I want it to stop and it won't

[templelady]

Okay I have told all the programs that Update automatically that they have to wait until I'm on line

I even went so far as to disable the automatic update feature <_<

And Still my computer would merrily connect itself to the Internet

It is a hassle to remember to open folders so I can Dial on the to Internet instead of just clicking the program and dialing automatically when I do

But the sneaky program that dials by itself it just too much to handle

It doesn;t even have the decency to hang up when it is finished!!

So everything is disabled until I make it stop

So How do I find the chameleon on my hard drive

[Lori]

I don't have the answer, but maybe WordWolf would!

[WordWolf]

I don't have the answer, but maybe WordWolf would!

Well, gee, with an endorsement, how can I not respond?

Ok, keep a few things in mind.

A) I am NOT a computer expert. If this is actually a configuration or settings problem,

one of our REAL techs will need to step in.

I'm going to operate under the assumption that it is NOT,

since that means I can do something.

Even if I'm wrong, none of my advice will actually HURT your pc.

B) I'm a big believer in pc security,

and a big believer in "open source" and freeware.

So, I believe in programs that protect your computer and cost $zero.

(It's my favourite price!)

Further, my advice never requires expert knowledge to carry out.

----------------

Ok, here we go.

My assumption is that your pc has a program on it that you didn't want,

which is dialing out. That would have been a "trojan."

(Like the Trojan Horse-it's dangerous but looked harmless.)

So, we beef up your existing security (for free), and we kick out the offending

program-and any of its buddies (for free.)

Depending on how badly your pc is infected, you may gain back more memory

for deleting them than the security will take, and you may discover a dramatic

increase in your pc speed. (Trojans that are running will sap your pc's resources,

so getting rid of them means fewer programs running.)

First set of questions:

I presume you're using Windows.

(Most Linux users know more than I do about pcs, and most trojans are designed

to afflict Windows anyway.)

What version of Windows are you using?

(If it's 98 or ME, then you should really, really consider upgrading to XP,

if for no other reason but that even bottom-of-the-line new pcs with XP will

outperform any home pc that had 98/ME installed.)

I presume you're using either 2000 or XP.

No matter which, have you gone to the Windows website and installed all the

latest updates for your pc?

Please note that if you are using XP and have not installed Windows Service Pack 2,

then the smartest thing to to is to install Service Pack 2, which will include all

the previous updates. Also note that MS has announced they have discontinued

offering updates on anything before SP2 for the Home versions.

(Which means XP users must update to SP2 to get updates, and non-XP users

need to get XP to get updates.) This means no NEW updates will be issued,

but even 98's old updates are there if someone still needs them.

If you never downloaded SP2, you can download it free like all the other

updates from their website,

or pay shipping and handling for a CD of Service Pack 2.

The CD, IMHO, is a good idea to have around.

(Then you can upgrade ANY XP-using pc to Service Pack 2 before it ever connects

to the internet.)

Keep in mind that-if you haven't upgraded to Service Pack 2 yet and are using XP-

that SP2 gave problems to people whose machines were already badly compromised.

So, put off INSTALLING SP2 until we've cleared some trash from the system as

best we can. In other words, it should be the last step, except for running Updates

again AFTER installing it, to get the updates SINCE SP2.

We'll come back to it.

Unless you're already on SP2, which is good if you are.

============

Ok, some other basic questions:

A) What version of Windows (XP, 2000, 98, ME) are you using?

(Yes, it's good to know-it affects some of the directions.)

B) Do you have a firewall program installed on your pc?

If so, which one?

If not, ZoneAlarm works just fine, and is $free.

If you have none, you've needed one already, and should look up ZoneAlarm's

website (ZoneLabs?) and download it and update it IMMEDIATELY.

Let me know if that's the case.

C) Do you have an antivirus program installed on your pc?

If so, which one?

If not, AVG Antivirus works just fine, and is $free,

and is very kind to novices using it.

If you have none, you've needed one already, and should look up AVG's

download sites for it, and download and update it IMMEDIATELY,

then run it every day until we finish with this.

Let me know if that's the case.

D) Have you downloaded SpywareBlaster?

If not, download it and update it, then enable protection.

