«

Here we go again! This PC is driving me up the walls! When I start up, I
have a flickering screen for about half an hour and then it ceases. My
system seems to freeze between commands and can take up to a minute to
perform any action (even playing solitaire.....when I try to move a card, I
have to hold the mouse ket for up to or more than 30 seconds before I can
move it). I am receiving hundreds of SPAM mails every day and they take
forever to download (for some reason, a lot of them seem to be MS patches
and have attachments but I just delete them). If and when I have to restart
my system, it freezes and won't shut down so I have to force shut it and
then go through the boot up system and scan my discs for errors. This is all
slowly driving me nuts. I have done a few scans to check for virus's and
nothing shows. Anybody got any suggestions before I try and get a gun to
shoot this s,o,a b of a PC?
Thanks, Eugene

--
I'm a failed Christian and if I'm goin' to Hell
There's one thing for sure, you're gonna be there as well!

( Henry McCullough)

Video drivers
Virus
Spyware
Trojan

It could be just about anything.
What OS are you using?
Do you have antivirus?
Is it up to date?
Does it work OK in safe mode?

Have you run MSCONFIG to see what is loading on startup?
Have you checked event view (if 2000 or XP)?

Based on what little you've told me, I'd boot to safe mode and see if
it runs better there. I'd run MSCONFIG or look at the registry for
supsicious entries in HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current
Version/Run
I'd then scan for viruses and spyware.


On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 16:34:37 +0100, "eugene"
<> wrote:

>Here we go again! This PC is driving me up the walls! When I start up, I
>have a flickering screen for about half an hour and then it ceases. My
>system seems to freeze between commands and can take up to a minute to
>perform any action (even playing solitaire.....when I try to move a card, I
>have to hold the mouse ket for up to or more than 30 seconds before I can
>move it). I am receiving hundreds of SPAM mails every day and they take
>forever to download (for some reason, a lot of them seem to be MS patches
>and have attachments but I just delete them). If and when I have to restart
>my system, it freezes and won't shut down so I have to force shut it and
>then go through the boot up system and scan my discs for errors. This is all
>slowly driving me nuts. I have done a few scans to check for virus's and
>nothing shows. Anybody got any suggestions before I try and get a gun to
>shoot this s,o,a b of a PC?
> Thanks, Eugene

Thank you very much my man, I did msconfig and did notice a couple of start
up items that didn't seem familiar. I stopped them from the start up,
re-booted and.......unbelievably..........no flickering screen and the other
probs seem to have disappeared also. I am using OE 2003? and my system is ME
by the way. So thanks again and hopefully I won't be bothering this great
group for a while.......(hopefully I said)
Eugene
--
I'm a failed Christian and if I'm goin' to Hell
There's one thing for sure, you're gonna be there as well!

( Henry McCullough)
"Harrison" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Video drivers
> Virus
> Spyware
> Trojan
>
> It could be just about anything.
> What OS are you using?
> Do you have antivirus?
> Is it up to date?
> Does it work OK in safe mode?
>
> Have you run MSCONFIG to see what is loading on startup?
> Have you checked event view (if 2000 or XP)?
>
> Based on what little you've told me, I'd boot to safe mode and see if
> it runs better there. I'd run MSCONFIG or look at the registry for
> supsicious entries in HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current
> Version/Run
> I'd then scan for viruses and spyware.
>
>
> On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 16:34:37 +0100, "eugene"
> <> wrote:
>
> >Here we go again! This PC is driving me up the walls! When I start up, I
> >have a flickering screen for about half an hour and then it ceases. My
> >system seems to freeze between commands and can take up to a minute to
> >perform any action (even playing solitaire.....when I try to move a card,
I
> >have to hold the mouse ket for up to or more than 30 seconds before I can
> >move it). I am receiving hundreds of SPAM mails every day and they take
> >forever to download (for some reason, a lot of them seem to be MS patches
> >and have attachments but I just delete them). If and when I have to
restart
> >my system, it freezes and won't shut down so I have to force shut it and
> >then go through the boot up system and scan my discs for errors. This is
all
> >slowly driving me nuts. I have done a few scans to check for virus's and
> >nothing shows. Anybody got any suggestions before I try and get a gun to
> >shoot this s,o,a b of a PC?
> > Thanks, Eugene
>

