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A new problem arose on my computer..When i logg on to my computer in about 1-2 minutes. ALL my icons, even my windows bar disappears. I am left with my wallpaper on my monitor. Now the weird thing is the way I stopped it was turning off my firewall, but if i don't turn it off it still happens. Any clue what this is or how to get rid of it?
try a system restore and then you'll have to reinstall your critical updates
Hopefully my advice will help you...Please post back with your results....thanks
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There is malware on your system that is terminating the explorer.exe process. This process is responsible for displaying the taskbar and desktop icons.
To clear up this infection, it is best to start your computer in Safe Mode. Follow the instructions of this official Microsoft article: A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP. You should choose "Safe Mode with Networking" so that you have Internet access for the rest of these steps.
Once you are in Safe Mode, you should find an alternative web browser to Internet Explorer; many infections like the one caused on your system are started while using IE, so it is best to not use it while we de-infect your machine. (In fact, many would recommend not using it altogether for this very reason.)
I recommend you download Mozilla Firefox and install it. Once the file has downloaded, immediately close IE and do not open it again. Walk through the install routine for Firefox and then launch it. We will now download a few tools to help clean up your system.
Remember: use Firefox to download the following files and for the rest of this guide. Don't open IE again until your machine is completely clean. Although, I recommend you ditch it altogether - Firefox is arguably much more enjoyable.
Windows® Defender (Beta 2) x86
Once you have downloaded each one, install it and update it so that it has the latest protection files. If AVG requests a boot-time scan, allow it and reboot your machine. Otherwise, it is a good idea to reboot after installing all three anyway. Remember to start your computer in Safe Mode (no need for networking this time), this is very important otherwise the removal process just won't work.
So, you should now be rebooted in Safe Mode with all three tools installed. If AVG has done a full scan at boot time, fine; if it has not, initiate a full system scan now. This may take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or two but it should rid your system of any nasties.
Now, fire up Windows Defender (it is probably already running) and perform a full system scan in that too. Remove anything that it finds. Then do the same with Spybot - Search & Destroy. This whole process may take anywhere from half an hour up to a few hours, you just have to be patient.
After it has finished, you should have a very malware-free system: no viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, adware and so on. The final thing to do is download Startup Control Panel and install it. It will create an icon in your Control Panel called "Startup".
Open it up. Each tab shows a different area in your registry/system that allows applications to be started up with your system. This is a prime area for malware to startup. To be honest, there are few real situations where you need to have anything in any of these tabs. If you do want something to (knowingly) start up with your computer, out of choice, it is best to put a shortcut in your Startup folder in the Start menu.
So, go through every tab in this applet and delete all of the entries by right-clicking on them. It will not permanently delete them but stored them in the deleted tab in case you ever need to restore them. Now, reboot your computer for (hopefully) the last time and let it boot normally.
You should now have a clean system. If you don't want to ever have this sort of aggravation and annoyance again, I highly recommend you visit this website: nonadmin. It basically describes how to enable real security in Windows by running as a normal user. If you want to seriously prevent it from happening again, carefully follow the instructions and guidance on that website and just perservere: prevention is far better than cure.
Also, if you just want a wholly more pleasant computer experience without all of the annoyances, I recommend you try Ubuntu. It is an operating system, like Windows, but it is completely free. It is also totally free of malware. That means it is next-to-impossible to catch an infection, get a virus or whatever.
I have been running Ubuntu happily for over a year and have had no problems. Ever. Whereas my friends and family are left suffering on Windows. If you want any further advice, feel free to post here again or email me directly, I'll be happy to help.
Enjoy computers: use Ubuntu.
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James Greenwood, sorry....no OS is exempt from viruses, at least not for long.
I'm an IE user and also use Firefox as a back-up. IMHO, IE is much better than Firefox and with SP2 the security is great, IF, all the critical up-dates are updated on a regular basis. But then again everyone has their own preferences
Hopefully my advice will help you...Please post back with your results....thanks
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Yes, true, but some operating systems are more eligible for exemptness than others! Windows will never, ever be exempt, not even in a thousand years. Whereas free operating systems, like Ubuntu, are far more eligible for being exempt because on the whole, they are massively more secure.
