Computer problems, any wizards out there?

One of the computers I use to remain in touch with the cyber world has a nasty bug. I have run anti-spy, ad, malware and virus programs. Its still hanging on. I think it is into the Explorer as I constanly get ballons and pages about downloading anti this and that. Any ideas?
Two of the anti programs I ran picked up some Explorer bugs, maybe I need something for repairing the damage? Alternate data streams, what is that? This stuff makes coal look easy.

Oh yeah, its slow as molasses on startup and opening programs. Yet once on the net (real slow logging on), it cruises the web pretty good.

coaledsweat wrote:. I think it is into the Explorer as I constanly get ballons and pages about downloading anti this and that. Any ideas?

Do they by any chance have Messenger in the title bar?

Two of the anti programs I ran picked up some Explorer bugs, maybe I need something for repairing the damage? Alternate data streams, what is that? This stuff makes coal look easy.

Which programs? I'm not a pro but a quick search brought up information about Alternate Data Streams being associated with root kits which are very hard for anti virus programs to detect unless they are specifically designed to look for it, malicious code running as root kit for all intents and purposes doesn't exist to windows.

Try here: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysint ... ealer.mspx

coaledsweat wrote:One of the computers I use to remain in touch with the cyber world has a nasty bug. I have run anti-spy, ad, malware and virus programs. Its still hanging on. I think it is into the Explorer as I constanly get ballons and pages about downloading anti this and that. Any ideas?
Two of the anti programs I ran picked up some Explorer bugs, maybe I need something for repairing the damage? Alternate data streams, what is that? This stuff makes coal look easy.

Oh yeah, its slow as molasses on startup and opening programs. Yet once on the net (real slow logging on), it cruises the web pretty good.

AVG offers a free anti root kit and it might be worth a try:

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/download-fr ... t/us/frt/0

I found this post at 62% of my free AVG scan. It has found nothing and appears frozen.

If it's rootkit it's about the worse thing you can get. These vary from your average virus because it has "root" access which gives it the highest privelges possible. It can do practically anything. The process running is hidden from the operating system itself so its very hard to detect that its even there at all.

You might want to try a tech forum, http://forums.techguy.org/ That's a nice friendly place and they'll be able to provide better information than you'll get here.

I'll try it. The rootkit software did finally finish and it found nothing. It may be damage leftover from the IE hijacker.

Thanks.

I think the thing is redirecting me, I just loaded Firefox to try. Wow, what a difference. We'll have to see how this works out.

Firefox works great for me, I still have to use IE for some work related content to run, but for all else I have been using Mozilla and then Firefox for two years now.

I can't even get IE to open my hotmail box let alone do much of anything, just love that Bill Gates guy!

Echoing Matt's comment, I have been using Firefox almost exclusively for several years now and much prefer it. "Almost" due to having to maintain the church's website with IE, but that is the one and only time to have to use it.