Start here:
Basic computer maintenance
http://uk.geocities.com/personel44/maintenance.html


Then check your system for nasties:

Online Antivirus scanners:
--------------------------
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/hous...start_corp.asp
http://www.kaspersky.com/remoteviruschk.html
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/activescan.asp
http://commandondemand.com/eval/index.cfm
http://www.ravantivirus.com/scan/ [See **]
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/licence.php
http://www.pcpitstop.com/antivirus/default.asp
http://scan.sygatetech.com/prestealthscan.html

** Caveat:
http://archives.neohapsis.com/archiv...3-07/0240.html

Anti-virus programs:
--------------------
eZ Antivirus (Computer Associates)
http://www.my-etrust.com/products/Antivirus.cfm

Vet (Computer Associates)
http://www.vet.com.au/html/products/index.html

Sophos
http://www.sophos.com/products/software/antivirus/

NOD32
http://www.nod32.com/home/home.htm

KAV
http://www.kaspersky.com/

Norman Virus Control
http://www.norman.com/products_nvc.shtml

F-Prot
http://www.f-prot.com/download/

AVG
http://www.grisoft.com/


Online Antitrojan scanner:
----------------------
http://www.trojanscan.com/


Anti-trojan programs:
----------------------
Trojan Remover
http://www.simplysup.com/

Trojan Hunter
http://www.misec.net/trojanhunter.jsp

Trojan Defence Suite (TDS-3)
http://tds.diamondcs.com.au/

Tauscan
http://www.agnitum.com/products/tauscan/

------------------------------------------------------------------
Blaster worm
------------------------------------------------------------------
Boot into Safe Mode and start your registry editor:
Start / Run / regedit

Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
+Software
+Microsoft
+Windows
+CurrentVersion
+Run

In the right-hand pane, look for any entry/ies that include
MSBLAST.EXE, PENIS32.EXE or TEEKIDS.EXE and
DELETE it/them.
These are the files associated with the different variants:
Variant A - msblast.exe
Variant B - penis32.exe
Variant C - teekids.exe

You just disabled the worm from running at startup, so boot into
normal mode again, and turn off ALL system restores to purge
your system.

Open Windows Explorer to the ..\Windows\System32\ or
...\WinNT\System32\ folder and DELETE *any* of the
files named above.

Next, go to the ..\Windows\Prefetch\ or ..\WinNT\Prefetch\
and find the reference to the above file/s (any reference will
be similar to: <filename.exe>-<alphanumerics>.PF), for example,
msblast.exe-0235D8H6.pf, and DELETE it/them.

Now you can download and install the patch, configure your
firewall and update your virus scanner.

Virus Alert About the Blaster Worm and Its Variants
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=826955

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-026
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sec...n/MS03-026.asp

What you should know about the Blaster worm
http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/blast.asp

Windows RPC DCOM Buffer Overflow Remote Exploit (MS03-026)
http://www.k-otik.com/exploits/07.25.winrpcdcom.c.php

How to Use The KB 823980 Scanning Tool to Identify Host Computers
That Do Not Have The 823980 Security Patch (MS03-026) Installed
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=826369

W32.Blaster.Worm
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/ven...ster.worm.html

W32.Blaster.B.Worm
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/ven...er.b.worm.html

W32.Blaster.C.Worm
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/ven...er.c.worm.html

W32.Blaster.Worm Removal Tool
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/ven...oval.tool.html



------------------------------------------------------------------
Messenger pop-ups
------------------------------------------------------------------
You should install a firewall, since the messenger service
uses ports 137-139 (NETBIOS), which should be blocked by your
firewall.

To prevent the Messenger service from starting automatically,
open the Services panel by typing...

services.msc /s

....into the Start / Run box.
In the right-hand pane highlight 'Messenger'.
Right click and choose 'Properties'.
Click the 'Stop' button.
From the 'Startup Type' drop down, choose 'Disabled' or 'Manual'.
'Apply / Ok'.

