Ried

Hiya,

I'm so glad you got the Windows Update working again. I was about to send you over to the Windows XP section for assistance on getting that working properly again as I see no malware in either the StartDreck or SilentRunners logs.

It's possible that you have too many Active Protection programs on your system and they were conflicting with one another--evidenced by the issue of SpySweeper being resolved once you uninstalled Arovax. It's fine to have multiple anti-malware programs to scan your system, but too many actively protecting your system doesn't always work out.

SpywareBlaster does not fall under the category of 'Active Protection' as it does not 'watch' for any other malware--as is the case with SpySweeper, AVG A-S, Arovax, Windows Defender. Spyware Blaster focuses on bad ActiveX controls that try to download on your computer. It will block any bad ActiveX from running in Internet Explorer and Firefox if it's listed in their database (which you should update frequently). Launch SpywareBlaster and click on each of the browser tabs and you will see the items you are protected against.

The fact that AVG A-S found cookies that the others didn't report doesn't necessarily mean that new 'stuff' has found it's way to your system. Each anti-malware program has it's own way of scanning your system. Some will find things others 'miss', which is why it's a good idea to have more than one.

I would suggest keeping SpySweeper and Windows Defender as 'Active Protection'. Turn off AVG A-S Resident Shield, but continue to update the database and scan with it at regular intervals.

Your logs are clean. I think we can wrap this up.

If there aren't any more problems, please continue with these final instructions and helpful links.


Reset hidden/system files and folders
Windows XP
===============
Click Start.
* Open My Computer.
* Select the Tools menu and click Folder Options.
* Select the View tab.
* Deselect the Show hidden files and folders option.
* Select the Hide file extensions for known types option.
* Select the Hide protected operating system files option.
Click Yes to confirm.
Click OK.

Enable Windows Auto Update
*Go to Start>Run - type wuaucpl.cpl
*Tick on the checkbox - "Automatically download the updates, and install them on the schedule that I specify".
Click on "OK".

Create a new System Restore point
Click Start >> Run - type SYSDM.CPL & press Enter
* Select the System Restore Tab
* Tick on the checkbox - "Turn off System Restore on all drives"
Click Apply
* Then untick the same checkbox & click OK
This will prevent any reinfection from previous restore points.

To help protect your computer in the future I recommend that you get the following free programs if you do not already have them:

Download Spyware Guard to catch and block spyware before it can execute.

Download IE-SPYAD.EXE to block access to malicious websites so you cannot be redirected to them from an infected site or email. IE/Spyad places more than 4000 dubious websites and domains in the IE Restricted list. This severely impairs attempts to infect your system. It basically prevents any downloads (Cookies etc) from the sites listed, although you will still be able to connect to the sites. This is a self-extracting .ZIP file, save it to your desktop. Once downloaded, double-click on it to extract the files inside (default dir is C:\IE-SPYAD)

• Now navigate to C:\ie-spyad. Double click to open it.
• From within the folder, double-click install.bat
• Select Option #2 - Install the new IE-SPYAD list, by typing 2
• Then return to the main menu.
• Select option #4 - Add the old porn sites domain, by typing 4

Update all these programs regularly. Without regular updates you will not be protected when new malicious programs are released.

I'm sure you'll like to avoid any future infections. Please take a look at these well written articles:

PC Safety and Security--What Do I Need?

HOW DID I GET INFECTED IN THE FIRST PLACE? by Tony Klein
THE ANTI-SPYWARE TUTORIAL
MAKING INTERNET EXPLORER SAFER
Understanding and Using Firewalls

**Be very wary with any security software that is advertised in popups or in other ways. They are not only usually of no use, but often have malware in them.

Follow this list and your potential for being infected again will reduce dramatically.