Possible malware slowing PC [Solved]

Great, like I said that file in the download folder was just a false positive.  Doing what  I do and knowing people in the Tech sector is was advised when Win 10 came out to wait about a month to get the bugs out of it but I went ahead and installed it the day after it came out, it was painless and have had not problems since. All my installed programs still worked including the printer. Windows 10 has some changes, its more like like Windows 7 but enhanced. The start screen is on the menu but you dont have to use it but its available if you want to use.it. Internet Explorer is gone , the new Windows 10 browser is EDGE. Don't like it much myself but I use mostly Chome and Firefox.

Windows Defender in Windows 10 is more enhanced and powerful than previous versions. It's actually all I  use for antivirus , but you can still use TrendMicro.  You will find 10 is a lot more secure than previous operating systems. The only other thing I would suggest is to upgrade Malwarebytes to the Premium version, it has a protection module that will block bad sites and downloads. I think it runs maybe $25 a year. You can also download and install Malwarebytes Anti Exploit, no scans to run with this one, it just sits in the background keeping any eye on things and preventing bogus installations. Its totally up to you if you want to upgrade and install them, its just my personal recommendation.

Doing what I do I have Windows Defender, Windows Firewall enabled and both of the Malwarebytes programs and I have been fine.

Let me know how the upgrade goes

Thanks, Ken. On the security side, that sounds very much like our local Microsoft tech told our PCUG meeting.

I'll let you know how the update goes.

Kangaroo

Hi Ken,

The update to Windows 10 has gone smoothly and all is working. It has included a trial version of Office 2016; Valda has Office 2010 Professional and would prefer to use that. Should I uninstall Office 2016 or just leave it there and unpin components from the Taskbar?

The only issue I've found is that in File Explorer, there is a folder: ESET Online Scanner (located in c:\Program Files (x86)\ESET\ESET Online Scanner). If I try to open it to see if there is anything in it I get a warning dialog: Location is not available.

Can this be removed? If so, how?

Otherwise, all looks good. Thanks for your excellent help once again.

Valda has given me another laptop which she wants to leave in their house down the coast (she keeps forgetting the power pack carrying it to and fro). It too seems to have a bunch of unwanted stuff on it and is running slowly. I'll open another topic for it later today or tomorrow; have to get to the mini-goats now.

Regards,

Kangaroo

Not sure about Office, why would she still want to use a 6 year old version. I think I would hang on to the trial in case she changes her mind

Can you see ESET in Programs and Features in the Control Panel, if so try to uninstall it from  there

Glad it all went well

Thanks, Ken. My thoughts too on the Office version. (I guess some people just get used to what they know and are reluctant to plunge into new waters.)

Sorry, I should have said that I had looked in Control Panel | Programs and Features and there were no ESET entries.

If I open File Explorer, The ESET folder is shown in the Frequent Folders (7). But when I open the C:\Program Files (x86) folder in the navigation pane there are no ESET folders showing. I can right click on the ESET folder in the Frequent Folders pane and scan it with a no threats found result. There is also a context menu option to Remove from Quick Access. If I check the Properties in the context menu it says 0 Bytes.

Is this just a history item which I could Remove from Quick Access and that would get rid of all references to it or does there need to be a registry clean as well?

Would Revo Uninstaller in Hunter mode be of any use? I have used that once before when there was no uninstaller and the program was not in Control Panel | Programs and Features but showed an icon in the System Tray.

Thanks for your continued help,

Kangaroo

Give this a try, look under Uninstalling ESET

http://www.eset.com/me/home/products/online-scanner/faq/

Hi Ken,

That ESET FAQ says:

After every scan, you have the option to uninstall the ESET Online Scanner with all its components. It is easy, convenient and can be done via the graphic user interface by clicking the appropriate checkbox and hitting the “uninstall on close” button.

This I did on the final scan

To remove ESET Online Scanner components from your computer manually, go to Add or Remove Programs (filename: APPWIZ.CPL) from the Control Panel, select ESET Online Scanner and click Remove. A restart may be required to complete the uninstallation.

There is no ESET program listed in Add or Remove Programs

You can also run the Online Scanner Uninstaller (filename: OnlineScannerUninstaller.exe) program, located in the: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ directory on computers running 32-bit (x86) editions of Microsoft Windows and in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSWOW64\ directory on computers running 64-bit (x64) editions of Microsoft Windows.

This is a 64-bit system and the OnlineScannerUninstaller.exe file does not exist in the SYSWOW64 directory (nor the System32 directory)

I did a search in the Registry for "ESET" and found the instances in:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\ESET with a value not set

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ESET with a value not set

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Eset with a value not set

   HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-38…\SOFTWARE\ESET with a value not set

(Of course, I made no changes in the Registry.)

I think the program has been successfully uninstalled and this instance of the folder appearing in the Frequent Folder list is a history thing and I can just "Remove from Quick Access" to stop it showing there. Would you agree?

Regards,

Kangaroo

I do

Hi Ken,

I've done that. (I amended the fourth key to put in the exact name of that key instead of the elipsis I used by copying the key name and pasting it over the one in your script.) After the merge, I did a search of the Registry for "ESET" and as expected there are no instances of it now.

I then opened the File Explorer and used the Remove from Quick Access on the context menu for the ESET folder there. That did remove it from the list.

I then did a shutdown of the PC and turned it on again and checked that the 'offending' folder was indeed removed. Success!

Should I now uninstall Tweaking.com - Registry Backup and the C:\RegBackup folder?

Regards,

Kangaroo

Looks like where dont here, nice job following along with me

As far as Tweeking , its up to you. you can always redownload it in the future if need be

Take care

Ken

All done! Thanks again for your excellent help.

I must to bed so I can get up at a reasonable hour to milk my mini-goats.

Kangaroo

Mini-Goats     <— What are you referring to 

Hi Ken,

It was very early in the morning here where we have a regenerated bushland property south of Canberra, Australia. We have a small herd of miniature goats (the does only grow to about 25 inches high). Check out Miniature Goat Types; ours are all munchkins. They keep us in milk and cheese.

Kangaroo

Amazing, you sound like you have an enjoyable life ….Down Under. 

You handle yourself quite well, have you thought about joining our Classroom and becoming a Malware Fighter

https://forums.whatthetech.com/index.php?showtopic=80368