Computer Repair/Spyware/Adware Questions

[dawsongirl]

I'll try to make this a short story. lol

Took my computer to the Geek Squad because the fan was squealing. Like I figured, it needed a new fan, which it got and all is now well. Here's where I got a little miffed: I did not tell them it was running slow, or seemed to be infected, or anything else about how it ran...all I said was that the fan squealed and it was running hot. I get it back Friday and they had apparently gone thru it and proceeded to tell me it was full of adware, it was running slow (trust me, if they wanted to see slow, I should have given it to them when it only had 256MB RAM in it), my Antivirus is crap, etc. And naturally they could have healed all this for $139. :rolleyes:

Is this customary now to have your hard drive sifted thru no matter what you take your computer in for? It made me kind of mad, but I guess if all places do this, I'll know for next time.

I ran a-squared and AdAware, which picked up nothing but 3 things. So this question...what is a really great program for spyware/adware removal? I've been looking at Amazon, but most programs only have about 3 stars. So I thought I'd see what others seem to really like.

[rperegrine75]

I run these three programs.

Windows Defender
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

McAfee, It came with my Internet service provider.
http://us.mcafee.com/

[vtunie]

In many machines, the more load there is on the CPU, the faster the fan runs. And since viruses or spyware can really place a high load on the system, sometimes the fan becomes worn out and starts squealing or whatever. So it's not strange that the repair shop ran an antivirus check on your hard disk.

Many "free" programs you can download are traps for spyware. If you do ever install freeware or shareware off the net, google to see if it's known to contain spyware.

There are some tools to remove adware and other garbage manually, such as HijackThis, etc., but it gets pretty technical pretty quickly.

Most of the antivirus programs nowadays are actually annual subscriptions -- that way you can get continuous updates so that new viruses are identified. But actually all of the anti-virus products out there have been known to fail. Since most evil enters your system through the web browser (if you haven't installed it yourself through the freeware), the best way to go is to make sure the browser's safe. That is, raise the security settings and clean out the download cache (copies of all the web pages you look at and various little pieces of nastiness attached to them) regularly.

If you prefer Internet Explorer, see if version 7 runs on your machine. That's the safest of all, as long as you remember to clean the downloaded cache regularly -- at leat once every couple of days. Or are you using Firefox? The idea is the same, to clean up the downloaded files as often as possible, but the exact steps are different for the two kinds of browsers. What are you running, exactly?

[dawsongirl]

Okay, I am running IE 7.

[vtunie]

Well, in that case, beyond being careful with freeware, the thing to do to minimize garbage is to delete the cache OFTEN:

Tools > Internet Options > Delete > Delete all,
and
check the box "Also delete files and settings stored by add-ons."

[robyrob]

I'm not a big fan of Geek Squad - their main objective is the same as the salespeople on the floor - to get as much $$$ out of you as they can.

They may not have even bothered to check to see if you actually have any spyware/adware before suggesting that they "fix" it for $139.

as for antispyware programs:

Windows Defender (http://tinyurl.com/2wsok6), Spybot Search & Destroy (http://tinyurl.com/37t9f), and Spyware Terminator (http://www.download.com/Spyware-Terminator/3000-8022_4-10468541.html) are all good free programs.

you can check the list at http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm for bad antispyware programs to avoid.

for Antivirus I use AVG (http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10320142.html), but there are other free options that are as good or better.

Fans go bad, usually from dust and age.

[Jude The Obscure]

I just downloaded Spybot this morning and it found 41 programs on my computer!! :eek:

I also use AVG and it caught a Trojan horse on my last run through.

Ad-Aware had stopped working for me for some reason, so I uninstalled it.

[dawsongirl]

I have AVG and I like it better than I liked McAfee. Spybot...I must have had that on my old computer; I'll have to install it on here. Forgot about that one.

Thanks everyone for the input. :)

[dawsongirl]

Fans go bad, usually from dust and age.

So it probably wasn't from setting it on tables? I know that sounds dumb, but I just wondered because this laptop doesn't seem to have a lot of clearance under it for air to get thru and have heat build up. Since it was only 2 years old, I didn't think age, but maybe that's old for a laptop fan.

[I am Roboto]

It should be noted that running these programs in Safe Mode can detect threats that otherwise may be left behind.

I'm not a big fan of Geek Squad - their main objective is the same as the salespeople on the floor - to get as much $$$ out of you as they can.

I knew there was a reason I like you. ;) Will have to check out Spyware Terminator. I have been recommending the standard Windows Defender + SpyBot + AdAware regimen and was alarmed to find in a recent PCMag review that AdAware (and to a lesser extent SpyBot) have really "fallen" from their heyday a few years back.

[PZelda]

I just downloaded Spybot this morning and it found 41 programs on my computer!! :eek:

I also use AVG and it caught a Trojan horse on my last run through.

Ad-Aware had stopped working for me for some reason, so I uninstalled it.
Were you using Adaware SE? They don't do any work on that anymore - as far as I know, Lavasoft stopped updating the definitions for that at the end of last year. Adaware 2007 is the one that's out now. You may want to give it a whirl, because I had the same prob too and now I have a working copy of Adaware again.

[robyrob]

So it probably wasn't from setting it on tables? I know that sounds dumb, but I just wondered because this laptop doesn't seem to have a lot of clearance under it for air to get thru and have heat build up. Since it was only 2 years old, I didn't think age, but maybe that's old for a laptop fan.
a laptop fan can last many years; it all depends on dust/heat/humidity.

Using a laptop on a table is a LOT better than using it on your lap or a bed, even something as simple as a tablecloth can be a potential problem. If you consider how much more tightly packed everything is in a laptop, all that heat that is generated needs to be pushed out efficiently, and the harder it has to work, the shorter that fan is going to last.

Blow out the fans with some canned air occasionally (turn the computer off first and remove the battery), make sure you are never blocking the exhaust or intake vents, and try to avoid humidity (you would not believe what condensation can do to the inside of a laptop).

[Jude The Obscure]

Were you using Adaware SE? They don't do any work on that anymore - as far as I know, Lavasoft stopped updating the definitions for that at the end of last year. Adaware 2007 is the one that's out now. You may want to give it a whirl, because I had the same prob too and now I have a working copy of Adaware again.


No, I had Ad-Aware 2007. Seems I didn't unistall it :lol: So I ran it again last night--got rid of tons of cookies.

[dawsongirl]

Were you using Adaware SE? They don't do any work on that anymore - as far as I know, Lavasoft stopped updating the definitions for that at the end of last year. Adaware 2007 is the one that's out now. You may want to give it a whirl, because I had the same prob too and now I have a working copy of Adaware again.
Didn't know this. Guess I'll go get 2007 instead.

[PZelda]

Didn't know this. Guess I'll go get 2007 instead.
I hadn't run my Adaware program in a very long time (I'm embarrassed to say how long it was :blush:) so when I went to update the defs the other day, it told me they'd stopped updating defs just before Christmas, and that Adaware 2007 was out now and to get that instead (still free to use).

Thankfully, I only got tracking cookies when I ran Adaware, so it's all good. :)

[dawsongirl]

I hadn't run my Adaware program in a very long time (I'm embarrassed to say how long it was :blush:) so when I went to update the defs the other day, it told me they'd stopped updating defs just before Christmas, and that Adaware 2007 was out now and to get that instead (still free to use).

Thankfully, I only got tracking cookies when I ran Adaware, so it's all good. :)
That's all I ever get with that program as well.