More information:

Messenger Service Window That Contains an Internet
Advertisement Appears
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=330904

Windows Messages
http://www.jmu.edu/computing/security/info/winmsg.shtml

How to stop Messenger SPAM Disable Windows Messenger
Service
http://www.auburn.edu/oit/security/m...erService.html

How to Prevent Windows Messenger from Running on a Windows
XP-Based Computer
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=302089

Stopping Advertisements with Messenger Service Titles
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p...e/stopspam.asp

Disable-Remove Windows Messenger
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_mess_disable.htm

Firewalls:
------------
Outpost
http://www.agnitum.com/products/outpost/

Sygate
http://soho.sygate.com/products/shield_ov.htm

Zone Alarm
http://www.zonelabs.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------

Anti-spyware:
---------------------
Spybot Search & Destroy
http://spybot.eon.net.au/
http://www.safer-networking.org/

Ad-Aware
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

Spyware Blaster
http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareblaster.html

HijackThis
http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/


Control your startups:
----------------------
StartupList
http://www.lurkhere.com/~nicefiles/

Startup Monitor
http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml

Startup Control Panel
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

Check what's necessary and what isn't
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup...tartup_all.php
http://www.3feetunder.com/krick/startup/list.html
http://www.greatis.com/regrun3appdatabase.htm



Safe Hex
http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html

Safe Computing Guide
http://www.trendmicro.com/pc-cillin/...afe_computing/

Protect your PC
http://support.microsoft.com/default...gb/protect.asp

Safe Computing Practice
http://users.iafrica.com/c/cq/cquirke/safe2000.htm

Safe Computing Practices (Safe Hex)
http://www.cknow.com/vtutor/vtsafecompute.htm



On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 16:34:37 +0100, in
<E1Zcb.292$>
eugene scrawled:

>Here we go again! This PC is driving me up the walls! When I start up, I
>have a flickering screen for about half an hour and then it ceases. My
>system seems to freeze between commands and can take up to a minute to
>perform any action (even playing solitaire.....when I try to move a card, I
>have to hold the mouse ket for up to or more than 30 seconds before I can
>move it). I am receiving hundreds of SPAM mails every day and they take
>forever to download (for some reason, a lot of them seem to be MS patches
>and have attachments but I just delete them). If and when I have to restart
>my system, it freezes and won't shut down so I have to force shut it and
>then go through the boot up system and scan my discs for errors. This is all
>slowly driving me nuts. I have done a few scans to check for virus's and
>nothing shows. Anybody got any suggestions before I try and get a gun to
>shoot this s,o,a b of a PC?
> Thanks, Eugene

--
Basic computer maintenance
http://uk.geocities.com/personel44/maintenance.html

"eugene" <> wrote in message
news:E1Zcb.292$...
> Here we go again! This PC is driving me up the walls! When I start up, I
> have a flickering screen for about half an hour and then it ceases. My
> system seems to freeze between commands and can take up to a minute to
> perform any action (even playing solitaire.....when I try to move a card,
I
> have to hold the mouse ket for up to or more than 30 seconds before I can
> move it). I am receiving hundreds of SPAM mails every day and they take
> forever to download (for some reason, a lot of them seem to be MS patches
> and have attachments but I just delete them). If and when I have to
restart
> my system, it freezes and won't shut down so I have to force shut it and
> then go through the boot up system and scan my discs for errors. This is
all
> slowly driving me nuts. I have done a few scans to check for virus's and
> nothing shows. Anybody got any suggestions before I try and get a gun to
> shoot this s,o,a b of a PC?
> Thanks, Eugene
>
> --
> I'm a failed Christian and if I'm goin' to Hell
> There's one thing for sure, you're gonna be there as well!
>
> ( Henry McCullough)
>
> IDONT KNOW THE SPEC OF YOUR SYSTEM
But the first thing iwould do is go to system recouces
to see how much available memory i have if i hav e enough to take care of
any thing i might want to run
the next thing iwould do is have a look at vga to see if als well there, (
it could be your hard disk try running scandisk from dos ie boot disk this
will phisicaly show in red any bad sectors if scandisk cant repair it get
low level format software from th manufacturers web site ( that should cure
that ) if it doesnt ide backup what i need and reformat the drive