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SPYWARE
VIRUSES TROJANS:
"My
computer is slow."
"My
computer hangs or crashes."
SIMPLE
FACT:
Over 90% of all computers are infected with spyware.
SOLUTION:
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old solution no longer seems to be enough. Even when computers
are fully protected and updated, it seems that junk still
finds its way on your computer. Usually the junk gets in your
system via your children, or you if you like to go places
that are high-risk, such as searching websites for pirated
software, pornography, following pop-up ads, and clicking
on junk mail (spam.)
Here's
my new solution. It works great, but requires some major work:
1)
Back up everything on your computer that you want to save,
then wipe the hard drive clean using the windows xp installation
disk.
2)
Reinstall a fresh copy of your operating system using only
a part of your hard drive. (During setup it will ask you if
you want to use the entire drive - say no and then tell it
how much to use. You should have at least 20 GB (20,480 Megabytes)
on your operating system partition (Usually called C: drive)
3)
Install all the software you need, making sure you dont expose
the computer to viruses or spyware during the setup process.
Install anti-virus and anti-spyware software as shown in the
original solution (below).
4)
Create a partition on the unused hard drive space and format
it for use as a SAVE
drive.(You can do this in disk management -
start run compmgmt.msc)
5)
After formatting the SAVE
drive and rebooting, your computer should automatically assign
a drive letter to the SAVE
drive.
6)
PURCHASE a copy of DEEP FREEZE software. ($30) http://www.faronics.com
7)
Create a folder on the SAVE drive and move your "My Documents"
folder to the new folder on the SAVE
drive. (Right-click on the My Documents icon on the
desktop and click MOVE)
8)
Install DEEP FREEZE and freeze the C: drive. This
software will restore your computer to its current state on
every restart. Make sure to save any important files
on the SAVE
drive. You will need to create a password to unlock deep freeze
at a later date. DO NOT tell your kids the password!
9)
Now you will be able to go get viruses and spyware, and restarting
the computer will make them all go away.
10)
About once a week or two, you should restart the computer
in THAW mode (vulnerable) and then update your anti-virus
and anti-spyware signatures, making sure you don't go to any
unnecessary websites during this process. Then freeze the
computer and restart it.
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ORIGINAL
SOLUTION:
(It is best to do this BEFORE you have problems:)
1)
Install one (or more) free spyware removal / monitoring / prevention
tools.
Macecraft.com
Lavasoft
Adaware
Spybot
Search & Destroy
Windows
Defender (Updates itself)
2)
Keep anti-virus definituions up to date.
Grisoft
AVG Free Edition (Updates itself)
WHAT
IF YOUR SYSTEM IS ALREADY INFECTED???
Try
to install the above programs anyway.
If they can't help, then you may want to
check the following stuff:
It
helps if you know where to look. Bad stuff likes to hide where it
will automatically start with your computer. There are three main
areas that they like to hide. You can really HOSE your computer
by messing around with this stuff, but sometimes its the only option:
1)
Startup folder (Start - Programs - Startup)
Just
delete anything in startup that you dont want to auto-start.
2)
Registry Run Keys (Start - Run - type "REGEDIT" and hit
ok)
Browse to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE MICROSOFT WINDOWS CURRENT_VERSION
RUN
and
HKEY_CURRENT_USER MICROSOFT WINDOWS CURRENT_VERSION RUN
and
HKEY_USERS DEFAULT MICROSOFT WINDOWS CURRENT_VERSION RUN
delete
anything under the RUN key
that you don't want to auto-start
(Note
- there are more areas but these are the most abused)
3)
Run as a service
Start
- Settings - Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Services
Double-click
and change startup to manual or disabled if it is bad.
WHAT
IF IT STILL WONT WORK?
There
is a possibility that your computer is suffering from a hardware
problem, hardware conflict, bad software installation, etc. If you
have eliminated viral or spyware invasion, then you may want to
scan your hardware for problems. Many computers come with a system
cd. Insert the CD and re-boot. Booting to the CD may require different
keystrokes during the initial startup process, but the screen will
usually tell you what to press. Follow the on screen instructions
to test your computer.
The
two most common hardware problems are:
a) Bad Hard Drive
b) Bad Power Supply
If
your hardware checks out, then you may want to wipe out your computer
and reload a fresh operating system. Saving your old files can be
tricky, so I recommend purchasing a new hard drive, installing it,
and removing your "BAD" hard drive. Set up windows on
your new hard drive, and when all done, re-install your "BAD"
hard drive as a secondary (non-boot) drive. (It may appear as a
"D" drive.)
And
when you get your computer working again,
protect it:
Macecraft.com
Lavasoft
Adaware
Spybot
Search & Destroy
Windows
Defender
Grisoft
AVG Free Edition
Deep
Freeze
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