Bought Used Laptop, Need to make sure it's safe [Solved]

Hi bluejayhope,



My name is Tomk. I would be glad to take a look at your log and help you with solving any malware problems. Logs can take a while to research, so please be patient and I'd be grateful if you would note the following:

• I will be working on your Malware issues, this may or may not, solve other issues you have with your machine.
• The fixes are specific to your problem and should only be used for the issues on this machine.
• Please continue to review my answers until I tell you your machine appears to be clear. Absence of symptoms does not mean that everything is clear.
• It's often worth reading through these instructions and printing them for ease of reference.
• If you don't know or understand something, please don't hesitate to say or ask!! It's better to be sure and safe than sorry.
• Please reply to this thread. Do not start a new topic.

All of that being said in way of preliminaries… in good conscience, I must tell you that unless you have the disks (including service pack 3 for XP), then the answer must be… No. That system is not safe.

That system has been running P2P programs… many of which are probably infected and may be pirated. It is behind in updates… maybe a couple hundred?

If you had the disks, you could do a fresh install… but wouldn't be able to get the updates. This would leave the system unpatched and at risk. The only safe way to use it would be to never let it be connected to the internet.

You have a couple choices as I see it.

• You could purchase a new Windows Operating system… such as Windows 7 (you might want to run the Windows 7 upgrade adviser first to make sure it will run on your system.
• You could consider putting a Linux operating system on it (they're free).  In my opinion, Linux becomes a more viable alternative system every day (android phones run on Linux).  One of my colleagues here wrote up an explanation on how to install Ubuntu:  http://forums.whatthetech.com/index.php?showtopic=127931.

My suggestion is that you try Linux.  Ubuntu is only one "flavor" of Linux.  There are several to choose from but they operate very similarly.  Puppy Linux is very simplistic and will run on very old equipment.  You really have nothing to lose as you can try them with a live CD… nothing is actually installed on your hard drive.  Once you think it is something that will work for you, you can "permanently" install it on your system instead of running off of the CD (or thumb drive).  If you find that you don't like it… then you can always purchase Windows 7.

 

If you give the Linux a go, and have questions, then I suggest you post them in the Open Source forum.  We have a couple Techs here that are really good with Linux (including at least one whom uses it exclusively).

Thanks TomK, I will try going with the Linux OS. Thanks for the suggestions and advice!

I've tried to get Linux, however I ran into a problem. I have a Hardware Error 22272 when trying to burn the CD. Would you happen to know how to fix this error or direct me to the proper place to ask about it?

 

Thanks!

To the best of my knowledge, that error means that something went wrong with the interfacing of the software (image burning program) and the equipment (cd/dvd reader/writer).  Which program were you using?

 

I have always used ImgBurn, but apparently it know comes with some PUPs.  If you used Free Iso Burner, I'd try using ImgBurn.  The good news here is that the malware may get installed on your system… but it will be the windows system, not the Linux system you are going to be using.

Did it work?

No, it still won't recognize the drive

Do you have access to another computer that you can use to make the disk?

Unfortunately not at this time, just this laptop

Do you have a friend that could make the disk for you?

Yes I think I've found someone who could do this for me

Great.

 

If you should have any more trouble… or trouble setting things up.  I suggest you post your questions in the Open Source forum.  We have some members of the Tech Team who are much more knowledgeable about Linux than I am.  However, I'm still interested in how you get along so I'd appreciate it if you updated me on your progress.

Since this issue appears to be resolved … this Topic has been closed. Glad we could be of assistance.

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