Tarun

Start > Run I'll explain about Outpost and how well it works later.

avast is great for AV; as for a firewall, try the free Comodo Firewall. You also should really use SP2.

Ewido: regsvr32 /u "%ProgramFiles%\ewido anti-spyware x.x\context.dll" (where x is a version number) ZoneAlarm I'm unsure of. It's a terrible firewall honestly. You may want to switch to Comodo or if you want to pay for a firewall, get Outpost Pro.

What do you not want there?

Have you tried Dial-a-fix yet?

Haha you did? I was the one that found those traces and did the Norton Removal Tool. That PC that was beside it that was that crap Dell pc with 256MB RAM and all the users also had Symantec crap leftover on it. You nailed that one. Heck, there was another time some guy was having all sorts of weird issues, we ran the Norton Removal Tool and everything was fixed.

http://www.pdfforge.org/

Yeah that was really odd timing.

That's what you think... according to you someone could write a huge, verbose, official-looking essay claiming anything and you would probably believe it because the author "seemed to know much on the subject".Having no references makes it all the more suspicious. After searching the Internet a few times to see if this information has been published somewhere else, (e.g. http://www.google.com/search?q=%22task+man...art=10&sa=N ) there is nothing else that supports the claims found in your source. From what I've seen, Task Manager is reporting accurately. See http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?s=&amp...st&p=581316 for one example of calculating a memory usage. Perfect example is with the Hosts file. Just because a multitude of websites say to use it to block malware and advertisements doesn't mean the information is correct. I'll look into it more to see if I can prove that it is indeed correct; though just reading it is more than enough because it makes perfect and practical sense.

He was being sarcastic.

Personally, I prefer using ProcessExplorer. Never had a problem with it and use it at work constantly. LLXX, there's no need for citation when biznatchio not only wrote the article, he also knows plenty about Windows memory management.

Happy to help.

*.* means all files, I know quite well how to read. Yes, we can either use your limited use batch file or use CCleaner which will cover a much wider spectrum of cleanup. Tough choice. There is no harm in offering alternatives. After all, that is one of the purposes of these forums. I simply said that the use of deltree is not needed and really is incorrect for Windows XP. Windows XP makes use of rd / rmdir which suits the needs of the original poster. Now; there's no need to flame me or call me a liar. The only person who has called you a liar is... well... you. Just be respectful to all your fellow posters, after all; we're all here to help, no matter who we are.

It's a shame that the Task Manager does not reflect memory accurately. Read more

Andromeda, Windows XP doesn't use deltree. There's no need for the extra program either. A little research on your part would show you that rd and rmdir are both commands integrated to remove directories. You can also learn that from reading everyone's posts here as they cover that quite nicely. About the rmdir command - by Microsoft. You can learn more about the command line changes here. tgossen, Aside from the .bat files, you may also wish to use Firefox 2.0. You can set it to clear all your private data when the browser closes. You can find it under Privacy. Another alternative is to use CCleaner to remove everything you don't want/need. Hope this helps.

Dial-a-fix will scan for malicious policies.

Yet is sadly fools a lot of people.

Here is a link to the full article.

There is unfortunately a lot of misinformation gonig on about the Hosts file and the DNS Client service. A while back I wrote a brief FAQ on the Hosts file and how to protect your computer properly. Here's the Hosts file snippit. What is the Hosts file? The Hosts file is used to look up the Internet Protocol address of a device connected to a computer network. The Hosts file describes a many-to-one mapping of device names to IP addresses. When accessing a device by name, the networking system will attempt to locate the name within the Hosts file if it exists. Typically, this is used as a first means of locating the address of a system, before accessing the Internet domain name system. The reason for this is that the Hosts file is stored on the computer itself and does not require any network access to be used, whereas DNS requires access to an external system, which is typically slower. Where can I find the Hosts file? It depends on what Operating System you are using that determines where you can find the Hosts file. Locations of the Hosts file on many Operating Systems: Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista: %SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\ is the default location, which may be changed. The actual directory is determined by the Registry key \HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\DataBasePath . Windows 95/98/Me: %WinDir%\ Linux and other Unix-like operating systems: /etc Mac OS: System Folder: Preferences or System folder (format of the file may vary from Windows and Linux counterparts) Mac OS X: /private/etc (uses BSD-style Hosts file) OS/2 and eComStation: "bootdrive": \mptn\etc\ What should the Hosts file be used for? The Hosts file should only be used for redirecting a website or a new IP address. This generally happens if your favorite website has relocated to a new host or their IP has changed. It sometimes takes a few days to update your DNS cache and sometimes it's also up to your ISP to refresh this information on their local cache. You also should only use it if you absolutely must block a website that you have no desire of ever going to. What do you not use the Hosts file for? Under no circumstance should you ever use your Hosts file to block malware or advertisements. It is not designed to be used in this manner despite what many websites falsely report. Coincidently those sites also offer their own malware and ad-blocking Hosts files. Some websites will also recommend disabling the DNS Client service or setting it to Manual. By default it is set to Automatic and should not be changed.

Dial-a-fix will cure that issue.

