Comments | rhiannon_jehane: Help?

rhiannon_jehane

Help?

Mar 09, 2009 14:33

I’m pretty sure my home computer has a virus, or spyware, or something. It seems to have hijacked Firefox, at least to a certain extent. My default homepage on Firefox is my lj profile page and that hasn’t changed, but it won’t let me log in. I can log in on Netscape and IE. But now I’m afraid to do anything - on any browser - that entails logging ( Read more... )

Comments 14

gabrielleabelle March 9 2009, 20:08:04 UTC

Hmmm. I know you were unsuccessful in getting some freebie spyware programs to open up, but see if you can download the free version of Spyware Doctor that comes with the Google Pack.

Though that error message you're getting indicates a problem with your drivers, possibly your BIOS or RAM. See if you can get this memory test to work to see if your RAM is working properly (Have you recently upgraded?).

Also, just updating your drivers might help (Especially with a BIOS problem).

I actually have a feeling the problem with Firefox is separate from the computer crashing. They don't sound related.

rhiannon_jehane March 9 2009, 21:06:23 UTC

Hmmm. I know you were unsuccessful in getting some freebie spyware programs to open up, but see if you can download the free version of Spyware Doctor that comes with the Google Pack.

Thank you! I'll give that a try. (And it occurs to me that I should unlock this post so I can get to that link without logging in...)

Though that error message you're getting indicates a problem with your drivers, possibly your BIOS or RAM. See if you can get this memory test to work to see if your RAM is working properly (Have you recently upgraded?).

The only thing that's been upgraded has been McAfee, and that was in January. Other than that, I haven't upgraded or installed anything.

Also, just updating your drivers might help (Especially with a BIOS problem).

How do I do that? (I may be pretty web savvy, but actual tech stuff I'm kind of... well, not very savvy at all, unfortunately.)

I actually have a feeling the problem with Firefox is separate from the computer crashing. They don't sound related.Hmm. You could be right about that. It's a ( ... )

redgirl72928 March 9 2009, 20:11:39 UTC

rhiannon_jehane March 9 2009, 21:08:45 UTC

This may sound silly, but have you thought about checking to see if the fan is running. Your motherboard may be getting hot...is there someone you know that can check that out?

SOME of the symptoms you describe are similar to problems I had with my machine at one point, and my computer nerd installed a new fan.

Hmmm. You may have something there... the fan is definitely on. I know this because sometimes it gets really loud. It very well could be overheating...

cranberryink March 10 2009, 01:12:23 UTC

I am no help at all in diagnosing a problem, but I will say that if you can't fix what ever is going on, don't be afraid to reformat! I have reformatted 5 Dells multiple times over the last 8 years or so and it's always so nice. Like getting a new computer! Good luck with diagnosis. :)

rhiannon_jehane March 10 2009, 19:38:52 UTC

cranberryink March 10 2009, 21:16:43 UTC

rhiannon_jehane March 11 2009, 15:44:33 UTC

Yes, you're reinstalling the operating system so it writes over everything. It's like starting over with a new computer. You have to get all your data off the machine and save it externally, like on a CD or something.

Yeah, that's what I thought. I've got a bunch of things backed up on a flash drive, but I still have a lot that should go on a CD.

It's nerve-wracking the first time you do it, but I find it oddly therapitic. :)

I can see where it would be like having a brand new computer! I will be starting fresh with a new laptop next week, but I'll definitely consider reformatting my current one after I back up everything.

gothphyle March 10 2009, 03:43:53 UTC

I can offer no diagnostic help, but I am quite fond of my antivirus -- avast.

rhiannon_jehane March 10 2009, 19:55:59 UTC

I can offer no diagnostic help, but I am quite fond of my antivirus -- avast.

I've heard good things about avast! That was one of the things I was going to download and then didn't when I realized that malwarebytes and the other one (can't remember the name off the top of my head) wouldn't open, avast probably wouldn't either. I still want to try it, though.

How are you?? I haven't spoken to you in ages! I thought I lost your phone number, and I just realized it's been programmed into my cell phone the whole time. I am an idiot sometimes. *sigh*

wickedelf March 10 2009, 21:41:08 UTC

I noticed up above you mentioned your fan is on and that you know that because it makes a lot of noise... that in itself may be an issue, especially given that you... like me... live in a furry house. You may have dust and fur in there that's causing a problem. I doubt you want to wait the 3 weeks till I come to visit to deal with this, but I can probably walk you through this on the phone if you want to pick up some compressed air before we talk. You don't have to touch anything technical, just use a screwdriver to remove a few screws from the case and open it up.

I don't know if that's the virus preventing me from opening them or if it's McAfee not playing nice with the competition.

Try turning McAfee off and then trying them. There are also online virus scan programs (like this one). It probably doesn't go as deep or thorough as an installed scan, but it might be good for a quick look at any immediate problems ( ... )

rhiannon_jehane March 11 2009, 18:07:29 UTC

I noticed up above you mentioned your fan is on and that you know that because it makes a lot of noise... that in itself may be an issue, especially given that you... like me... live in a furry house. You may have dust and fur in there that's causing a problem.

I actually did think of that! It very well could be that part of the problem is the fan overheating because of dust and fur.

I doubt you want to wait the 3 weeks till I come to visit to deal with this, but I can probably walk you through this on the phone if you want to pick up some compressed air before we talk. You don't have to touch anything technical, just use a screwdriver to remove a few screws from the case and open it up.

*tries to remember where the screwdriver might be*

I'm probably not going to have time to go get compressed air between now and tomorrow night, but I may be able to borrow a can from work. If not, we'll try next week.

I don't know if that's the virus preventing me from opening them or if it's McAfee not playing nice with the competition ( ... )

wickedelf March 11 2009, 19:06:08 UTC

If I turn McAfee off, though, what about my firewall? I've never activated my Optimum Online firewall (although I will call cable and find out what I need to do to turn it on for the laptop), so I don't know if it's automatically on.

Honestly, if you're going to just one site (and Trend Micro is well spoken of, so I would consider them a safe site), you'll be fine. I only turned my firewall on recently and I've never had an issue in all my firewall-free time. I don't use Time Warner's firewall because I'd have to download their whole suite - so I'd guess Optimum's may be similar.

And I remember you said something about a Windows firewall last week, but if it's on there, I may have to ask you to walk me through installing it. It's not a matter of installing anything, it's literally just selecting a radio button. :) I don't remember if you desktop was XP or Vista, but I kind of thought XP (and hopefully service pack 2 - the firewall there is bi-directional). First check the service pack. Start menu -> right click on My Computer ( ... )

rhiannon_jehane March 12 2009, 18:25:56 UTC

If I turn McAfee off, though, what about my firewall? I've never activated my Optimum Online firewall (although I will call cable and find out what I need to do to turn it on for the laptop), so I don't know if it's automatically on.

Honestly, if you're going to just one site (and Trend Micro is well spoken of, so I would consider them a safe site), you'll be fine. I only turned my firewall on recently and I've never had an issue in all my firewall-free time. I don't use Time Warner's firewall because I'd have to download their whole suite - so I'd guess Optimum's may be similar.Hmm. See, I was always under the impression that the firewall was a Big Thing and you disable it at your peril (if you have cable or DSL, anyway. I never bothered when I had dialup). I do know that my cousin disabled my aunt's firewall and then had all kinds of problems after that and had to send the computer out to get it fixed. So as far as I always thought, it was always "EEEEEEE! Don't disable the firewall!" Perhaps I was a overreacting just a teeny bit ( ... )