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Dreaded blue screen x2

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Post #16
well I think we know each other well enuff for you to tell me what word you would use in place of ditz lol. I sure appreciate your brevity and kind words. I will do the tuneups that pitstop recommended. as for backing up my files, (I have had 2 hard drive crashes in 10 years) there really isn't anything on my computer that I CAN"T lose if you know what I mean. All of my photos are uploaded to picasaweb and others and my computer is more or less for my enjoyment. NOT that I want a hard drive failure mind you. I'll post a new pitstop result soon. thanx again
Post #17
Hi Terri,

The word is 'mug' :blush: :wavey: :rofl: :rofl: :scratch:

Good idea re the pit stop test after all the hard work is done, I will be here for you whenever you are ready, but take it slowly as there is lots to do.

kind regards, :wub:
Post #18
hmmm well I actually know that word as I talk to Oz's & Brits daily lol. that's the main reason I even stay on the internet…the great friendships I have with people from all over the world. I love them all dearly! now I get to count you as a new friend! see you soon. blessings, Terri
Post #20
question…I got the ATF downloaded and ran….scheduled it in the task scheduler to run every 3 a.m. I just checked it and it says it could not run because no user account password was entered. I am the only user (well you know what I mean) and have never set a password to log on or anything. am I missing something? also, I have been meaning to ask this years ago but never have, exactly what are the recommended tasks to have task scheduler run? thanx in advance.
Post #21

question…I got the ATF downloaded and ran….scheduled it in the task scheduler to run every 3 a.m. I just checked it and it says it could not run because no user account password was entered. I am the only user (well you know what I mean) and have never set a password to log on or anything. am I missing something?

also, I have been meaning to ask this years ago but never have, exactly what are the recommended tasks to have task scheduler run?

thanx in advance.


Terri, Good morning to you,

I have a Maintenance Folder on my desktop with shortcuts of all Antispyware and Cleanup Utilities in it.

None, other than my Antivurus are scheduled to start at boot up or scheduled to run through Task Schedular. Not a good idea in my opinion. Reason, I like to run different programs each day and it is almost impossible to monitor scheduled programs to start at all different sleep times on your computer.

ATF. Cleaner.exe by Atribune is a stand alone program, so I suggest you put it in your Mainenance folder if you were to decide to adopt this as an easy way of managing your housekeeping. I see nowhere to schedule it Terri, so I hope we are talking about the same program.

When you double click on it, it will immediately open >click run > select all> and uncheck Prefetch > then click > empty selected. The reason for unchecking Prefetch is that if you delete those files, they will immediatly be replaced so there does not seem a good reason for enabling them to be deleted.

Another good reason for not scheduling anything, is if you miss a day on your computer, the task schedular shows up on boot up notifying you of tasks unable to be run etc etc etc.

My recommendation for scheduling tasks, is don't schedule any, keep control of your maintenance by making sure you run a different utility each day so you have 100% control.

Of course you must let your Antivirus run at start up.

Please post back if you are concerned about my thoughts and recommendations here or if you need any other help at all.

kind regards,
Post #22
wow do I not know anything lol I schedule ATF to run thru windows task scheduler…or so I thought. I have since unscheduled that task. As to a maintenance folder, I don't know what you mean. I assume avast, spywareblaster,spywareguard run all the time. I do an update and run spybot once a week (apparently not enuff as I got infected anyway) and now with avg antispyware I had planned on doing that once a week just on my own reminder…is that right? I appreciate you taking the time to work with me. I haven't gotten the gumption up yet to redownload zone alarm…I get panic attacks thinking about it lol. I have been reading the tech forums for awhile now and alot of people recommend spyIAD should I add that to my arsenal? btw I emailed the malware classroom to see about learning how to help others get rid of malware. I have 2 daughters computers I have to get to (all running the same protections I am) so I am more that a bit miffed about the techies that create these malware programs. I want to ring their necks, but since I can't, I'll help as I can. again thanx for your attention! blessings, Terri
Post #23
I think I might get to be proud of myself :D I just did some thinking after rereading your last post and went to my desktop, right clicked and clicked new folder. I renamed it maint (for maintenance) and drag and dropped my adaware, ccclear, atf cleaner, avg antispyware into it. woohoo. I could pat myself on the back. now if I could just figure a way to remind myself to look in that maintenance folder and do the maintenance I should be fine :blush:
Post #24
Okay Terri and I do enjoy working with you.

