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Computer running SOOO SLOW

 
 
Denise
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Posts: n/a

 
      05-11-2008
Hi,
i've been running my computer pretty much without problems. Recently I have
noticed a real slow down in performance. I currently have Spybot S&D, and
the purchased version of AVG installed. Thinking that perhaps one of these
programs may be causing some kind of problem, I disabled both of them, but
to no avail.
I run spyware searches and virus searches daily, which never really show up
any thing of concern. I delete cookies etc on a daily basis too. My
computer doesnt need defragged.
Could anyone give me any ideas as to what could be slowing it down so much.
I tried to access my company site to process some work stuff and it took
forever and a day to load what would normally be a couple of seconds.
My computer is only about 8 months old, Intel Core Duo CPU, Memory 2047MB,
32 Bit O.S, with a Windows experience Index rating of 5.5.
Any help or advice greatly appreciated, P.S, running Vista Professional.

Denise

 
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Mr. Arnold
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Posts: n/a

 
      05-11-2008

"Denise" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Hi,
> i've been running my computer pretty much without problems. Recently I
> have noticed a real slow down in performance. I currently have Spybot
> S&D, and the purchased version of AVG installed.


They can and do miss zero day exploits, meaning that they can't detect
anything 100% of the time, because it's new.

> Thinking that perhaps one of these programs may be causing some kind of
> problem, I disabled both of them, but to no avail.


They are not the problem.

> I run spyware searches and virus searches daily, which never really show
> up any thing of concern. I delete cookies etc on a daily basis too. My
> computer doesnt need defragged.


See above

> Could anyone give me any ideas as to what could be slowing it down so
> much.
> I tried to access my company site to process some work stuff and it took
> forever and a day to load what would normally be a couple of seconds.
> My computer is only about 8 months old, Intel Core Duo CPU, Memory 2047MB,
> 32 Bit O.S, with a Windows experience Index rating of 5.5.
> Any help or advice greatly appreciated, P.S, running Vista Professional.


Now, it may not be malware, but your symptoms seem that you have something
running on the computer that you don't know about that could be just that.
That's why you must use the proper tools to help you look, Process Explorer
is one of them.

PE will let you look at running processes. PE will also let you look inside
a running process to see what it is hosting, other processes including
malware.

PE menu Tools/View/Show Lower Pane/Show all DLL(s), which will allow you to
look at what processes running in the upper pane that are hosting processes
in the lower pane.

You can right-click a line in the upper pane and go to Properties to see
more information like what process that a given process in the upper pane is
using the most processing with in the given process.

You can also use CurrPorts to see if there is something connecting to the
Internet that you don't know about, which can be used instead of Active
Ports that doesn't run on Vista.

<http://www.windowsecurity.com/articles/Hidden_Backdoors_Trojan_Horses_and_Rootkit_Tools_i n_a_Windows_Environment.html>
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s...s/default.aspx
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html

Sometimes, you have to go look for yourself and see what is running on the
computer.



 
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Denise
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      05-11-2008
"Mr. Arnold" <MR. > wrote in message
news:%...
>
> "Denise" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> Hi,
>> i've been running my computer pretty much without problems. Recently I
>> have noticed a real slow down in performance. I currently have Spybot
>> S&D, and the purchased version of AVG installed.

>
> They can and do miss zero day exploits, meaning that they can't detect
> anything 100% of the time, because it's new.
>
>> Thinking that perhaps one of these programs may be causing some kind of
>> problem, I disabled both of them, but to no avail.

>
> They are not the problem.
>
>> I run spyware searches and virus searches daily, which never really show
>> up any thing of concern. I delete cookies etc on a daily basis too. My
>> computer doesnt need defragged.

>
> See above
>
>> Could anyone give me any ideas as to what could be slowing it down so
>> much.
>> I tried to access my company site to process some work stuff and it took
>> forever and a day to load what would normally be a couple of seconds.
>> My computer is only about 8 months old, Intel Core Duo CPU, Memory
>> 2047MB, 32 Bit O.S, with a Windows experience Index rating of 5.5.
>> Any help or advice greatly appreciated, P.S, running Vista Professional.

