Computer Question

“So out of curiosity I checked my computer's performance. It's at 21%!!!!!!

I'm pretty sure that's really, really low. I thought I remember being told you don't want it below 80%. So besides getting a new laptop, what can I do to keep this dinosaur from crapping out on me and keep it running as well as possible for a couple more months before I buy a new one?”

“And what's the magic number when it most likely will for sure crap out on me? Or is it not that simple?”

“First of all what operating system are you running. If you look at the task manager (by pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL) and clicking on the processes tab what processes are taking up the highest percentage of resources? (This assumes you have a version of Windows that provides this information)”

“Wow, are you talking about available system resources? I haven't seen that measure in forever. I'm guessing you're still using the 4.x Windows (95/98/Me)?

Anyway, try closing as many programs as you can and try to minimize the number of programs that run on startup (you know, those programs that run automatically when you boot your computer). Not only will that speed up how fast your computer boots up, but it should help your performance.”

“ME is what I'm running.

I only have msn and my transcript editing program running. That's it as far as I know.”

“I thought the lower the number means you can do more at that time. Like every time I have a window pop up that says I am running at 91% and I need to close some of my programs.”

“I also wouldn't try to run several programs at the same time, as it seems like your computer's resources (memory, CPU power, etc) are limited compared to how much of that stuff today's software likes to use.

English Translation: You should definitely consider saving for a new computer.”

“There may be a lot of invisible processes running though. Have you ever scanned for spyware? I would recommend installing ad-aware or some similar program and scanning with it. Often spyware can bog your computer down. I would start with that.”

“Rox, that's on Windows 2000/XP, where the number shows how much memory you are using.

In Windows 95/98/Me, the measure shows how much of your memory is free, so it's backwards.”

“ohhh.... well I have XP...hmmm learn something new every day.”

“wvmtnmatt gives good advice, I'd start there! Spysweeper or ad-aware both have free downloads. If you've never done it, you'll be surprised (pissed) at what you find!”

“If you do the check for ad/spyware let me know how many files it detects if you don't mind. The most I have ever seen on one computer was around 450, so I am curious as to how many you might have to bog your machine down that much.”

“Close everything and re-boot. Check it again before running anything. I find at home if I leave the computer on for several days the % resources start dropping so all I have to do is re-boot.”

“I ran Ad-Aware. Found 65 objects. Also defragged for good measure. I think it's not going to get much better though without a new computer. I'm up to 45% now. Wahoo!!”

“I need some help, maybe somebody can find some information for me because I sure can't. I have a virus/trojan something that is causing problems on my computer and I can't get rid of it, I have spybot and adware.

I can't preform any actions that might possibly help me, I can't open task manager, can't run system restore, I can't search for anything on the internet with certain topics in it such as "virus" or "can't" as in "can't open task manager" If i try to search for any of these topics explorer closes. When I restart and windows first opens, a notepad opens that uses quite fowl language directed to "lisa" or something like that. signed "Sky-Devil" if that may help I'll get more information in a minute. Also, I couldn't open any of the threads on TT that had anything to do with "Help" or "Virus" this one works. If this sounds familiar to anybody, please help me, I'll need information on how to get rid of this thing, thank you.

Ok, the notepad that opens along with windows is "Message to n00b LARISSA" ... larissa virus... somethin like that sounds familiar?

signed by " 'S-K-Y''D-E-V-I-L' "

Also a jpeg called the "British National Party" opens, that i haven't been able to view.
last edited: 3/10/05 8:02:11 PM”

“Also, I have found several hidden msdos files located on C:\ and a couple executables that I can't get rid of, I delete them, but they come back right away.

My brother downloaded the originating msdos file called "how a blonde eats a banana" from a friend.
last edited: 3/10/05 8:09:44 PM”

“WORM_ASSIRAL.A is a memory-resident worm that arrives as an email attachment. It propagates by sending copies of itself via email to addresses found in Microsoft Outlook, and by dropping a copy of itself in the root folder of all network and fixed drives connected to affected machines. It is currently spreading in-the-wild, and infecting computers running Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, and XP.