I take it you would like to have a Maintenance folder,

SO

Right click on your desktop and create a new folder > name it Maintenance folder.

Then drag ATF Cleaner into the new MF.

Then make short cuts of your Antispyware software by going to start >all programs >right click on each of them and scroll to Create Shortcut> then drag the shortcut into your new Maintenance folder on your desktop.

I find I have time for the following:

As the Maintenance Folder is sitting there, I have got into a routine to update all definitions daily and always run one or the other of the Utilities by clicking on the shortcuts one at a time to update after my surfing time on the internet.

We need to stop all your Antispyware programs running at startup. If they do they can slow down everything and use a huge amount of resources. Would you please list them clearly for me in your next post so I can advise you whether to keep them or maybe let them go. We need quality here, not quanity.

I commend you regarding your interest in wanting to join the Malware Classroom. :thumbup:

I hope the included Maintenance program helps you,

kind regards,
____________________________________________

Here is what I have and the method in which I keep my computers clean and fast.

Preventative Maintenance program to avoid Hyjackthis log sending

The following is my suggestion only. As it is very successful for me I thought I would share it.

Definitions of all installations must be kept up to date at least weekly if not daily.

Please follow the advice given here to avoid having your computer attacked by Malware and in turn to avoid asking for volunteer expert help to Analise your logs.

Firstly you need a Fire alarm - Zone Alarm Free. http://filehippo.com/download_zonealarm_free/

Download and install the following program.

One Antivirus software program only as more than one will conflict.
AVG Free http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/

Online Free Malware scan cleaning utility
http://www.johannrain-softwareentwicklung….r-8-English.htm

Several Antispyware programs run manually, randomly, and not enabled at Startup.

AVG Antispyware Free http://free.grisoft.com/doc/download-free-…pyware/us/frt/0
SuperAntispyware Free Edition http://www.superantispyware.com/
Spyware blaster http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/sbdownload.html
Spyware Search and Destroy http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Popu…h-Destroy.shtml
CW Shredder http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshr…r_download.html
AVG Rootkit free http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/AVG-…load-48738.html
A_squared free http://www.brothersoft.com/downloads/a_squared.html
Ad_Aware SE Personal http://www.download.com/3405-8022-5153545.html

Temporary Internet File Cleaners and other Cleanup Utilities.
Here are three I suggest for you to choose from, however please choose only one.

Cleanup 4.5.2 http://www.stevengould.org/index.php?optio…8&Itemid=70
CCleaner http://filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/
ATF Cleaner by Atribune http://www.atribune.org/content/view/19/2/
Also go to start>settings>accessories>systemtools>diskcleanup and follow the prompts.

Defragging Utilities

Defragmenter Analyser . http://www.raxco.com/analyze/
Use the Windows default defragmenter program this way: start>allprograms>accessories>systemtools>defragmenter.

OR

IObit Smart Defragmenter http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=5318
Auslogics degragmenter Free http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/download

1) 'Scan' for Adware, Spyware and all Malware WEEKLY/DAILY.
2) 'Clean your 'Temporary Internet files' and 'History list' every 3 Days.
3) 'Clear your 'SSL state 'every 3 Days.
4) 'Clear your 'Java files' in your Java console every 3 Days
5) 'Empty the 'Recycle bin' every 3 Days.
6) 'Defrag' your hard Drive every 5 Days. (I actually analyse mine and only defrag when necessary)
7) 'Scan' for Viruses and Trojans every 4 Days.
8) 'Degauss' your monitor by turning it off completely and back on, every 5 days
9) 'Completely turn off' your machine every 5 Days. This is different than re-starting.
~~When you re-start, it does not shut down 100%~~

Now I suggest you open "control panel" and then "Internet options." With the 'internet options' open, you will see the general tab. Next click on the "content" tab. You will see "clear SSL state." This normally is performed automatically but I have come across old data left in here. While you are here, you should clean the "auto complete" as well. There is a lot of data stored here that can breach your security and privacy. It is best to uncheck all the three boxes and never use this feature, however if you like this feature, keep it.
To just clean the stored data, click the "auto complete" button and then the "clean passwords" and then OK and then the "clear forms" and then OK. It will wipe all of the stored information.