>
> Now, it may not be malware, but your symptoms seem that you have something
> running on the computer that you don't know about that could be just that.
> That's why you must use the proper tools to help you look, Process
> Explorer
> is one of them.
>
> PE will let you look at running processes. PE will also let you look
> inside
> a running process to see what it is hosting, other processes including
> malware.
>
> PE menu Tools/View/Show Lower Pane/Show all DLL(s), which will allow you
> to
> look at what processes running in the upper pane that are hosting
> processes
> in the lower pane.
>
> You can right-click a line in the upper pane and go to Properties to see
> more information like what process that a given process in the upper pane
> is
> using the most processing with in the given process.
>
> You can also use CurrPorts to see if there is something connecting to the
> Internet that you don't know about, which can be used instead of Active
> Ports that doesn't run on Vista.
>
> <http://www.windowsecurity.com/articles/Hidden_Backdoors_Trojan_Horses_and_Rootkit_Tools_i n_a_Windows_Environment.html>
> http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s...s/default.aspx
> http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html
>
> Sometimes, you have to go look for yourself and see what is running on the
> computer.
>
>
>


thanks so much for replying so promptly to my problem. Firstly is Process
Explorer easy to interpret? I really am a novice regarding not only
computer performance but the running of the things too. I basically hope to
switch on and access any necessary sites and information required without
hopefully incurring any problems.
Obviously something somewhere is causing things to run slowly, so annoying
after experiencing a computer that ran so fast and efficiently! Is there
any additional info i need prior to accessing Processing Explorer?
Thanks for your time in advance

Kind Regards

Denise

 
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flipflopjd
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      05-11-2008

you may have an infection...

Print these instructions out.

1. Download SUPERAntiSpyware Free for Home Users:
http://www.superantispyware.com/

* Double-click SUPERAntiSpyware.exe and use the default settings
for installation.
* An icon will be created on your desktop. Double-click that icon
to launch the program.
* If asked to update the program definitions, click "Yes". If not,
update the definitions before scanning by selecting "Check for
Updates". (If you encounter any problems while downloading the updates,
manually download and unzip them from here:
http://www.superantispyware.com/definitions.html.)
* Close SUPERAntiSpyware.

Restart computer in Safe Mode.
To enter Safe Mode, restart computer, and keep tapping F8 key, until
menu appears; select Safe Mode; you'll see "Safe Mode" in all four
corners of your screen

* Open SUPERAntiSpyware.
* Under "Configuration and Preferences", click the Preferences
button.
* Click the Scanning Control tab.
* Under Scanner Options make sure the following are checked (leave
all others unchecked):
o Close browsers before scanning.
o Scan for tracking cookies.
o Terminate memory threats before quarantining.
* Click the "Close" button to leave the control center screen.
* Back on the main screen, under "Scan for Harmful Software" click
Scan your computer.
* On the left, make sure you check C:\Fixed Drive.
* On the right, under "Complete Scan", choose Perform Complete
Scan.
* Click "Next" to start the scan. Please be patient while it scans
your computer.
* After the scan is complete, a Scan Summary box will appear with
potentially harmful items that were detected. Click "OK".
* Make sure everything has a checkmark next to it and click
"Next".
* A notification will appear that "Quarantine and Removal is
Complete". Click "OK" and then click the "Finish" button to return to
the main menu.
* If asked if you want to reboot, click "Yes".
* To retrieve the removal information after reboot, launch
SUPERAntispyware again.
o Click Preferences, then click the Statistics/Logs tab.
o Under Scanner Logs, double-click SUPERAntiSpyware Scan
Log.
o If there are several logs, click the current dated log and
press View log. A text file will open in your default text editor.
o Please copy and paste the Scan Log results in your next
reply.
* Click Close to exit the program.
Post SUPERAntiSpyware log.

RESTART COMPUTER!

2. Download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Malwarebyt...are_d5756.html to your
desktop.

* Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the
program.
* At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to Update
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, then
click Finish.
* If an update is found, it will download and install the latest
version.
* Once the program has loaded, select Perform full scan, then click
Scan.
* When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view
the results.
* Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
* When completed, a log will open in Notepad.
* Post the log back here.

