# How am I getting computer viruses? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 3, 2005, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-getting-computer-viruses/282777 "2005-01-03T02:33:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-getting-computer-viruses/282777/21 "2005-01-03T23:44:55Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > By “virus problem”, I mean the usual symptoms. Slow running computer, internet connectivity interference, and of course the results from my Adaware and Spybot scans. That is not a “virus problem.” Those symptoms are produced by many different kinds of problems, of which a virus is only one potential cause. The things you find in ad-aware and spybot are generally not considered viruses and generally should not cause the kinds of problems you mentioned. What other posters said is true though… XP has certain services running, “back doors” if you will, that are vulnerable to virus infiltration. It requires no mistake or misstep of the user, except for failing to keep service packs up to date. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-getting-computer-viruses/282777/22 "2005-01-03T23:53:21Z")
> [@slu](#): > > Oh yeah, name one 😃 MerryXmas ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-getting-computer-viruses/282777/23 "2005-01-03T23:55:43Z")
> [@olefin](#): > > Soory, I mean to say dial-up is not as prone. :smack: Not as prone, but it still happens. My wife’s computer, running XP on dialup, got one a year or so back, which I quickly removed thanks to good advice in this very forum. Now we have firewalls and all that good stuff. My daughter’s coach gets virii from time to time, but she and her boyfriend go to some suspicious sites. To the OP: have you downloaded any freebies, like free screen savers? I understand that these are rife with adware. You might check to see what sites you’ve been visiting. But getting a firewall is the best solution. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-getting-computer-viruses/282777/24 "2005-01-04T01:47:15Z")
> [@Myglaren](#): > > Adaware/Spybot intensley dislike any cookies set by eBay, see them as possible dataminers. Not to nitpick, but I don’t think eBay is being singled out. 99% of all cookies set on my machine are data miners according to AdAware, and I rarely use eBay. A data miner is just a routine that secretly collects info like browsing habits from a victim and forwards it to someone else. **Mach Tuck,** you need to see just what is running on your computer and what slice of time each task is using. There are free utilities available from MajorGeeks and [Download.com](http://Download.com) that do this; some allow you to kill one process at a time to see what the effect is on your computer. If you can’t kill one, or if it recreates itself, it is either a bad dude or a necessary system file. Hint: The bad dudes are able to survive much better than the MS system files; kill a system file and the system typically stops working; kill a malware routine and it typically returns. If only the virus writers would write system software and the MS crew wrote viruses, we’d all be better off. 🙂 Also check your startup group (use msconfig). Disable everything and see what comes back. Unplug your Internet connection while you do this, as any anti-virus program will also be disabled. Also be aware that some viruses masquerade under names the same as critical system files; the diff is no critical system files install themselves thru the startup group. Example: lsass.exe, if found in the startup, is a virus; if found in the tasklist only, is probably a system file. Good references: > **[WebMD - Better information. Better health.](https://www.webmd.com/)** > > The leading source for trustworthy and timely health and medical news and information. Providing credible health information, supportive community, and educational services by blending award-winning expertise in content, community services, expert... [http://tasklist.org](http://tasklist.org) ---
**Author:** ![tygerbryght](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@tygerbryght](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygerbryght)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-getting-computer-viruses/282777/25 "2005-01-04T06:51:06Z")
> [@scm1001](#): > > even opera is susceptable to viruses if the security features are not enabled properly. It can also be attacked through java > > [http://www.pcsympathy.com/article763.html](http://www.pcsympathy.com/article763.html) The above link recommends downloading a Java update. Is this a Good Idea?? I just got through resolving a Java applet problem with Norton Personal Firewall. I’m not sure I’m game to start _that_ again. It took over a week (granted, it was through the holidays, but Symantec uses overseas tech support, ☹ so it shouldn’t have made any difference), and it wasn’t until I attached the two zillion files from two separate web pages (with lots & lots of gifs, etc.) to the fourth (IIRC) reply that they said, “It’s the Java stuff. Modify your firewall protection.” Which fixed the problem, thankfully. Soooo. Do I really need to do this? I use Netscape 7.1 (Mozilla 5.0). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-am-i-getting-computer-viruses/282777.md?page=1)