Ask A Geek

Q: I have AVG, ad-aware and spyware terminator as my protection for my computer, however, I seem to be getting the same virus over and over. I run checks, it says it deletes it, but next time I run a virus scan, its there again.

They are trojan horse virus’s with the name PSW.Generic7.XLG and SHeur2.AWQC. The last bit on each changes a few times for each one (in my most recent scan there were 54 viruses). What I would like to know, is if my protection is not good enough? or is there some way I need to delete these particular viruses?

Q: How do I remove WinBlueSoft or WiniBlueSoft from my computer? It seems to have taken over my computer and I cannot figure out how to remove it.

A: WinBlueSoft appears to be similar to WiniBlueSoft with a slight name change. Both pieces of software are spyware that people install because they are portrayed to be security software. WinBlueSoft is installed the software will act like it is security software and tell you that you have trojans, privacy issues, and other problems. It will not fix the issues for you though unless you pay for the software. Read the rest of this entry »

Q: How do you get rid of Antivirus System PRO?

A: Antivirus System PRO is a nasty bit of spyware/malware. You will want to read this tutorial called How to remove Antivirus System PRO rogue anti-spyware and follow their instructions. You should also take a few minutes to read the comments to the tutorial as well as there is some information in them that you might find helpful.

Q: I have a computer running Windows XP Home and I am wondering if I need to Spybot S&D 1.6.2 if I have ZoneAlarm 8.0 installed and running already.

A: The two programs protect your computer in different ways.

ZoneAlarm will alert you when a program wants to try to connect to the Internet and it will ask you if it is okay for that program to do so. This will allow you to have control over what information is sent from your computer to the Internet. It will not remove the unwanted software from your machine that might be sending this data.

SpyBot S&D works by scanning your computer and removing all the spyware that has been installed on your computer. Read the rest of this entry »

Q: The images on web pages are loading very slow. At bottom of the Microsoft IE web browser screen is says “Downloading Images” but it seems to take forever.

A: Many times the slowness can be because of the setup of the servers running the website you are trying to access but it sounds as though this is happening on multiple websites which would tend to point towards your own computer. It could depend on what type of connection you have. If you are using dial up then the websites are going to take considerably more time than a cable or DSL connection. Also if you tend to be trying to access these during peak usage times that can also cause slowness. I would try the following to resolve the problem:

1. Delete the temporary internet files.

2. Delete your cookies.

3. Run a spyware program, such as Spybot or AdAware.

4. Run an anti-virus software, such as AVG.

5. Run a anti-hijack software, such as HiJackThis.

Hopefully following one or more of these suggestions will help you.

Q: I have a Dell e1505 and I have had some trouble recently with viruses spyware and other unwanted programs on my computer. I have McAfee virus scan, Spybot, and Ad-aware se and ran each program multiple times. Each time I run them they come up with new problems and remove them, but my computer still runs incredibly slow and has random erratic behavior(pop-up adds and installation programs). I was wondering if there is anything I can do myself.

A: I would recommend a pop-up blocker if you don’t already have one. On other thing I would recommend is that you install a HijackThis to get a better look at what software is running on your computer that might be doing bad things. I had similar problems and this seemed to take care of it.

Regarding the slowness of the machine. I would make sure you are also defragmenting your hard drive and running the disk clean up utility. Another good idea is to delete your temporary internet files. I hope that one of these steps helps resolve your issues. You can get more information about these steps at our Windows XP Computer Running Slow article.

Q: My new computer running Windows Vista runs a program at startup called CaTrayLancher.exe but I have no idea what it is or what it is for. Can you please help?

A: What I found was that catraylauncher.exe is from a program called Vongo. The program is installed into your startup menu so that each time your system boots up this program is launched. I have listed the URL that I found describing the file you were questioning. All the sources that I found said that the file is determined to be safe and not considered spyware or malware.

http://www.runscanner.net/process.aspx?p=catraylauncher.exe

If you need further information please let me know and I will be happy to help you. I think this will have answered your question as to what that file is.

Thank you,
Angela

An Into Tomorrow listener submitted the following question!