The log can also be found here:
C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application
Data\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Logs\log-date.txt
Or at C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Logs\log-date.txt

RESTART COMPUTER!

3. Download HijackThis:
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/hijackthis.html
Post HijackThis log. canning.
o Scan for tracking cookies.
o Terminate memory threats before quarantining.
* Click the "Close" button to leave the control center screen.
* Back on the main screen, under "Scan for Harmful Software" click
Scan your computer.
* On the left, make sure you check C:\Fixed Drive.
* On the right, under "Complete Scan", choose Perform Complete
Scan.
* Click "Next" to start the scan. Please be patient while it scans
your computer.
* After the scan is complete, a Scan Summary box will appear with
potentially harmful items that were detected. Click "OK".
* Make sure everything has a checkmark next to it and click
"Next".
* A notification will appear that "Quarantine and Removal is
Complete". Click "OK" and then click the "Finish" button to return to
the main menu.
* If asked if you want to reboot, click "Yes".
* To retrieve the removal information after reboot, launch
SUPERAntispyware again.
o Click Preferences, then click the Statistics/Logs tab.
o Under Scanner Logs, double-click SUPERAntiSpyware Scan
Log.
o If there are several logs, click the current dated log and
press View log. A text file will open in your default text editor.
o Please copy and paste the Scan Log results in your next
reply.
* Click Close to exit the program.
Post SUPERAntiSpyware log.

RESTART COMPUTER!

2. Download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Malwarebyt...are_d5756.html to your
desktop.

* Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the
program.
* At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to Update
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, then
click Finish.
* If an update is found, it will download and install the latest
version.
* Once the program has loaded, select Perform full scan, then click
Scan.
* When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view
the results.
* Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
* When completed, a log will open in Notepad.
* Post the log back here.

The log can also be found here:
C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application
Data\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Logs\log-date.txt
Or at C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Logs\log-date.txt

RESTART COMPUTER!

3. Download HijackThis:
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/hijackthis.html
Post HijackThis log.


--
flipflopjd
------------------------------------------------------------------------
flipflopjd's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/member.php?userid=48718
View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=966063

http://forums.techarena.in

 
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Dave
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      05-11-2008
Denise wrote:
> Hi,
> i've been running my computer pretty much without problems. Recently
> I have noticed a real slow down in performance. I currently have
> Spybot S&D, and the purchased version of AVG installed. Thinking
> that perhaps one of these programs may be causing some kind of
> problem, I disabled both of them, but to no avail.
> I run spyware searches and virus searches daily, which never really
> show up any thing of concern. I delete cookies etc on a daily basis
> too. My computer doesnt need defragged.
> Could anyone give me any ideas as to what could be slowing it down so
> much. I tried to access my company site to process some work stuff
> and it took forever and a day to load what would normally be a couple
> of seconds. My computer is only about 8 months old, Intel Core Duo CPU, Memory
> 2047MB, 32 Bit O.S, with a Windows experience Index rating of 5.5.
> Any help or advice greatly appreciated, P.S, running Vista
> Professional.
> Denise


You could download and run HijackThis.

It's a small program that records everything that
is started when you boot your machine up.
It looks rather technical but don't let that put you off.
It will produce a display (and an optional log file) which you can then compare
with the ' Info' information given in the program.

When you have run a scan, click on the Info button under 'Other stuff'
The entries are described there.

Also you can select an item and click on ' Info on selected item' for more information.

You can also post the log file here. Somebody may spot something.

http://www.download.com/Trend-Micro-...-10227353.html





 
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Dave
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      05-11-2008
Mr. Arnold wrote:

[snip]

> You can also use CurrPorts to see if there is something connecting to
> the Internet that you don't know about, which can be used instead of
> Active Ports that doesn't run on Vista.
>
> http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html
>


That looks like a handy tool, thanks for the link.



 
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Mr. Arnold
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      05-11-2008

"Denise" <> wrote in message
news:64E6CD4D-3C61-46EA-B9E4-...
> "Mr. Arnold" <MR. > wrote in message
> news:%...
>>
>> "Denise" <> wrote in message
>> news:...
>>> Hi,
>>> i've been running my computer pretty much without problems. Recently I
>>> have noticed a real slow down in performance. I currently have Spybot
>>> S&D, and the purchased version of AVG installed.