Upon execution, it drops the following files in the following locations:
• %System%MS_LARISSA.EXE
• %Windows%SPOOLMGR.EXE
• %Windows%LOVE_LETTER.TXT.EXE
• C:WindowsWINVBS_32.VBS (the worm's mass-mailing component)
• C:Windowssystem32REG_32.VBS (the worm's payload component)
• C:LARISSA_ANTI_BROPIA.HTML (non-malicious file)
• C:MESSAGE.TXT (non-malicious file)

The file LARISSA_ANTI_BROPIA.HTML displays text on affected machines' Internet browsers. The file MESSAGE.TXT contains the following strings:

Greetz from LARISSA.B!
I will survive, In this moment in time.
You computer will crash,
So, you will be mine.
I never crash,
I never fail.
So, in this moment in time,
I will survive...
- LARISSA AUTHOR - 5-15-05

The worm's component file, WINVBS_32.VBS, is used to propagate the email. It sends copies of itself to addresses in Microsoft Outlook, with the following details:

Subject: Re: LOV YA !
Message Body: Kindly read and reply to my LOVE LETTER in the attachments :-)
Attachment: LOVE_LETTER.TXT.exe

This worm may also propagate through the network by dropping a copy of itself in the root folder of all network and fixed drives connected to affected machines. Certain processes that are associated with antivirus and monitoring applications are terminated by the worm, as well as certain processes associated with variants of WORM_BROPIA.”

“Hope that helps.”

“As far as I can tell that is not relevant... none of what you just posted is related to my problem.

This thing was spread through MSN messenger in the file i posted earlier.”

“W32.Serflog.A is a memory resident worm and it spreads by using MSN Messenger. Once the system is affected, it sends an instant message to all its online MSN messenger contacts, and the message contains a link for downloading a copy of the worm to the recipient system. Also, the worm may propagate through eMule, a peer-to-peer file sharing application.

When browsing to the internet, the worm may redirect infected users to a certain web site. It does this whenever the user try to access to the antivirus and security related companies web page.

The worm will drop and execute the file "Crazy-Frog.Html" in the root folder of the affected system and displays a large image from the following site:

http://frog.0cah.com/big_deal.jpg
It also accesses the following location (a global infection counter of this worm) and displays it at the bottom part of the file Crazy-Frog.Html:

http://udjc.com/counr/index.php?u=yyyyyyyyyyyy&s=bluesky
This worm also drops and executes the text file file Message to n00b LARISSA.txt in the said folder. It may contain the following message:

"Hey LARISSA #&%!$ off, you #&%!$ing n00b!.. Bla bla to your #&%!$ing Saving the world from Bropia, the world n33ds saving from you!

'-S-K-Y-'-D-E-V-I-L-'"

A dropped file, "British National Party.jpg", may be opened using the the default image viewer of the infected system.”

“That's the one. how do i get rid of it?”

“Solution

Detecting and Cleaning the worm

New virus definition is available from anti-virus vendors to detect and remove this virus.

If you do not install any anti-virus program, you can download the following removal tools to clean it.

Symantec
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/FixSflog.exe

Note: Please follow the instruction of your Anti-virus vendor to remove the virus and repair your system.



Gotta love those virus elim. sites...Question is... can you download that?”

“nope... how am i supposed to get rid of it if i can't get to that site?”

“Thanks for your help by the way, this is very annoying.”

“and no, I don't have any antivirus software, I have a version of NAV, but it's quite useless.”

“I downloaded the file... it's an executable that I could email you if you like.”

“When you fix this... download AVG anti-virus. It's free”

“e-mail to the address in my pro”

“yeah, sounds like a plan”

“On its way.”

“Thanks man, i owe you one.”

