem. Since Monday my computer has been running extremely slow. My other problem is I have MSN as my homepage. No problem going there but when I want to say get to Gossip Rocks, which is in my favorites, it will not take me to that website I have clicked on. My husband installed a "newer" version of Explorer. Could this be the problem? And if so how do I uninstall it. The crazy part is my husbands favorites are combined with mine now.
I subscribed to Real Arcade, game website, and Ive purchased several games. Now yesterday I went to it, played a couple of games Ive bought and downloaded with no problems. Today I go to it to play a game and all my games are gone. Could this be the work of a virus? Ive not had any problems getting on gossip rock, even though I have type in the website address instead of clicking on it in my favorites. Thank god for that, Id go crazy if couldnt get in here.
Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

[SVZ]

http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Vir...ml?tag=lst-0-2

download AVG, it's a really great antivirus and it's completely free

[deckchick]

WARNING!!!

Make sure you only have ONE anti-virus program running.

If you install a second one you will have serious problems that you prolly can't fix without tech support.

[sweetrebel]

I noticed that the last week or so when I click on a pic on here, my pop up blocker thing comes up. When I close the screen, the pop up 'pops up'
I ran the Ad Aware something or other on here (I am so computer illiterate it is a shame) and it found 165 things that I deleted....still having those pop up, though....

[deckchick]

I am not a computer tech, but I have managed to become proficient enough o fix most spyware/adware/trojans etc. One of my favorite sites is http://www.majorgeeks.com You will find excellent help there and a ton of free programs. I send everyone there.

You MUST have the minimum basic security with these programs. Download them, install them, update them, and then run. If you do this as well as have a good anti-virus, then you should be protected from a lot of the crap out there. The whole key though is to RELIGIOUSLY!!! update and run. I recommend at least once a week, more if you notice you are running slow.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/SpywareBlaster_d2859.html

Awesome program, install, update ENABLE ALL PROTECTIONS! Then all you have to do is keep it updated. This will block 90% of the spyware we all get.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download2471.html - Spybot

install, update, immunize, then run search and destroy when it has cycled through, just select "Fix Problems" and you are done. Will remove 90% of spyware and malware.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download506.html - Ad-Aware

install, update, hit scan now, select "Perform full system scan" Make sure you check off both search options. When the scan is done, nit next, make sure you are on the scan summary page and check off all the boxes. If you want to see all the different items found, just click on the "critical objects" or the "negligible objects>

Don't be alarmed if you have 100+ problems with either of these programs, not of them are just annoying, when I ran these on my Mom's computer, she had 150+ on all of them.

There are several good FREE anti-virus programs available. I really can't recommend one because I have Norton.

If you do install a different anti-virus please make sure you uninstall any anti-virus programs you do have. I can't emphasize this enough, DO NOT TRY TO RUN TWO ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAMS!!! I will guarantee you it will cause your system to crash a horrible way and then you will have to take it to the Techs to fix.... CHECK, THEN DOUBLE CHECK!

If you noticed, all the programs I recommend will only protect you 90%. That is just a random number, but the absolute fact is no one program protects you!

But if you run those 3 and a good anti-virus, I can tell you that you will be 99.999% protected!

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to contact me and I will help you if I can.

[Parkersmom]

Avatars don't work on my computer do you know why?

[deckchick]

Avatars don't work on my computer do you know why?

Firstly go to User CP at the top of the page>>>Then Edit Options on the left side>>>Scroll down to Thread Display Options>>>>Make sure the 3 boxes are checked off>>>>> scroll to the bottom and save changes.

If that isn't the problem, I need the following info before I can even think about it.

1. Do you have XP home or Pro? Win 98?

2. What browser do you use? Internet Explorer, Netscape, Foxfire

3. Is this a reg PC or a Mac?

4. How much memory do you have?

Do you have a firewall?

[SammysMom]

did a blowout of the computer and it worked. Thanks deckchick

[Parkersmom]

Firstly go to User CP at the top of the page>>>Then Edit Options on the left side>>>Scroll down to Thread Display Options>>>>Make sure the 3 boxes are checked off>>>>> scroll to the bottom and save changes.

If that isn't the problem, I need the following info before I can even think about it.

1. Do you have XP home or Pro? Win 98?

2. What browser do you use? Internet Explorer, Netscape, Foxfire

3. Is this a reg PC or a Mac?

4. How much memory do you have?

Do you have a firewall?

1. Windows 2000 Professional

2. IE

3. PC

4.10.0 GB

[deckchick]

did a blowout of the computer and it worked. Thanks deckchick

Excellent! Make sure you run those programs at least weekly, and UPDATE first!


Originally Posted by deckchick
Firstly go to User CP at the top of the page>>>Then Edit Options on the left side>>>Scroll down to Thread Display Options>>>>Make sure the 3 boxes are checked off>>>>> scroll to the bottom and save changes.

If that isn't the problem, I need the following info before I can even think about it.

1. Do you have XP home or Pro? Win 98?

2. What browser do you use? Internet Explorer, Netscape, Foxfire

3. Is this a reg PC or a Mac?

4. How much memory do you have?

5. Do you have a firewall?

Parkersmom
1. Windows 2000 Professional

2. IE

3. PC

4.10.0 GB
Today 10:08 AM

5. Do you have a firewall? This is the likely culprit, disable and try, let me know the results

[AliceInWonderland]

What's the best free anti-spyware to use?

[deckchick]

What's the best free anti-spyware to use?

Sorry Alice, I didn't see this before. I use Norton Antivirus, but here is a couple free anti-virus links. I hear they a pretty good, so give them a try and let me know. Make sure you UPDATE them at least weekly!

REMEMBER DO NOT HAVE MORE THEN 1, YES 1 !!! ANTI-VIRUS RUNNING ON YOUR COMPUTER!!

After you update and scan your computer, go to the bitdefender on-line scan and do another complete. It will take an hour or more to run, but it will find any other trojans etc and remove or tell you how to!

Good Luck and let me know how it works for you, and feel free to message or e-mail me if you need help.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Avast_Home_Edition_d1968.html

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

BitDefender OnLine Scan is here.. http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/#

[moomies]

http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Vir...ml?tag=lst-0-2

download AVG, it's a really great antivirus and it's completely free

I'm using this, too. I used to use Trend Micro free online virus scan but the comp was still acting weird. AVG finds way more viruses than anything else I've ever tried.

[gonflable]

I use AVG Free Antivirus and it works like a charm. It doesn't suck up too much memory either, Norton does that and I hate it.

[Corsair]

I use AVG on all my machines and on any that I build/work on. It seems to catch more than the others and not a resource hog.

Has anyone used pandasoftware.com's free online scan?