>>
>> They can and do miss zero day exploits, meaning that they can't detect
>> anything 100% of the time, because it's new.
>>
>>> Thinking that perhaps one of these programs may be causing some kind of
>>> problem, I disabled both of them, but to no avail.

>>
>> They are not the problem.
>>
>>> I run spyware searches and virus searches daily, which never really show
>>> up any thing of concern. I delete cookies etc on a daily basis too. My
>>> computer doesnt need defragged.

>>
>> See above
>>
>>> Could anyone give me any ideas as to what could be slowing it down so
>>> much.
>>> I tried to access my company site to process some work stuff and it took
>>> forever and a day to load what would normally be a couple of seconds.
>>> My computer is only about 8 months old, Intel Core Duo CPU, Memory
>>> 2047MB, 32 Bit O.S, with a Windows experience Index rating of 5.5.
>>> Any help or advice greatly appreciated, P.S, running Vista Professional.

>>
>> Now, it may not be malware, but your symptoms seem that you have
>> something
>> running on the computer that you don't know about that could be just
>> that.
>> That's why you must use the proper tools to help you look, Process
>> Explorer
>> is one of them.
>>
>> PE will let you look at running processes. PE will also let you look
>> inside
>> a running process to see what it is hosting, other processes including
>> malware.
>>
>> PE menu Tools/View/Show Lower Pane/Show all DLL(s), which will allow you
>> to
>> look at what processes running in the upper pane that are hosting
>> processes
>> in the lower pane.
>>
>> You can right-click a line in the upper pane and go to Properties to see
>> more information like what process that a given process in the upper pane
>> is
>> using the most processing with in the given process.
>>
>> You can also use CurrPorts to see if there is something connecting to the
>> Internet that you don't know about, which can be used instead of Active
>> Ports that doesn't run on Vista.
>>
>> <http://www.windowsecurity.com/articles/Hidden_Backdoors_Trojan_Horses_and_Rootkit_Tools_i n_a_Windows_Environment.html>
>> http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s...s/default.aspx
>> http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html
>>
>> Sometimes, you have to go look for yourself and see what is running on
>> the
>> computer.
>>
>>
>>

>
> thanks so much for replying so promptly to my problem. Firstly is Process
> Explorer easy to interpret? I really am a novice regarding not only
> computer performance but the running of the things too. I basically hope
> to switch on and access any necessary sites and information required
> without hopefully incurring any problems.
> Obviously something somewhere is causing things to run slowly, so annoying
> after experiencing a computer that ran so fast and efficiently! Is there
> any additional info i need prior to accessing Processing Explorer?
> Thanks for your time in advance
>


If you can understand Task Manager, then PE is basically no different, but
it allows you to look deeper at what's running than Task Manager.

However, it does take a little savvy to find something being hosted by
another process that could be dubious. On the other hand, you just might see
something that is obvious. Look at what is running that is taking up the CPU
processing percentage the most other than the System Idle Process and then
go to Properties and to the Thread tab and look at what is being hosted by
the process that is using the most percentage of the process.

Also use CurrPorts as there too you may see something connecting to a
dubious site that you didn't know about and it's obvious. You can use Arin
and enter the IP into the search box to see who owns the IP that maybe
dubious.

http://www.arin.net/whois/

If nothing stands out to you, then here is my advise to you. You should take
the computer to a professional and let them find out what is slowing the
machine down, which I suspect is malware that your malware detection
software is missing.

 
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Mr. Arnold
Guest
Posts: n/a

 
      05-12-2008


"Dave" <> wrote in message
news:zLGdnfL--cNo-...
> Mr. Arnold wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
>> You can also use CurrPorts to see if there is something connecting to
>> the Internet that you don't know about, which can be used instead of
>> Active Ports that doesn't run on Vista.
>>
>> http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html
>>

>
> That looks like a handy tool, thanks for the link.
>
>
>


You are welcomed. On this laptop I use while on the road, I have a short-cut
in Vista's Startup so I can see connections at boot and login.

 
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