Mac OS X is also a prime example. It's never had a real working virus or piece of malware that did anything damaging or even remotely interesting.
If you've only ever used Windows for day-to-day work, you don't know the meaning of secure.
Enjoy computers: use Ubuntu.
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Thanks for the indepth explanation..Ubuntu is just another version of Linux...which I have NO use for. In fact, out of all the clients and people I know, not ONE of them uses Linux, that is the reason it is not getting targetted with a lot of spy,adware and viruses. I would rather have a 24' boat for deepsea fishing than a 10'skiff, that's for sure.
Whereas Mac, I know a few people using that.
Hopefully my advice will help you...Please post back with your results....thanks
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"...that is the reason it is not getting targetted with a lot of spy,adware and viruses."
Utterly incorrect. Read this explanation as to why.
"I would rather have a 24' boat for deepsea fishing than a 10'skiff, that's for sure."
So, you conclude that Windows is far more capable than Linux? Are you insane? I'd rather have a inherently secure, capable and highly customisable operating system any day compared to the monolith that Windows has become.
An interesting white paper to read: Microsoft Windows: An inherently Insecure Platform White Paper.
Enjoy computers: use Ubuntu.
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Thanks for another great explanation. I'm trying to understand your enthusiasm. What I was trying to say is, there are many companies trying to upset the M$ empire, notice I said trying. Don't get me wrong...I'm not a Gate's fan, but he did create a $M monster.
For quite awhile, everyone was pumping Firefox which as you can see now, is getting more targetted than when it started out. The law of averages says that eventually all good things become corrupted....it's just a matter of time, so there is really no safe place in cyberland.
James Greenwood, you run a good debate, and it's been fun. No hard feelings
Hopefully my advice will help you...Please post back with your results....thanks
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Ha, you still imply that somehow that rash retort concludes it. Can you not see something when it is staring you in the face? Yes, anything that gets used more and gains popularity will obviously be targeted more. I don't dispute this fact. However, the fact remains that if the software was coded to be inherently secure, stable and safe, the attacks and security holes will be much smaller and easier to cope with.
Sure, Microsoft get targeted far more because their software is used by the majority. But have you noticed that Apache, the number one web server used worldwide, has never had a crticial security flaw? Compare that to Microsoft's web server offering, IIS. Go on, I dare you.
Enjoy computers: use Ubuntu.
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Oh, and you don't have to call me by my full name every time. As it is not an alias, you can just do as is socially acceptable and use my first name.
Unless, of course, you did it to be intentionally rude. Just 'James' is fine, thank you.
Enjoy computers: use Ubuntu.
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Popularity is hardly the same thing as quality.
If your entire computing experience consists of Windows (or maybe just XP?) then you really can't be said to "know" computers all that well
It's pretty much a sign of a closed mind to dismiss anything and everything you are unfamiliar with - it's a great big world out there, for those who would look.
Could be a case of 'Read Only Memory'
(as in: can't tell you nuthin')
We've heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true
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>>For quite awhile, everyone was pumping Firefox which as you can see now, is getting more targetted than when it started out.<<
I'm still recommending Firefox and other alternative browsers like Opera and SeaMonkey.
Unlike Microsoft, Mozilla actually fixes vulnerabilities, not just another patch on a patched patch.
I haven't had a single problem with malware or any detected since I began using Gecko based browsers (Firebird, Firefox, Mozilla, SeaMonkey) over 5 years ago.
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jboy, your sarcasm excedes you...you already had one post removed from here and I guess you just like to keep on your sarcasm. It would be real nice if you minded your own business and kept your smart remarks to yourself.
Hopefully my advice will help you...Please post back with your results....thanks
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Well, as of now im gonna try James's method..seems that the malware is getting worse and soon i will really need a new comp lol...so ill see how this works out.
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I have avg, spybot, and defender i started in safe mode scanned...and its still happening :(
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