I went to the previous posts and tried to figure out what to do before I posted this. I'm still not sure.

First...I've defrag..cleared my history, deleted temp internet files, restarted my computer. All the things I know to do.

Every day my computer has been getting slower and slower, dropping me off the internet and this a.m. I came in and my wallpaper had changed by its self. I think there's a virus somewhere but my scan isn't showing one.

I have McAfee and the spyware program that comes with AOL.

Anyone got any ideas about what I should do now? Before I have to call a professional?

Thanks, Cathy

One, you have to update those data files.

Two, those only look for viruses.

You need something that goes after mal-ware, spy-ware. Malicious programs that may be attached to something you actually wanted to download.

You also want a registery cleaner what will fix your registery from vicious programs or from anything you might have done when cleaning your computer the standard way.

If I was at home, I'd tell you what my computer friend put on my computer to protect it. I can't remember off the top of my head.

try AVG....
new virus attaches itself to your antivirus.
I spent 3oo ,had my puter erased...and still didnt work.....my 12 year old nephew got me back online with this.

ad-aware by lavasoft - There is a free version for use at home.
http://lavasoft.com/single/trialpay.php click the green download button.


and spybot seek and destroy which is free.

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html


Both of those will remove malware/spyware and nuke bad registry keys.

Gary

Thanks...I have a reg clean program already installed.

Seems AVG is the more popular antivirus program..over McAfee?

If I install another antivirus program I need to delete the one I already have?

A couple of things. Do you have a firewall? I suggest Zone Alarm. As for antivirus I use Avast.

Another thing you can do is go to
Start
Run - type msconfig
go to the start up tab and look for programs that you don't want to run at start up. This is a common place for viruses so they will auto launch at start up. Also, by limiting what launches at start up you will decrease the time it takes your system to boot.

Sometimes you can even google search your problems and find people that know the name of the virus and where it is located and you can just delete it. (I did that once on my old PC when I use to file share a lot)

thank you!! I'm also doing a couple other things that's been suggested to me. One person said to just restore back to the date before my trouble started...will this get rid of a virus if I do that? and yes, I have a firewall that comes with AOL.

It might, but probably not. It really depends on on what's wrong. But if you don't have anything to lose then I'd do it.

thank you

AOL sucks...get a new ISP.

How technical are you? You could run the Autoruns executable from the sysinternals team and delete a lot of unneeded startup junk but if you're not too au fait with computers then I'd advise against.

Google have a link on their website for software downloads, one of these is an anti spyware package and there also an anti virus scanner. I'd help more but I need to go out and drink right now. Best of luck!

If you have a virus, chances are AVG will find it.

If you have malware, then Adaware should do the trick.

However, neither of these will totally delete the residual files in the registry.

There is a small program that publishes the files that are running in your machine.

With this print out, you can delete them (in safe mode) and there is a huuuge forum for support in doing it.

The program is called hijackthis and the website (and its associated forum) will guide you through using it.

Good luck.

spybot search and destroy!!!

dl it.........dl all updates.......should help you!!!

Thanks all of you. I'm working on it.

What she said.

I was recently at my accountant's office where they kindly allowed me to use their computer to download and print a tax form. I noticed with dismay that they have AOL as their ISP.

I started Internet Explorer, and waited.. and waited... and waited... then the browser crashed. I asked the accountant if the computer always did this, and she said "yes" in a sort of disgusted and weary tone.

So I started IE again, and waited... and waited... and waited....

You get the idea.

Spybot Search & Destroy is an excellent FREE program that removes spyware and adware from your computer. It now has a new feature that will check new apps on startup. I have Spybot set to scan my computer for spyware and malware once a day. I update it about once a week. It's awesome.

For antivirus I have Clamwin Antivirus, which is also a completely free open source antivirus program. It does NOT automatically scan things that you download, however, so if you visit a lot of questionable sites that may not be right for you. However, it works great for me. If I download something I usually will right click on the file and use Clamwin to scan it manually.

Spybot and Clamwin use up very little memory. My computer is about 6 years old and still runs like a new computer.

I used to use AVG but the free version misses a lot of things. I have also used Lavasoft's Adaware which is a really great program but in my opinion too expensive.

There are also AV scanners that you can use online, like Bitdefender, where you don't have to install any software; you just go to the site and use the app from your browser. It's often a good idea if you think your computer has a bug to get a "second opinion" with another scan.

Always keep in mind that when you do a first scan with any application it's going to take awhile, up to a few hours depending on what you're scanning.

Anyway, changing the ISP to something besides AOL would be the first thing I would do.

I hope this was helpful. yours in Chaos, Scarlett



That's a good suggestion, but it's pretty advanced. There are applications that will safely scan the registry and startup menu for invalid entries and changes; msconfig in the hands of someone with only limited tech knowledge can be dangerous. xoxoxo

I have been hearing that McAffee is no good. I just got Trend last week.

thank you

You're welcome.

I won't get into anything that's real advanced. I know better! I can destroy things!

AOL is not my ISP, Embarq is. I have aol installed on my computer because family and friends use it and I use it to keep in touch with them. When I installed it (aol) it came with all their security programs and I left them.

I would agree with most of the suggestions given spybot,avast and hijack are all good software, I would steer clear of the suggested zone alarm as it is known for many software conflict issues. How old is the mentioned pc? I would also suggest checking the free space if you have say an 80gb drive and 4gb free it's time to do some spring cleaning as you will constantly be paging the hard drive.
The symptoms you are describing could also be a drive that is on it's way out( I have one less than a year old that is already dying on a server) the newer drives aren't built like the used to and have seen 7 fail this month alone all of which were under 1 year old. The internet dropping I would need more info on the connection itself as it was not identified (dial up ,dsl ,cable or satellite)