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The laptop in the house, which is currently the only computer in the house, has a bad virus/trojan/dropper that seems to have me beat. All clicks on Google are redirected to phony yellow pages. Most banner ads on normal sites are replaced with ads for a penis enlargement product (as if I need that). All communication with McAfee or attempts to download, update or reinstall McAfee fail. McAffe's instructions for disabling the virus by messing with IP address flushing do no good. I'm hesitant to completly start over on this computer. It's an HP OEM machine that didn't come with...

About two weeks ago, it seems after a windows update, my internet download speed slowed to a crawl. Speakeasy speed tests show me only in the 100-150 kbs download speed range although upload speeds are generally 2000-3000 kbs - high-speed cable connection. When I'm not on the web, just doing spreadsheet work or disk burning, for example, I'm fine but web browsing is like purgatory. I've tried everything I can think of including going back and forth between IE 6 and IE 7, reformating and reloading my hard drive, deleting and repeating windows updates, but nothing seems to work. My...

Is anyone here familiar with this? The laughter sound is like a "Mwhahaha" in a deep, devilish voice.

Steven Sinofsky this week reaffirmed that Windows 7 would only have a single public beta release—build 7000, still available for download for a few more days. The current expectation is that there will be a single Release Candidate in April, with RTM around July, and Windows 7 hitting stores a few months later. This plan marks a significant departure from Microsoft's historic Windows release strategy. Previous editions have had at least two betas and two Release Candidates; even Windows XP, a minor update to Windows 2000, received this treatment. Windows Vista went even further during its extended development period. In...

Here is what AVG reported: "Object name";"C:\Users\Chris\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\l97pzuzg.default\cookies.sqlite:\freerepublic.com.99c35e71" "Detection name";"A file caused a crash of the scanning engine at address 774659c3." "Object type";"File" "SDK Type";"Core" "Result";"Object is in whitelist" "Action history";""

I've used Semantec, Grisoft's AVG, and Panda AV apps. None of those have been satisfactory. They all tend to use too much system resources, or cause other problems. Currently, I'm using Panda AV, but it is causing start up problems and it seems to have a mind of its own WRT running scans. On the firewall front, I've used Zone Alarm Pro, but it slows my WinXP computer down. I've forgotten the names of the succession of other firewall apps I've used. Currently, the Panda AV app I'm using also provides a firewall. I'm not defenseless even without a firewall...

I don't know if this has been talked about here on FR (I assume it has but I couldn't find a thread on it) but I have been trying to get file sharing to work between Windows XP and Vista. I got all the correct network protocols installed on my XP computer but I couldn't get it to see the lone Vista computer on the network. Before you ask, my son has to run Vista because of network requirements at Purdue University. When he brings his computer home it messes up the entire network since I'm running XP on all...

This is a bit lengthy, so please bear with me. Damn, but I did something stupid and downloaded something I shouldnt have (no, not porn. get your mind out of the gutter :-)). When I downloaded this virus, the cmd screen came up and showed the following: crack.exe, serial.exe, number.exe, keygen.exe AND readme.bat I panicked, deleted those things, but it hasnt fixed my problem. It seems to have hijacked my internet explorer browser. When I clicked on the IE icon, it brought up the IE browser for all of a second or two before closing. (So, I used Firefox to...

The solution to what is apparently a common problem ("Wizard Was Interrupted Before [program name] could be installed") seems to involve "Impersonate a client after authentication" The following worked for us, although we are not computer professionals and results are not guaranteed. You need ntrights.exe (downloadable from Microsoft as part of the Windows tools resource kit). ntrights.exe -u ADMINISTRATOR +r SeImpersonatePrivilege ntrights.exe -u ADMINISTRATORS +r SeImpersonatePrivilege ntrights.exe -u Everyone +r SeImpersonatePrivilege You must restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Then the installation should work. (We don’t know which of the above three did it, we enabled all...

In my little house we have an HP desktop and an ARCHOS 605 wifi (amongh other things) and for the longest time they worked perfectly together. Then one day they were no longer on speaking terms. Though each by itself worked out-- and checked out-- AOK. So, after some very careful investigation -- and a $$ an hour computer guy -- the problem almost certainly is a virus, or what have you. So, can anyone recommand a good de-bugging program? We just have the plain-vanilla AOL virus protection (quit snickering) and so...well...any recommandations? Thanks

We are investigating the issue with the MS update KB951748. For the time being we suggest you uninstall KB951748 until the issue has been resolved. We will post when we have more information Best regards, Forum Moderator

I'm trying to download a picture of an M-14 I got for my birthday to my hard drive and I keep getting the message: "We've detected several devices attached to your computer, please select the device you want to get images from."

Anyone else experiencing problems in the last week using Internet Explorer version 6, Windows XP? I am using the "old" Yahoo email as opposed to their new email layout due to the configuration. When I attempt to click on any email to open it, it freezes and I get the gray box that says an error has ocurred from MSFT asking if I want to report the error. At first, I submitted the info. and saw that there is no fix for the problem and never gave the type of error. However, if I access Yahoo email using Firefox, all...

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My computer is infested with this crap and I can't get rid of it. None of the free services can solve the problem, and I might even pay for such a service, except that all of them seem to be just folks willingly to take advantage of you and charge you more money, and possibly infect you more. Has anyone here seen this? How should I and anyone else deal with this?

Windows Vista, One Bad Year Later A year since the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft is cringing at the poor sales of the new operating system. It was initially touted as a landmark new development to reinvigorate the IT industry, prompting expectations of wide-ranging “Vista effects.” Instead, Apple’s new operating system, which now also works on PCs, is stealing the thunder. Microsoft has hurriedly responded by developing a new version of the old XP. ◆ Windows Vista flops According to market researcher Net Applications, Apple is enjoying the largest-ever share in the global operating system market with Leopard, the...

This column is written for mainstream, nontechie users of digital technology. These folks aren’t necessarily novices, and they aren’t afraid of computers. They also aren’t stupid. They simply want their digital products to operate as promised, with as little maintenance and hassle as possible. So, I have steered away from recommending Linux, the free computer operating system that is the darling of many techies and IT managers, and a challenger to Microsoft’s dominant Windows and Apple’s resurgent Macintosh operating system, OS X. Linux, which runs on the same hardware as Windows, has always required much more technical expertise and a...

I need help on installing a Windows XP upgrade to a Windows ME machine. The computer is a Micron Systems IBM-compatible machine with 640.0 mb RAM and a 667 MHz CPU clock. I'm getting the following error after the Windows XP setup restarts the computer: A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer If this is the first time you've seen this Stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps: Check for viruses on your computer. Remove any newly-installed hard drives or hard drive controllers....

Youtube links below. Novell's website is very slow

Yes, you can accept Apple's logic that "it all just works" straight out of the packaging, but there are better reasons for moving to a Mac than a factor that's just as true of modern PCs these days. Now there's an x86-based PC sitting under the hood of every modern Mac, the old battle lines are blurring. Time to reconsider the once expensive, always stylish, now Unix-based Mac platform? We say yes. 1. Not-so-heavy metalI've seen so many plastic-panelled laptops that have been knocked off desks and ended up with cracked cases or - worse - broken screens or -...