“Seconding AVG Antivirus. You can get it here: http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/”

“Ok, I installed AVG, and it keeps telling me I have Hidrag.A , and I can't figure out how to get rid of it... any Ideas? It seems to be attached to a ton of files in the computer”

“Here's a quote from a reply to some other guy on the Internet that seems to be having a similar problem as yours:

... The Win32.Hidrag virus has an alias that is known as W32/Jeefo.A. What I want you to do is download the virus removal tool for W32/Jeefo.A from Sophos. Here's the link (courtesy of Luispm):

http://www.sophos.com/support/cleaners/jeefogui.com

If you need more instructions on running the removal tool, here's the link for that as well:

http://www.sophos.com/support/disinfection/jeefoa.html

Let me know if the tool discovers anything. When finished, reboot your system.

source: http://forums.thetechguys.com/archive/index.php/t-10869.html”

“Yeah... I think I already tried that and it didn't find anything, but I'll try again... as far as i can tell it's not really malicious, but it's kind of annoying when AGV keeps popping up with "virus Detected" every 2 minutes...”

“whoa, I'm not sure what that removal tool thing did, but it made AGV detect every single source of the virus over again... but it says nothing was found
last edited: 3/11/05 1:17:00 AM”

“hey...got a question. so I have a usb cable for my mp3, for my camera, for this, and for that...and they all have the same plugs. one of them has a little thicker cable would they would fit if I would somehow get them confused.

Of course I won't get them confused because I mark them all...now here my question.

instead of having 5 different usb cables laying around, having to plug it in and out all the time...would it be okay to use one of them for all my usb hardware? [if the plug fits of course]

that thread reminds me of halloween. time for halloween names yet?”

“I don't see why not, all my devices that use USB have different plug ends though, would be nice if they were standardized.”

“I have one cable that I use for both my camera and my PDA. USB is a standard, so if the connector fits into your device, it should work.”

“And people using Halloween names before October 1 should be banned.”

“A USB cable is a USB cable pretty much. Some cameras (like mine) have a miniature version of the 'B' connector (the end that plugs into your device, as opposed to the 'A' connector which plugs into your computer), but most USB cables are the standard sort and are interchangeable. The thickness of the cable doesn't have any bearing on compatibility other than maybe it's better shielded or has heavier gauge wires in it for a better signal. You can even get a USB hub and plug all these guys in simultaneously.”

“If the connector plug fits the device, it will work. Thickness of the cable does not make a difference. USB is a standard, like bitpusher said above.

My camera has a different connector, so I must use that cable with my camera. My card reader came with a USB cable attached, so there is no connector on the card reader, but the cable is already attached.

I saw a USB connector kit that will convert a standard USB cable connector to the other USB connector types in the store the other day.

The types of USB connectors are as follow:

USB A Receptacle Connector
USB A Double Stack Connector
USB A Triple Stack Connector
USB A Quad Stack Connector
USB B Receptacle Connector
USB Mini Receptacle Connector
USB Mini B Receptacle Connector
USB Mini AB Receptacle Connector

Don't worry if this is confusing...if the cable connector fits the device, it will work fine.”

“whooohooo...thanks. you all just saved me at least 15 minutes crawling under the desk every day. yahhh...”

“You can also get a USB Hub and hook all your stuff up to that. Then plug the hub into your computer. Then you don't have to plug and unplug things just because you only have a few USB ports on your PC. They are pretty cheap.”

“Yah, I got a hub for my old computer because it only had two ports and they were on the back. My new computer has two on the front and six on the back.”

“I've got a hub with 4 plug ins, but the computer's USB only has enough power to use 3. So I plugger the fourth one in the front.”

“You can get USB hubs and accessories at your local Walgreens. Scary.”

“If your USB bus doesn't supply enough power you can get a USB hub with a power supply. They are a little more expensive, but only a little bit.”

“Also depends on whether the device you're plugging in has it's own power or not. Things like webcams get their juice from your computer, others like scanners or cameras use their own power.”

“I got a hub but it's full. I have another BIG hub, but everytime I add it I'll get errors. Didn't have time to figure it out yet.

oh, my hub is usb 1 anyway. I need to plug into my usb 2.

thanks everyone. the USBs I normally interchange are the mp3, the camera, and now this camera. I can't think of the other 2 right now, but I have 2 more things...

my webcam and printer stuff like that are all permanently plugged up.

I'm good now. as long as I don't have to interchange those damn cables every time... that's awesome.”