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Spikess · **popups -** 10-07-05

anyone else getting them or is it just me??

ShotDownStar · 10-07-05

not me, i have a popup blocker but it woulda told me i was getting them

>FuckDoll< · 10-07-05

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShotDownStar

not me, i have a popup blocker but it woulda told me i was getting them

same here.

gArGOyLe^^ · 10-07-05

There are no popup ads on Darkforum.com. You may have spyware/malware installed. I wrote this a while back. hope it helps.

Quote:

Computer Problems? Pop-ups? Sluggishness? Viruses?

In my experience most of the computer users (running windows) have problems due to viruses and Spyware. CompUSA, BestBuy and other computer repair "specialists" regularly charge over $200 (sometimes they charge more than what a new computer would cost) for fixing these problems.

Here is the exact process most will go through to fix MOST computers with virus/spyware problems.

1. Check for Viruses.

Most computers nowadays ship with an antivirus that expects your to pay $40 per year for virus definition updates. If you would rather spend that money on something else you should get a free antivirus program. Here are two free good ones:

a. AVG Anti Virus
http://www.grisoft.com/doc/1
b. ClamWin
http://www.clamwin.com/

Most people in my experience go with AVG but ClamWin is also a good antivirus with almost daily updates. How do these guys make money? ClamWin is mainly volunteer work. AVG AV tries to sell you their firewall software and other stuff.

You may also want to check your university or place of work if they provide you with free antivirus software with free updates. Loooots of places do.

So step one would be to install, update and run the virus scanner. Set it up for automatic updates. Let it run till its finished and then delete every infected file that it detects. Usually deletion is the safest bet in my opinion. In the end its your decision based on how important the infected file is. If it is important go ahead and try to clean but more often than not it will tell you that it is unable to clean the file.

2. Run a trojan/worm scan

Sometimes antivirus programs MIGHT not be able to either detect or clean worms or trojans. That is the fault of the antivirus program but instead of getting mad at them just STINGER.

a. Stinger
http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger

This is a free program provided by the nice folks at McAfee Inc. Run it and let it scan. Remove everything it finds and then delete stinger. The next time you want to run Stinger download it again from the site because there will be a new updated version available.

3. Run anti spyware programs.

This is to FREE your poor computer from malware that has it shackled up. Unfortunately all these spyware programs never catch and remove ALL the spyware. So I usually end up downloading and running four different spyware scanners.

a. Microsoft Antispyware
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...e/default.mspx

Microsoft bought Giant (I think that was the name), a company that made antispyware stuff, and renamed it to MS antispyware. It's a nice little program that sits in your tray and tells you of potentially dangerous files. It also scans and finds a lot of bad stuff. Recently its been doing shady stuff like not recognizing some spyware because they were made by companies that are MS friendly. Just rumors (which MS denied) but still ... I try to be on the safe side... So after you run this go ahead and get.....

b. Adaware
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

Download, Install, Run. Then....

c. SpyBot
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

Download, Install, Run.. Then...

d. Yahoo AntiSpyware
http://toolbar.yahoo.com/ie

Install the Internet Explorer toolbar! Then run the anti spyware. Its the little button that looks like a target sign. Don't worry if you don't like toolbars .. because later on I'm going to recommend moving to Mozilla Firefox later on in this article.. (if I remember to).

Now after running four different Antispyware programs we are not FINALLY (quite) certain that our computer is spyware FREE! Hopefully when you ran yahoo antispyware it didn't detect anything. Now on to...

4. Software Updates

I can't believe how many people NEVER install any software updates. An essential responsibility of owning a computer is that you must maintain it by checking for updates! So DO IT!

a. Windows Update
http://update.microsoft.com/windowsu....aspx?ln=en-us

Alternately you can get to this by going to START >> ALL PROGRAMS >> Windows Update.
Run this and install updates until it says :

"High-priority updates No high-priority updates for your computer are available. To check for optional updates, return to our home page and click Custom."

You don't have to click custom but you check if you want to. If you don't want this trouble again go to your control panel and go into "Automatic Updates" and set your computer to update automatically. Be sure to set a time when your computer is usually on and your internet connection is active. Keeping your computer updated from now on is your job. Even with automatic updates enabled just make sure its working every now and then. It will keep your computer and you very happy!

b. Each computer has different components and I can't possibly cover all of them. But every now and then be sure to check for updates for stuff like your BIOS, Video card drivers, browsers, Java, etc.

5. Switch to an alternate browser

Microsoft is years behind every other major web browser. They are only now working on an update after they are quickly losing users. Why use a browser that is substandard, insecure, and has half the features that other browsers have? There is no reason. So go ahead and switch to Mozilla FireFox, Safari, or Opera.

I personally use FIREFOX! Maybe in a future post I will go over how to customize FireFox using extensions to get the best browsing experience! And if you don't want to wait just try a few out.
http://www.firefox.com

6. Remove stuff that starts when your computer starts

Lots of programs like RealPlayer, Quicktime, Instant Messengers start up when your computer starts up. You really don't need them to start up when your computer starts so how can you remove them?

