tetonbob

Well, to rule out malware as the cause, because I'm not sure it is, I'd like to get some sort of scanner run on the machine which provides me with useful output.

Assuming you're transporting logs from the affected machine to friend's machine with USB stick or other removable media, we can use this freestanding scanner to accomplish the same thing.

Download this to removable media, and transport it to the affected machine.

* Download Dr.Web CureIt to the desktop:
ftp://ftp.drweb.com/pub/drweb/cureit/cureit.exe

• Doubleclick the drweb-cureit.exe file.
• Click on Start, and Allow to run the express scan
• This will scan the files currently running in memory and when something is found, click the yes button when it asks you if you want to cure it. This is only a short scan.
• Once the short scan has finished, we need to change the default settings.
• In the Menu Bar, Go to Options>Change Settings.
• Click on the Actions tab
• Using the drop down menus, change each item under Objects, Infected Packages and Malware to Report, then click OK
• Next, tick the Complete Scan radio button.
• Click the green arrow at the right, and the scan will start.
• Click 'No to All' if it asks if you want to cure/move the file.
• After the scan has completed, in the Dr.Web CureIt menu on top, click file and choose save report list
• Save the report to your desktop. The report will be called DrWeb.csv
• Close Dr.Web Cureit.
• Ignore and close any windows which open, prompting you to buy DrWeb.
• Post the contents of the log from Dr.Web you saved previously in your next reply.