Now let's move on to the Java files. Open "control panel>settings and find "java plug-in" and click
on temporary internet files>settings>delete files>enable Applications and Applets, and Trace and Log file> okay.

Now while we have it opened, let's adjust the size from 'unlimited' down to "maximum 4 MB" and you
will be ready to go.

Another item that seems to get overlooked on today's maintenance routine is the "C:\windows\temp" folder. You should delete everything that is in this folder, BUT not the folder itself. If you have never done this, it will have a ton of stuff in it.
So run your disk cleanup, defrag, delete cookies etc often. There are other variations of these utilities
available although I have yet to find a problem with the ones that Windows provides.

To flush DNS cache click start, run, type cmd, and type ipconfig /flushdns and press enter. (Note the space between the g /)

DNS = Domain Name Server, the cache referred to is where Windows stores all IP addresses it collects as you surf typing the IP to the domain name to surf to, this cache can grow large over a period of time causing a slowdown on your computer surfing and interaction.

I am indebted to other members on this forum for most of this data, especially Crow and Doug who helped me so much when I first became a member here.
I hope the above is of some help and if followed particularly by new members may alleviate the necessity of posting a HJT log.
Post #25
thanx I did all of the above except delete the files in the windows temp file. it told me it was unable to delete a shock file (spelling?) that is in use by another program. there is an avast folder in there that it was deleting when I got the error message. so I just clicked ok and the deleting stopped. but everything else was a success (am going to defrag tonite when I go to bed. thanx again and I agree that it is good to discuss these things BEFORE people have trouble and I am grateful to all the techs that post this important info for us. blessings, Terri ps I am putting a notepad copy of the instructions in my new maintenance folder…I will never remember all that lol
Post #26 last edited
:thumbup: Good job. If you have not defragged for some time you may have to do it two or three times for a satisfactory result. Many/other volunteers will come by and advise you to do it in Safe Mode, however for me I do not do that as my computers run so well I do it the simple way……………….again it is your choice. Suggest you close all programs first and do a disk cleanup before defragging to-night. If anything does not want to delete from the temp folder, just leave it, it happens to me, but I am sure you cleared most all in there by attending to it today. kind regards, and let me know how you get on with your defragging, especially if you have a problem. _____________ PS. I have just realised I missed Post #23 yours - my apologies to you. You had already made your Mainentance Folder so well done. :blush:
Post #27
oh poo I might have trouble…avg antispyware found a trojan! it quarantined it but of course when I scanned with avast it found it also and moved it to it's chest. I reckon I will do another hijackthis log and go back to the malware forum grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I have been trying to be so diligent! oh thanx for the kudos :D
Post #28

oh poo I might have trouble…avg antispyware found a trojan! it quarantined it but of course when I scanned with avast it found it also and moved it to it's chest. I reckon I will do another hijackthis log and go back to the malware forum

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I have been trying to be so diligent!

oh thanx for the kudos :D


Terri,

Unless your computer is showing signs of malware and is not running satisfactorily, I would give your utilities a go and see how they perform for you. The HJT forum is swamped at the moment and your wait maybe long, one reason for following below.

This link could help if you feel you are infected.

kind regards,
Post #29
the puter is running beautifully, thanx to all you techies pardon my panic lol but yes, the programs did what they were meant to do. I do know how busy the malware team is…wow, and I will let my utilities do their job. it just makes me so sick that someone intentionally could hurt another person. it rips my heart out. but chin up, life goes on and now I am off to defrag (disk clean first) thanx again for everything! :wub:

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