Technical problem

[gerbie]

A computer getting slower is a signal that there is spyware working. How can I be sure? At the moment 45 processes are running, including the dodgy 'webrebates1.exe' This can't be right, can it? Please somebody help me, someone who knows what they're talking about preferably...

Comments

[joy-joy.livejournal.com]

Talk to yarahu. He finally got our computer working again after downloading a whole bunch of anti-spyware programs and spending hours eliminating suspicious files.

[joy-joy.livejournal.com]

Maybe some of this will be useful??

http://www.livejournal.com/users/yarahu/62752.html

[ex-spiralsta884.livejournal.com]

Doesn't sound too good Gerbie. On average I'm running about 16 processes (although of course our setups differ, no doubt).

Do you use any anti-spyware programs? I use two free anti-spyware programs regularly that, together, seem to keep me clear of junk.

1. Ad-aware (http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10319876.html?tag=pop)
2. Spybot (http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10289035.html?tag=prod)

I find that they compliment each other. For example, occasionally one will find a problem that the other one has missed.

But for your ongoing security, probably the best thing you can do (if you haven't already) is to download and start to use a browser with the decency to ASK you if you want to download a particular program (such as "webrebates1.exe"), rather than letting it discreetly install itself on your computer without your knowledge. For a hundred other reasons that I won't go into, you should download and use the latest Firefox browser:

Mozilla Firefox 1.0 (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/)

That way, you deal with the problem of spyware before it reaches your hard drive.

[gerbie.livejournal.com]

I do use Ad-aware and run it regularly (though not daily), but it does not eliminate any of the processes. Can I just delete dodgy looking files from the task manager?

I though 46 was extreme as well, since I 'only' use 6 programmes at the moment. I'll have a look at Spybot and Mozilla. Thanx for your help!

[ex-spiralsta884.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't recommend deleting those files just yet.

The best thing that you could do to deal with any malign requires some investment of time, but here goes: get the "Hijack This" program (a very small download), run it, and post the results on a knowledgeable forum. The moderator(s) will advise you about what to delete.

Running Hijack This will give you a list of all the processes that are active when your computer starts up. You can save this 'log file' in the form of a text file. Copy the list and post it in a forum, such as the one at SpywareInfo (http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?b=1) (moderated amongst others, by the chap who wrote the Hijack This program, I think), and no doubt someone will come to your rescue (they do it every day).

Hijack This (scroll down the page) (http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html)

As far as the long term goes though, you really should be sure to check out Firefox (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/). There's a bit of an Internet revolution going on around it. As far as browsers go, it's a constant delight. You don't have to be a techie to get the most out of it - in fact it's far easier to adjust to your needs than Internet Explorer.

Hope you sort your computer out before it becomes completely zombified.

[yarahu.livejournal.com]

In mijn geval heeft een combinatie van met name Ad-Aware en HijackThis het opgelost of in elk geval een stuk dragelijker gemaakt.

HijackThis is goed maar vereist wel kennis. De volgende twee links helpen je de resultaten te interpreteren: http://computercops.biz/HijackThis.html en http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php

Verder heb ik er helas ook weinig verstand van. Ik heb trouwens ook ongeveer veertig actieve programma's, wat volgens mij niet per definitie verkeerd is.

[gerbie.livejournal.com]

Dank u zeer, AdAware gebruik ik wel regelmatig, maar niet genoeg resultaat. HijackThis moet dus de volgende hulp worden. De lijst zal zeker nodig zijn.

Ik heb meer dan 40 processen, maar 6/7 programma's.

[yarahu.livejournal.com]

Geen dank, ik hoop dat u er iets aan heeft.

Programma's, processen, het is allemaal maar een kwestie van terminologie. Ik ben inderdaad zelf ook niet tegelijk actief met veertig verschillende dingen, maar op de achtergrond loopt er vanalles onzichtbaar mee en ook als ik geen idee heb wat het eigenlijk is, hoeft het nog niet slecht te zijn. Misschien ook wel, maar ik heb CoolWebSearch in elk geval de nek om gedraaid, en dat is het belangrijkste.