My computer had become a cozy home to a huge number of virusses, worms, root kits, and who knows what else. It was extremely slow and I couldn't use the microphone (for skype). It re-booted whenever it liked, and in general behaved weird. So I decided to get XP professional SP3 over the internet and install it.

It worked pretty well, including the istallation of Microsoft Offce, though otherwise things have gotten worse. Some virusses seem to be back, as it is slow again, but for that I'll get an anti-virus program. Maybe the microphone is working now, but I can't check that, as I always get the message that the sound card is missing. It's there, and a friend told me that this problem is common when you re-install XP.

On one occassion it took him a whole week to figure out what was wrong and how to correct it, so he is totally reluctant to go through that again. Can't quite blame him, but need the computer working. Don't want to send it to the shop, as those guys are trickier than all the scammers people complain about in the forums. So what could I do? Help!

hey man

Firstly you need a firewall to stop visrus squating in your pc. I am using the free version of zonealarm, so far so good.

Then I would install AVG, from grifsoft.com. the free version again, that will get rid of most viruses

Have you  defrag your hard disk and clear your temp internet files lately?

haven't seen you in basics forum for a while, please come back

Quoting from [have a lot of demandjadedev]:

hey man

Firstly you need a firewall to stop visrus squating in your pc. I am using the free version of zonealarm, so far so good.

Then I would install AVG, from grifsoft.com. the free version again, that will get rid of most viruses

Have you  defrag your hard disk and clear your temp internet files lately?

haven't seen you in basics forum for a while, please come back

germex grandpa is always active in this forum. recently maybe he is busy negotiating with those viruses.

Quoting from [Hai ying]:

Quoting from [have a lot of demandjadedev]:

hey man

Firstly you need a firewall to stop visrus squating in your pc. I am using the free version of zonealarm, so far so good.

Then I would install AVG, from grifsoft.com. the free version again, that will get rid of most viruses

Have you  defrag your hard disk and clear your temp internet files lately?

haven't seen you in basics forum for a while, please come back

germex grandpa is always active in this forum. recently maybe he is busy negotiating with those viruses.

Thanks for your replies, both of you! Actually, I'm reading the contributions in many forums, but of course not always do I have something meaningful to answer.

Regarding my computer problems, last night a friend (who is an IT specialist) came by and fixed the problem. I still have to install a better firewall, but the ones mentioned are not quite powerful enough. Recently I had Avast, but they seem to heavily spy on you. Apparently nowadays there is no software you can fully rely on - aside from the fact that first the virus comes out and later the fix.

Frankly, I'm about to trash my computer and buy a typewriter, a notebook and a fax. It's been many years since I used these items the last time, but...

Hi,

Wipe your hard drive

don't connecto to internet yet

put on firewall and virus scanner

connect to internet

don't install anymore software (A lot of freeware these days come with virus and crap).

Then you are fine.

Quoting from [have a lot of demandjadedev]:

Your suggestion is "technically correct", but it took me days to get the computer running properly, and I can't bother my IT friend again. Can't go through that again. The typewritewr looks more and more tempting...

Also, don't let anyone use your pc because I bet they will put games on it and also spyware and all the sh-it.

My pc got infected with SpyProtetor last night and it was the worst spyware that I have ever seen.  I have to format the PC

Fortunately I'm the only one to use this computer, and I'm not into games and porno - apparently the most dangerous websites. In general I stay away from whatever looks fishy to me, but even so already have at least one virus.

As I said before, let's remember typewriters, wired phones, etc. Much more pleasant than all this crap.

The word of the day: Be a good citizen, put a hacker in prison.