Computer problems...need help please

[Box and one]

My daughter is leaving for college on Sunday.She is in a state of panic.Her laptop I think has a virus.My son is not so sure.He uses it a lot too.They do download songs from Kazza.
I'm not sure what the computer is doing but I'm going to have my son come here for a second and explain whats happening on her computer.I know it freezes up all the time.
I know there are some of you here that might be able to make some suggestions.I'm going to submit this now and have him write in the next post. Thanks.

 

[DJTranks]

Let me know the exact problem, if it is a virus do you have norton to clean it out or other virus protection??

 

[Box and one]

My sister is running Windows XP, and for the past week we've been having problems. We constantly get "Server Busy" pop ups, which say:
"This action cannot be completed because the other program is busy. Choose 'Switch To' to activate the busy program and correct the problem."
Selecting "Switch To" brings up the start menu, and pressing Retry just makes the same "Server Busy" pop up reappear.
In addition to the Server Busy pop up, we often recieve Internet Explorer Script Error pop up. The descriptions of the error vary, including "Illegal to call out while inside message filter", followed by "Do you want to continue running scripts on this page? Yes or No." Pressing either yes or no makes the pop up dissapear, only to pop up again in a few minutes.(An example of the URL is www.clickspring.net/cs/virgo/sjb.php)
The computer also freezes with almost every action performed. When Internet Explorer is opened, the screen is usually white, and the Toolbars and Address Bar and blank stripes of grey with no words or buttons. When we minimize or close a program, it remains visible in the backround. Almost everything we attempt to minimize or close seems to stay, however when we check the Task Manager, the program is not running.We usually use the Task Manager to end the program thats frozen, and move on.
The other day I ran a full computer scan with Norton, nothing was picked up. The System Status was "Ok", however upon checking Norton Antivirus tonight, the System Status is "Attention"
I'm running another scan tonight.
One of my sisters must have downloaded a program called "Virtual Bouncer" within the last 2 days. The program runs when the system is started, and along with other messages we get upon startup, Virtual Bouncer tells us it found a parasite, and the program pretty much describes a cookie as its parasite, however never formally noting it as a cookie. When you click "Yes" to attempt for fix it, it says you have to pay for the full program, and we only have a demo. I'm not sure if its just a scam or serious.
I'm not sure if the next thing is a problem or not, or just something I'm overlooking. When I hit Alt + Tab, all the icons of the programs that are running appear, including one icon that I'm not sure of its origin. It appears to be a small globe, connected to a computer, and over the computer is a gold padlock. I don't know what this means, and nothing comes up when I select it off the Alt + Tab menu.

This is the box again.hope this makes sense to someone.My son typed this in 2 minuts.It took me 5 minuts to read it.
Appreciate it if some of you can figure the problem out.Thanks..

 

[MadJack]

i'm sure someone here can figure it out but you'll probably have to wait until tomorrow, considering the time.

doesn't xp have the option to go back to the computer configuration (settings) you had when the computer was running smoothly (2, 4, 8 days ago)?

try that while you're waiting. i'm sure you can figure that out.

i had problems 2 weeks ago and wound up having to call gateway to do the same for me. i use win98, however.

 

[Box and one]

thanks madjack.My son just asked me how long does it take to get a response.ha
maybe tomr someone can help.Thanks again..

 

[Felonious Monk]

Box, Jack is right, do a system restore first. There is no doubt that if you download anything from Kazaa you will eventually catch a virus. Do this and we will go over everything else tomorrow:

1. Click Start.
2. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
3. Click the System Restore tab.
4. Clear the "Turn off System Restore" or "Turn off System Restore on all drives" check box.
5. Click Apply, and then click OK.

 

[Felonious Monk]

Also, since she'll be in Austin (i'm assuming) she can always give me a ring when needed and I can fix any of her computer-related problems. Feel free to e-mail me, my address is on our fantasy football page.

 

[Box and one]

Fel... Monk.... this one goes to East Stroudsberg Univ in Pa.My "longhorn" graduated and is teaching in Austin.In fact today is the 1st day of classes in Austin.
She just bought a house in Austin thru the HUD 'revitaliazation" program that only teachers and police can apply.Great program.It's to keep the young policeman and teachers in Austin.She got a $100,000 home for $50,000.She must keep it for 3 yrs.She won the bid last week and will close on it next month.
Not bad.Only 23 yrs old and owns a home.
Also she qualifies for a $5,000 new homer owner gift thru the city of Austin.Her teachers salary is kinda low so she qualified.

Anyway L'box is the one with the computer problem.Later maybe you or someone else can help.My son did what you and madjack told him.I don't think anything happened.Appreciate all the help ya'll can give. See, have me saying ya'll.
And in Austin schools teachers in the Ele. schools are prohibited from saying that in class.No problem for my daughter because she never said it.But I wonder if she can say "you guys".

 

[Felonious Monk]

hey Box, is there anyway you could get one of the little Boxes to call me? there's a lot of things i need to know first before trying to fix the problem. i can give you my number thru e-mail.

Good to hear about the longhorn daughter. HUD is a fantastic program. i'm sure she's hating the heat right now!

 

[KMA]

I have heard many things about Virtual Bouncer, and not much of is printable. The general consensus is that people are better off.


The followign adware removal software come with high recommendations:



http://www.computing.net/security/wwwboard/forum/5035.html

http://www.stayton.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=20&forum=2

On this forum:http://boards.cexx.org/viewtopic.php?t=223 ..... at the bottom of which, you will see some animosity too ... "This is a disgusting piece of spyware and is effectively demanding money with menaces."




The followign adware removal software come with high recommendations:



Ad-Aware v6.0 is available from: http://lavasoftusa.com

Spbot Search and Destroy is available from DownLoad.com: http://download.com.com/3000-2144-10194058.html?tag=lst-0-1

SpywareVBlaster is available from: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html ... they also have SpwareGuard ... which is pretty decent or so I have been told.


There is adware, and then there are pop-ups. There used to be a pop-up killer called FreeSurfer (version 2.1 is what I have). It was FreeWare when I got it, but I have been told they are now shareware. I am positive you will find decent pop-up killers on http://www.download.com




Most importantly, you might want to go into the IE Tools -> Options -> Security, and disable install on demand.


Good Luck!!!

 

[Rudy]

Agree with starting with the spyware killers. Ad-aware is my favorite. Easy to download free version from lavasoftusa.com.

Second, look for the MSBlast virus that was going around last week. Could be the most likely culprit. Do so by: Start, Search, All Files and Folders, Local Hard Drives (C, file mane msblast.exe. If you find it, just delete it and that's over.

Also, try going to the Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs and look for any rogue programs that might have installed without permission. Especially watch for one called Gator. If you post a list of the ones you find questionable, we can tell you which to uninstall.

Good luck!