To date, I have never detected any Peper files with Peperfix, but I use it as a precaution. Yes, it is possible that Ad-Aware and Spybot will find the same malware, but as they are different programs with different heuristics for scanning; they can detect different traces and elements of malware. I always let Ad-Aware remove first, as it is updated more and is maintained far better than Spybot. When Spybot goes to remove an item Ad-Aware has removed, it simply ignores the file(s) found that Ad-Aware detected and removed, because they are no longer present. But should there be traces of other malware that Ad-Aware didn't get; Spybot takes care of them. Also, if Spybot asks me to run again on startup, I always say no because it's usually lying. Hope this clarifies a few things.

Re-enable the items and use Autoruns from SysInternals or use HijackThis to remove them.

Belkin gives a lifetime warranty with their Pre-N products. Get a G router, as N is not a finalized standard.

I primarily use my Anti-Malware Professional package. It contains SpywareBlaster, CCleaner, CWShredder, Ad-Aware, Spybot S&D, AVG Anti-Spyware (formerly ewido), Firefox, Thunderbird, Firetune, and UPHClean setup. Personal methods: I have a number of tools I use to diagnose and repair systems. It generally takes an hour to two hours, depending on the speed of the machine and how critical the infections are. From start to finish: Peperfix, VX2Finder, TheNotifier (used to verify the results of VX2Finder), ADSSpy, SpywareBlaster, CCleaner, CWShredder, Ad-Aware (and I install the defs I pre-downloaded using my InstallDefs.bat file), Spybot S&D (and all three of the updates), Autoruns, HijackThis, Dial-a-fix, LSPFix, UPHClean and Windows Updates. Peperfix is to of course remove any Peper files, VX2Finder finds and repairs any VX2 infections, and ADSSpy for malicious ADS-Stream data. SpywareBlaster is a great asset as it protects both IE and Firefox; plus it stops any active malware on the system from properly functioning. CCleaner is then used to clean out the system of junk files. Additionally when you use it to clean your system, it can also clean out temp directories and other locations where malware can hide and replicate. CWShredder is used to remove any CWS infections that can bog down the system. I've not been seeing near as much CWS as I used to. Ad-Aware and Spybot are run concurrently, both scanning at the same time. Prior to scanning with Spybot, I Immunize the system and also allow it to clean up File Sets. Then begin the scan and while scanning I look over the ActiveX and BHO's via Spybot's Tools. I also apply the Spybot S&D HOSTS file. When finished I remove all malicious findings after reviewing them and then I move on to my next tool, Autoruns. Autoruns is used while Ad-Aware and Spybot are scanning. Under Options I apply a check beside Verify Code Signatures and Hide Signed Microsoft Entries. I check for File Missing entries and look for anything malicious which I then remove manually. I check every user listed as well. HijackThis is used next and I inspect the entries, making whatever removals necessary. I make use of LSPFix to check for any other issues to Winsock, etc. Dial-a-fix gets used for good measure, hitting the green checkmark and clicking Go to tidy up and resolve any potential issues. I'll also put IE7 on to increase security and get their system up to date. UPHClean is installed last and I follow up by checking for Windows Updates, getting all of them. Or I'll make use of AutoPatcher if they're on a low-speed connection. After rebooting and making sure the system is working good as new (or better); I'll use CCleaner to scan for Issues and remove anything found, always making backups as a precaution as I've seen CCleaner break a lot of systems when using the Issues scanning. Should they need an Anti-Virus; it's always Avast witha minimal install and set up to update silently. ---- At work I use pretty much the same tools, though I do not install and use Firefox, Thunderbird, Firetune or AVG-AS on client machines (It's pretty much for visitors to my website only, as many of the tools I use should only be used by professionals). I do update Firefox/Thunderbird if it's already installed and add a few extensions that are lightweight and beneficial. If a client doesn't want to buy an anti-virus, I was able to have my boss have us put Avast onto client machines. I try to avoid using HOSTS files as they're not really meant to be used in that manner, though they can still protect a client machine. I avoid toolbars and will always uninstall them when I encounter them. A properly configured system won't have to worry about popups. With Firefox I use Firetune on it, then I go into about:config and manually change the browser.cache.memory.capacity and change the setting to 16384 (this keeps Firefox from becoming a load on the system). Always installed extensions are Cutemenus, AdBlock Plus, Filterset.G Updater, DownThemAll, and TabMixPlus.

It's not needed at all. Here's how to properly remove/uninstall it. Microsoft Windows 2000 and Microsoft Windows XP: Quit all Office programs. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. NOTE: In Windows XP, click Start and then click Control Panel. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.NOTE: In Windows XP, click Add or Remove Programs. In the Currently installed programs list, click to select Microsoft Office XP product, where Office XP product is the name of the specific Office product being used. If you are using a standalone version of one of the Office programs, click to select the appropriate product in the list. Click Change. In the Maintenance Mode Options dialog box, select Add or Remove Features, and then click Next. This displays the Choose installation options for all Office applications and tools dialog box. Click the plus sign (+) next to Office Shared Features to expand it. Click the icon next to Alternative User Input, and then select Not Available. Click Update.