E) Have you downloaded Spybot:Search and Destroy?

If not, download it, update it, then activate its immunization shield.

Then run its scanning feature.

F) Have you downloaded AdAware?

If not, download it, update it, then run its scanning feature.

Let me know when you're done with all those,

or just can't find one online and need a URL.

All of those programs are pretty much self-guiding.

That's not everything we can do for free to fix the machine,

but it's plenty, and likely to fix the problem you're having right now.

We can proceed once all this is done.

[templelady]

running XP

Have service PAck 2 installed

Running AVast Virus

Have Adware The paid for version also running

Both Virus and Adware scans have been run

No Virus' only Adware was negligible (compaq based talking to itself) but deleted them

All definitions up tp date

Have a firewall

Popups blocked

also run Registry Fix

Have run windows clean sweep

have defraged hard drive

[GT]

Remove the password from the dial-up internet connection. Then it will have to prompt before connecting, no matter which program is using it.

Next time it goes to dial, you should see a password prompt for the dial-up connection. If you want to trace down which program is attempting to connect to the Internet at this time, run TCPView(freeware) and look down the list for anything attempting a connection to anything besides 127.0.0.1.

[templelady]

WOW

You guys are the greatest

Something so simple

[WordWolf]

See?

I knew someone who really knew their stuff would happen along soon.

Glad you were able to eliminate all the usual suspects.

(BTW, might want to download SpywareBlaster at some point.

It prevents some malware from downloading.

Spybot's immunization-function also helps in that department.)

The only thing left in maintenance to do is to run a Disc Verify.

You've already done about 95% of what I consider regular maintenance.

(The other stuff is largely redundant and meant to hedge my bets.)

[templelady]

Disc Verify

Huh???

WHA...????

:blink: :blink: :blink:

[Tom Strange]

I think you need to call Father Damon... it sounds possessed to me...

[dancing]

He could have meant 'check disk'

Double click My Computer

right click the drive 'c'

left click properties

left click tools

left click 'check now'

It will probably want you to restart to perform.

This tool is also in your start menu under system tools.

Yeah take the password out-good idea.

Or unplug the phone line and that program may complain too.

Spybot is great for finding rogue dialers.

http://www.spybot.info/en/index.html

[WordWolf]

He could have meant 'check disk'

Double click My Computer

right click the drive 'c'

left click properties

left click tools

left click 'check now'

It will probably want you to restart to perform.

This tool is also in your start menu under system tools.

Yeah take the password out-good idea.

Or unplug the phone line and that program may complain too.

Spybot is great for finding rogue dialers.

http://www.spybot.info/en/index.html

Yes, I believe it was called Disk Verify in another version, since some people

still call it that (98 and earlier.) But the options in the steps you listed

(which are the ones I meant, but I don't have them memorized and would need

to look them up) say it checks the disk for errors, so I can see calling it

"check disk."

BTW, my XP does NOT have an option to do it under "System Tools"-

that's where 98 used to have it, and it's the FIRST place I looked.

I had to go on a cyber-safari to find it.

Worse, I think some recent updates of Windows may cause the thing to

not complete anymore run that way, and you need a NEW

set of instructions to run it. (Me AND someone else suddenly can't get it

to run correctly following the same instructions you posted-anymore,

and had to find ANOTHER set.)

[templelady]

If you mean scan disc--It is gone

And It annoys the daylights out of me

It was one tof the programs I always ran to fix da Bugs

[dancing]

my bad-it's called error checking

[dancing]

WordWolf and Templelady

Do you have error-checking?

Edited October 25, 2006 by dancing

[dancing]

other ways to run it-

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265

[WordWolf]

That's the process we've been discussing.

I ran it a few weeks ago, most recently.

I needed to find instructions like you just posted,

but they were sufficient to run BOTH parts of the error-check,

not just the one that requires a restart.

And I presume Disk Cleanup is probably hidden somewhere,

and a tech may be able to tell you how to restore its command.

[dancing]

http://www.stevengould.org/software/cleanup/

http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

these will do the job of cleaning

http://www.theeldergeek.com/disk_cleanup_utility.htm

different ways to run disk clean built into xp