When you reinstall, make a ghost image file and then update Windows fully, along with your antivirus and anti spyware programs and back up this image also.
Install all your most common applications etc and back this up too.
This uses large amounts of drive space or DVDs, depending upon your choice of backup media.
Then, once a month(maybe three months) or so, make a backup of whatever state your hard drive is in.
This will save you very humungous amounts of time in reinstalls and removes a lot of the fears of doing so too.
Those early backups you might use if you make large changes to your system, like new m/board and CPU.
Svchost.exe is part of the OS. If the Task Manager shows that svchost is sucking up all your CPU cycles, or if it is in a location other than c:\windows\system32, you probably have a worm. Welchia is the most common worm that exhibits this behavior.
I’ll echo yosemite’s advice: format the hard drive and reinstall. It’s not too hard, and you can probably do it in less time than you’ve spent mucking around trying to remove spyware. And casdave is spot-on with the Ghost recommendation. On my 1.5GHz machine, it takes over an hour to install Windows 2000 and the few programs that I use most frequently. Restoring a Ghost backup took less than 15 minutes.
The presence of spyware has no bearing on the health of a hard drive. Once it’s formatted, it will be like a brand new drive (other than the normal wear and tear of any device with moving parts, of course). Even if he did get a new drive, there’s no reason not to also use the old one for extra storage.
One caveat: if you decide to get a new HD, using Ghost to transfer the image off your old drive might make things worse. I’ve tried that and the new drive just wouldn’t boot up no matter what I did.
Ok, it seems that the error messages have gone away.
But I keep getting “You (or a program) are requesting to connect to the internet.” (Paraphrased). These are from “Search-Pounder.com” and “static.callinghome.biz”
And when I turn off the computer, it tells me that some .dll file wouldn’t be able to do something because I’m turning off the computer.
I got the Windows Spyware tool, and I deleted all the spyware it found, but when I restarted the computer, it STILL CALLS HOME. STILL.
Fuck spyware in the ass. Hard. And fuck my stupidity for listening to that bastard who reviewed the logfile.
Sounds like you’ve got dialers. They’re lovely. They dial up far away places and charge you for it. Fortunately, you’re getting warnings when it happens, so that you can choose not to do it.
I’d do a google search and see if there are instructions on removal. There’s also a couple of good tools out there that give you a step-by-step on getting rid of the adware you may have on your system. Bazooka is particularly good, since it takes you into the registry level to delete keys. It may seem complicated, but they really do walk you through it nicely, and the scan is very quick. You can find it at download.com.
I’ve never understood why the average person is willing to put up with the complexities and vulnerabilities of Intel/Microsoft based computers. A cheaper computer is not a bargain if it doesn’t work.
Definitely! It is often an easy solution, and has a lot of other benefits.
To prepare for a spur-of-the-moment reinstall, keep all POP mail up on your server for a month. Just a little extra back up, so when you reinstall you’ll be able to pick up your most recent mail again. (Of course, you need to archive email folders regularly, because most of us save email that is older than a month.) Archive all important documents on CD-R or DVD-R. They’re cheap these days. Another quick back-up method is to mail yourself a copy of anything really important (term paper, etc.) immediately to a web-based email account. This is all basic stuff, of course, that you’ve probably heard about many times.
I’m not saying that reformatting and reinstalling isn’t a hassle, but in my case it hasn’t been too painful. In the last few weeks I just reformatted and reinstalled my Windows XP PC, and also my Mac (getting it ready for an OS upgrade—wanted to install on a clean hard drive). Preparing for it wasn’t all that bad, and now I’ve got extra back up disks. I also find that a lot of stuff I had sitting on my hard drive wasn’t really being used anymore, so now that I’ve got it on CD/DVD, I don’t need it wasting space on the hard drive. Same with a lot of useless applications that I find that I never use. Scorched earth! Get rid of 'em!
There are other, probably better, ways to back up and reinstall, but mine is simple, doesn’t require any computer savvy, and it works for me. I’m not saying I’m 100% diligent about it (except emailing myself important documents—I’m pretty paranoid about that), but so far I’ve never lost anything terribly vital.
And to add to my above ramble, even better than saving email for a month on the server is just to keep it all web-based, period. (Which, as I mentioned before, I do with the PC, but I still use a POP email client on the Mac.)
Maybe it’s because people use software that can be found on a PC but not on a Mac?
Maybe it’s because people are more comfortable with computers that they’ve used and don’t feel like figuring a new system out?
Maybe it’s because {fill in your own here}
If someone asks for help with their PC, don’t just come in and say “Get a Mac”, or “Install Linux”. HELP THEM!! You blindly going in and spouting off doesn’t help anything.
DSOTF I’m with you kid. My GFs daughters came over and burned a couple CDs on the rig at home. I’ve been disinfecting the damn thing of viruses and spyware nearly every day since then.
“Oh no, we didn’t go onto the internet.”
“Well, okay, but just to get a couple more songs. If you don’t want Kazaa on your computer, you can always take it off.”
“What do you mean, use the Mozilla browser? I don’t use desktop icons - I go to the internet through the start menu, and use IE.”
I hate that fucking Ad-Aware noise, too.
[hijack]
Oddly enough, that’s the only Jennifer Anniston role I have ever liked.
[/hijack]
You can create a clone of your drive in Norton Ghost, but it means you need a spare hard drive, it will boot up fine, alll you do is switch it to the correct IDE channel by moving the cable and making it master.
I would recommend trying to run ad-aware and spybot in ‘Safe Mode’. this stops the spyware reinstalling itself every time you delete it, it should get you further down the road.
I have to wonder about your security policy though, what kind of firewall and anti-virus do you use, it almost sounds like you are surfing the net naked.
Like what? The only Windows-only software I know of offhand is some program to help dentists maintain X-ray records and billing information for their patients.
So you admit you’re mentally incapable of learning new things?
…they’re too scared to walk away from the abusive relationship they’re stuck in.
To paraphrase the old joke:
“Doctor, it hurts when I use Windows.”
“Then don’t use Windows.”
Now, I’m not saying that anyone has to switch platforms if they don’t want to. However, I’m spending a lot of time on the Mac message boards, which are experiencing a recent glut of first-time Mac users (the inexpensive and way-cool Mac Mini finally lured them over). These new users are finding the Mac OS pretty easy to learn; most are loving it.
It’s not hard to learn, and these days, it’s not all that expensive either. Not that anyone should switch if they don’t want to. I’m just saying that it’s not some daunting, impossible concept that no one would ever dare contemplate.
Cause it’s all true. Windows is written for the lowest common denominator, the trailer-park trash of the world. As a doper, you should strive to rise above. Come on, join the revolution .
All I have to add is that I have 4 Macs running 24/7 on a broadband connection at home. Two kids of my own, a niece, a nephew, my parents, and my wife all have access to all of the Macs. Between them all, they download all kinds of strange stuff as well as opening all their email with wild abandon. I have never, as in not once, been infected with any virus, worm, trojan horse, or spyware. It’s not that I’ve done anything special to protect these systems. That’s just the way they come out of the box. So you just continue your little co-dependent relationship with the Windoze gods. Just remember, we will be here waiting with open arms when you finally see the light.
