Anyone Have This Problem?

I am running Windows XP on a DELL inspiron notebook (2 years old). I use the Windows CD Rom that came with my PC to re-format my harddrive and re-install windows. The last time I did a re-format, I had no such problems. I think this time, I ran into trouble because I had my firewall turned off (when I was connected to the net to get Norton Internet Security/Anti-virus updates). Just a guess.

I've just run adaware and spybot, re-scanned my PC for viruses, and the problem still exists.

I have a feeling I am just going to have to re-format again - for the millionth time. Dell tells me that this could reduce the life of my hard drive. This is getting really frustrating.

Is there a methodology I should be using after re-fromatting/re-installing windows that will protect me better? The first thing I do is install anti-virus software - but that requires connecting to the internet for updates. It's kind of a catch-22...what should I do?

Thanks for your advice everyone! Paula

Juan Valdez wrote:

Let me guess, you formatted your drive and then installed Windows, then connected to the Internet to get all the service packs and updates, but you were not behind a firewall or router, you left file/printer sharing enabled, you created a user account without password, and you didn't follow the MS installation process for securely installing Windows?

You got crapware installed on your machine.

snipped-for-privacy@shaw.ca wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

CAUTION: DO NOT CONNECT TO THE FOLLOWING LINK: http://www. freewebs.com/jodaaa/happy.html redirects to

Malware has been on windupdates.com on peer-1 for damn close to a year and I find it incredible that they have not removed it.

It sounds like you have a com server installed on your PC. Some malware is trying to get more malware installed on your machine. If it is making an unsolicited attempt to get to the site you mentioned (without you clicking on a web site of some sort), then you have malware activating at startup time. A lot of malware is symbiotic - i.e., it needs other files to operate properly. A lot of malware just loads other stand alone malware. Either or both may be the case.

You do NOT know that. Malware can send out spam, try to crack other boxes and if installed, a keylogger can report your banking transactions back to some 14 year old kid who "ownz" your box and needs the money to buy Playboy and Noxema. A firewall which blocks all incoming ports and all except the essential outgoing ports will minimize the damage. However, the latest malware is good at tricking the user into cooperating with it. Some malware changes your hosts file, which connects you to spoofed sites (like banks) rather than the real thing.

If you do not know how to look for and destroy the malware (few people do) then it is best to get some qualified help to make another clean install and fully patch the system before reconnecting to the net. You do not mention which flavour of windows you are using, so I assume that it is XP. Have the qualified person make sure that you are fully patched (SP1 and SP2), have a current antivirus (and ideally one or two anti spyware detectors) running and then set up your firewall per your needs. Install Firefox and Thunderbird. Avoid Internet Explorer and Outlook except where absolutely necessary (windowsupdates comes to mind among others).

Also, make sure that your Microsoft Operating System is genuine. There are a few pirated copies from the Orient floating around which have some unwelcome additions.

Anti-spyware was unimportant only two years ago. Now it is almost as vital as antivirus. Perhaps more so.

Unfortunately, this isn't the old internet any more. It has been estimated that well over half the PC's have either unwelcome adware, spyware, worms or viruses installed.

snipped-for-privacy@shaw.ca wrote on 25 May 2005 22:53:24 -0700:

Get a cheap NAT router - at least that way the first time you connect to the internet you're extremely unlikely to be infected by a worm as by default it should prevent all incoming connections.

If you can't/won't do that, then format, install the OS, then turn off all unnecessary services, turn off file and print sharing. Get XP SP2 on a CD, or a third party software firewall, and install that. Make sure the XP/third party firewall is enabled. That at least will help reduce the risk of worm infection when you connect to the internet.

Dan

you need to run adaware over your machine , then down load the Microsoft spy thingy and run it as well , do you have a firewall working ? if not get one .

"Spack" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net:

What he means by a NAT router is a small appliance (Linksys, Netgrar, Zyxel, etc. make them) which translates the address of your Shaw cable modem to a "local address". In the process it allows you to block off incoming ports which you don't use anyway such as 111, 135-139, 445. Older cable systems only filter traffic from those ports at an aggregate level, so you will still get malicious traffic from your neighborhood. I have no idea what equipment Shaw uses or what they filter, but if all the "fun" ports (135, 445, etc) were open that might be how you got reinfected.

Anyhow, Linksys and Netgear all come with instructions and there are also lots of "setup hints" on their websites. Once you read the instructions thoroughly and understand them configuring the router is not hard. These boxes also let you restrict what outgoing ports you use, so if spam spewing or virus spreading worms will not be able to accomplish their goals. Internal "firewalls" also work but you have to pay equally close attention to their setup. Your Dell probably comes with the McAfee suite, the internal firewall on which is pretty decent.

You may purchase CD's with Microsoft SP1 and SP2 from them. Mailing time is about a week in the US (probably the same in Canada) and the cost was about $7 USD if I remember correctly.

Without SP1 and SP2, you are a "sitting duck" and even the greatest amount of care probably won't protect you very well. The reason is that most of the XP kiddy exploits were written for unpatched systems. DO NOT reconnect to the net after reinstall WITHOUT THESE UPGRADES. The first thing to do after reconnecting is to go to windows update and get the recent patches. That's about half the battle.

I would install one or two antispyware programs. There are a lot of opinions about which antispyware programs are best. You can read the opinions on the net. One thing is sure. NO REAL ANTISPYWARE/ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM IS EVER SOLD THROUGH SPAM!! The reason I put that in shouting caps is because more than one spamware "antispyware" program contains a trojan and a pila del adware.

Finally, if you don't know how to update your antivirus for free, buy a current subscription. The money you spend to keep the subscription current is paid back when it rejects the first virus.

Good advice.

I somehow envision Canada as houses separated by vast expanses of green trees surrounded by grazing moose. In reality, the population density where you live is probably no different than Los Angeles or Monterey, so if possible find an experienced computer person in your neighborhood to help you with these things.