Q: I am having a problem with my CPU usage at being 100% all the time. I have run three different programs: Regcure, Stopzilla, and Spydoctor. All of them have found problems and fixed them. The problem gets better for a while then it seems the checks seem not to work anymore. Can you please help? Also I am a Sprint customer and love the Treo 700.

A: Thank you for your question. As I have mentioned in previous answers here at AskAGeek.com, there is a little-known secret about computer viruses/spyware/malware. They often tamper with files and settings in your Windows-based computer. Deleting the viruses/spyware/malware themselves does not remove the malicious modifications that were made to your computer. These changes often result in your computer being more vulnerable to future attacks. This explains why your computer seems to be fixed for a while, and then is suddenly reinfected. Consider that even with his top software experts assisting him, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was recently unable to re-secure a Windows-based computer after it had been infected with malware. If the creators of Windows cannot fix an infected computer, how can people like you and me hope to do so? The answer is, we can’t! The best solution is to totally reinstall Windows. Here’s how to do that:

1. Create backups all of your important files using CDs, DVDs, or an external drive. Be careful to avoid creating backups of any infected files!
2. Use an uninfected computer to download and make a CD of the free GWSCAN utility. GWSCAN will allow you to “write zeros” to your computer’s hard drive. Writing zeros to your computer’s hard drive does a better job of erasing files — including viruses — than just reinstallation alone.
3. Now it is time for you to reinstall Windows. There are a couple of good ways to accomplish this. The best is to use the operating system disk that may have come with your computer. The more likely of the good methods is using your computer’s system restore disks. Do not use any system restore utility that is built into your computer. Doing so could allow your computer to be reinfected. Sometimes for free, but often for a small fee, the manufacturer of your computer can send you the appropriate disk(s).
4. It is important that you apply all security updates and install antivirus/spyware/malware and firewall software. Scan your backups before transferring them back to your computer. This will help you to prevent reinfection. I personally like Avast! 4 Home Edition (antivirus) and ZoneAlarm Free Firewall. I have tested these programs, both of which rival expensive security software in functionality and ease of use. These programs are free for most users.
5. It is worth mentioning here that operating systems such as Mac OS X and Linux are currently immune to viruses and most other security threats.

You state your love for the Treo 700; the Treo 700w is Windows-based and the Treo 700p uses the Palm OS. Either way, you might want to consider security software for your Treo 700. Since it offers protection for both Windows and Palm OS, Avast! 4 PDA Edition seems promising. You can also visit a reputable website, like softpedia.com, to search for more security software that will work with your Treo 700.

Good Luck!

Q: My computer continues to advise me that it has been infected with spyware and I cannot seem to get rid of it can you help me?

A: I am sorry to hear that you are having problems with spyware. Spyware (malware/viruses/Trojans) is one of the downsides of the every evolving Internet. More and more people come online every day and with this there are of course a few bad apples intent upon wreaking havoc upon Internet users of all sorts.

Your first defense against the bad guys is setting your Internet Options Security level to a High (or at least Medium) level. To do this, access Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Internet Options -> Security tab. Click the Custom Level button. Here you will see the Settings area, which will give you various choices about your browser’s behavior on the Internet. You can change these as you see fit, but you are generally okay if you set the Reset to field to High (or at least Medium), and click Reset. Then click OK.

Next, you want to be sure that you are running security software of some sort; Norton, MacAfee, Windows Live OneCare; it doesn’t really matter what you are running, as long as you are running something. Computers usually come with a security suite pre-installed and active for a trial period. Simply purchasing a license for the pre-installed software is often the easiest way to go.

However, simply running your security software is not enough. You will need to make sure that you update it regularly, usually once a week, but more often when there is a known security threat on the Internet.

To get rid of a pesky piece of spyware, as you seem to have, download a trusted spyware remover such as Spybot. You can find this or another trusted removal tool at Download.com. Simply download the software, run as directed, and gasp at all of the things the software finds on your system. Follow Spybot’s (or other application’s) instructions to dispose of the malware.

I hope this information helps!

Thanks,

Anne