One way is:

Click Start >> Click Run >> Type msconfig >> Click on the Startup tab. These are most of the things that start up when your computer starts up. Carefully look at each Startup Item and its Command and Location and determine what the program is and whether or not you want it to start up when your computer starts up. If you don't know what an Item is... go type in the name into Google. If you think you don't need it just uncheck the box. Be careful though because you WANT your antivirus to start up with your computer so carefully remove the stuff. You can remove RealPlayer, Winamp, Quicktime etc with out a second thought.

Another way:

http://www.sysinternals.com
http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Autoruns.html

Download Autoruns, an excellent program by Sysinternals, that shows you everything that starts up when your computer starts up. Then just remove the stuff and it stays off. Highly recommended. Check their site for even more useful stuff for advanced trouble shooting. I love those guys *tear*.

7. Other stuff

Other you can do is to run a disk scan and disk defragmenter. Go to My Computer. Right click on your hard drive (most often C:\) . Click on Properties. Click on the Tools Tab. Under Error Checking click the Check now button. Let it scan and fix any errors it finds. Then come back to this place and click Defragment Now under the Defragmentation section.

Conclusion

The above mentioned techniques are what are followed by MOST "specialists" who end up charging hundreds of dollars thanks to the ignorance of users. Nothing wrong with that.. everyone needs to make a living... Hopefully this stuff will help you keep your PC healthy and fast for many years to come.

This is by no means at all meant to be a complete solution to all that ails computers these days. But I'm sure that MOST problems plaguing home users can be solved by this.

If you need help with something or have suggestions or comments.. or have found problems in this post (probably lots of spelling errors I'm sure) please leave me a comment

thefr0g · 10-07-05

I'm getting annoying ads on the side of the screen which throws the whole scheme of the forum off, how do I get rid of them?

Spikess · 10-07-05

cheers, i know my comp doesn't have any viruses as i have avg, but i keep getting a pop up for some program promising to fix my comp an trying to automatically install itself, an the pop up blocker isn't stopping it!

it's frigging weird.

Quiet..... · 10-07-05

also, use firefox over ie... that alone is a lifesaver

DizzyQViper · 10-07-05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spikess

cheers, i know my comp doesn't have any viruses as i have avg, but i keep getting a pop up for some program promising to fix my comp an trying to automatically install itself, an the pop up blocker isn't stopping it!

it's frigging weird.

Thats spyware alright...

Install Hitman Pro and run that. It downloads all major anti spyware tools and runs them one after another. If that wont work. Boot into safemode and run it again.

Its the best all in one spyware killer EVER. (dont worry its freeware)

http://members.home.nl/mloman/hitmanpro221.exe

Oh, and when your done killing spyware, Get firefox...

Kendra · 10-07-05

not me. i have popup blocker as well and norton antivirus auto-protecter.

>FuckDoll< · 10-07-05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kendra

not me. i have popup blocker as well and norton antivirus auto-protecter.

So do I. Norton doesn't stop everything, even if you run live update daily.

Spikess · 10-07-05

Quote:

Originally Posted by DizzyQViper

Thats spyware alright...

Install Hitman Pro and run that. It downloads all major anti spyware tools and runs them one after another. If that wont work. Boot into safemode and run it again.

Its the best all in one spyware killer EVER. (dont worry its freeware)

http://members.home.nl/mloman/hitmanpro221.exe

Oh, and when your done killing spyware, Get firefox...

do you have links to everything?? if only you were pocket sized.

DizzyQViper · 10-07-05

Almost everything... All i need is a link that summons a midget that brings me cash so i dont have to work again...

Kendra · 10-07-05

Quote:

Originally Posted by >FuckDoll<

So do I. Norton doesn't stop everything, even if you run live update daily.

yeah i've been learning about that with norton.

but i forget to run it everyday. i'll only run it once when it comes into mind. but still i know it doesn't really do anything all that much.

>FuckDoll< · 10-07-05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kendra

yeah i've been learning about that with norton.

but i forget to run it everyday. i'll only run it once when it comes into mind. but still i know it doesn't really do anything all that much.

You should set up live update to run automatically... really.

DizzyQViper · 10-07-05

Norton antivirus is low end consumer crap.

Ask your local geek for a corperate copy of Symantec Antivirus. Its used for servers and stuff like that and its also pretty recource friendly.

Kendra · 10-07-05

Quote:

Originally Posted by >FuckDoll<

You should set up live update to run automatically... really.

hmmm.

now i'm all thinking about it.

>FuckDoll< · 10-07-05

and get yourself a spy zapper too.

Kendra · 10-07-05

what does a spy zapper do?

i've never heard of a spy zapper. anyway i had a "friend" who helped me out with my computer once when it crashed. he was the one who set it up like this. he was a cheap whore as well... he worked on my computer for a cheap price.

>FuckDoll< · 10-07-05

check out post #4 in this thread chica.

Kendra · 10-07-05

oh my bad haha.

didn't see that.