Problems with computer using Windows Vista

Roary · Sep 22, 2009

My computer is supposed to be protected by Shield Deluxe anti-virus etc. But now it is acting really slow and doing weird things. I contacted Shield Deluxe and they referred me to IYogi Support. The support person spent a lot of time checking my computer and told me it was severely infected with malware and in danger of crashing. He asked for control of my computer and showed me numerous instances of malware present. He offered to install cleaning software, valid for two years which would thoroughly clean my computer registery. The cost was $440.00 for the two years. During the long discussion he explained if I took it to a technician it would most likely cost me more than double that amount. Can anyone comment, give me insight or otherwise inform me in any way about how to handle the situation I have described? Is anyone familiar with IYogi? How do I know this is legitimate? According to a survey Shield Deluxe is supposed to be one of the best in virus protection. I would appreciate any comments anyone can offer.

zigzag3143 · Sep 22, 2009

Hi and welcome to sevenfourms

Dont pay them. You can do it yourself with maybe $50 in software. If you have the time and have all the data off that drive that you need you could rid yourself of any of the nasties (if you even have them) in 4 maybe 5 hours.

All you need is you vista dvd, software anti virus, malware, and firewall.

If you decide to do it your self we can help walk you thru it.

Ken

lemur · Sep 22, 2009

Ken is on target as always.

Malwarebytes is a good program to use for malware and free.
Malwarebytes.org

I had never heard of Shield Deluxe before. Was this supposed to scan for malware in addition to viruses?

mark5019 · Sep 22, 2009

Internet Security Software - PCSecurityShield

never heard of it

CrucialHoax · Sep 22, 2009

mark5019 said:
Internet Security Software - PCSecurityShield

never heard of it

I think it might be the cause of the problem. I use web of trust in firefox and when I click on the link its all red, all ratings are red. It doesnt specify if its malicious or not but I would definitely say its safe to assume that.

Also Roary, Anti-virus programs that cost aren't always the best. As previously state above do it yourself, save the time and frustration and know its done right. We'll help ya

Roary · Sep 22, 2009

To all of you who so promptly posted a reply I am so very thankful. I am retired and I don't have that kind of funds to fix this situation. But I really do want to get my computer cleaned up.
It is getting late night for me right now. I do want to have your help to fix these problems so I will make this contact again tomorrow. Again, I really, really, appreciate all of you who offered help and suggestions.

Frostmourne · Sep 22, 2009

Run all the scans in safe mode, along with SuperAntiSpyware. Also, the Ubuntu live cd can be used to remove annoying malware. $440? Rubbish.

CrucialHoax · Sep 23, 2009

Seriously, $440.00 could buy a new netbook. Best bet is to run the free app's that have been suggested in this thread, then post back with the results. Should take care of it for the most part.

Frostmourne · Sep 23, 2009

Netbooks are pointless. Some smart phones are faster.

Roary · Sep 23, 2009

lemur said:
Ken is on target as always.

Malwarebytes is a good program to use for malware and free.
Malwarebytes.org

I had never heard of Shield Deluxe before. Was this supposed to scan for malware in addition to viruses?

Thank you for your reply. I'm actually not very computer literate. I can't even figure out how to reply to your response to me. Anyway, can you tell me more about the malware site you mentioned above. I tried to download it but it would not install. You mentioned it was free. But I can't find a free one. Only the downloading is free When I try to install it I have to purchase it. Can you help me more with this, please? I really want to get my computer working again and I don't really know how.

Roary · Sep 23, 2009

zigzag3143 said:
Hi and welcome to sevenfourms

Dont pay them. You can do it yourself with maybe $50 in software. If you have the time and have all the data off that drive that you need you could rid yourself of any of the nasties (if you even have them) in 4 maybe 5 hours.

All you need is you vista dvd, software anti virus, malware, and firewall.

If you decide to do it your self we can help walk you thru it.

Ken

I'm not very good at using computers and stumble my way through it. I appreciate your offer of help. Can you tell me more about this vista dvd you mentioned above. I have no idea what it is, where to get it or what to do with it. I have no intention of paying out that money. And I am so encouraged since several from this forum offered assistance. I have never used a forum before and don't even really know how to reply. I just guessed at this method and I think it works. Thank you for any further help you can give me.

Brink · Sep 23, 2009

Hello Roary, and welcome to Vista Forums.

If you do not mind backing up anything that you do not want to lose to format and reinstall Vista, then please post back with what brand of computer you have. I'll post back with instructions from your computer manufacturer's on how to do a factory restore of Vista to have it back like the day you first got it.

Roary · Sep 23, 2009

mark5019 said:
Internet Security Software - PCSecurityShield

never heard of it

Thank you for responding. I don't know much about computers and I don't even know if this is the way to reply to messages in this forum. I found a survey once on the internet involving several types of antivirus protection programs. PCSecurity Shield was given top marks so I decided to use it. It seems to be doing a real good job until suddenly my computer starting acting very weird. Upon doing some investigationg I learned (at least to my limited knowledge) that it actually has a number of spyware/malware on it. I am very anxious to get it back working properly again but I don't have much knowledge or experience to help me accomplish this. I would greatly appreciate any help you could give me.

Roary

Frostmourne said:
Run all the scans in safe mode, along with SuperAntiSpyware. Also, the Ubuntu live cd can be used to remove annoying malware. $440? Rubbish.

Thank you for responding. I am not very good at using computers. I don't even know if this is the proper method of reply to your message. Could you please explain to me more about how to do the things you mentioned above. I haven't got a clue how to begin.

Roary.

CrucialHoax said:
Seriously, $440.00 could buy a new netbook. Best bet is to run the free app's that have been suggested in this thread, then post back with the results. Should take care of it for the most part.

Yes, you are right. But I tried to run what was supposed to be free but only the downloading is free. When I try to install it says I have to purchase it. Is there anything more you can tell about this? I tried it again this morning (at least it is where I live) and I could not even begin to install it now because for some reason a parental control is on and I must enter a password to allow the program. I don't know anything about this parental control. Never ever used it. Don't know how or why it appeared. No children here. And I don't know of any password. Do you have any further advice about this control as to how I can get rid of it etc. Thank you for any help you can give.

Roary

Frostmourne said:
Run all the scans in safe mode, along with SuperAntiSpyware. Also, the Ubuntu live cd can be used to remove annoying malware. $440? Rubbish.

Since I am so unskilled with computers I don't really understand your instruction. How do I run scans, how do I get into safe mode and I have no idea what UBuntu live cd is. Is there anyway you can enlighten a person like me. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

lemur · Sep 23, 2009

Roary,

You don't have to be great using computers. That's what vistax64 is for.

As Brink said, let us know if you want to reinstall Vista and we will be happy to provide information to protect your system. Are you willing to do this? If yes, we first need to make sure you have the DVDs necessary to reinstall. Please tell us as much about your hardware as possible (make, model, etc) and what DVDs came with your computer.

Roary · Sep 23, 2009

Brink said:
Hello Roary, and welcome to Vista Forums.

If you do not mind backing up anything that you do not want to lose to format and reinstall Vista, then please post back with what brand of computer you have. I'll post back with instructions from your computer manufacturer's on how to do a factory restore of Vista to have it back like the day you first got it.

Thank you so much. Here is the info you asked for.
Windows Vista Hom Premium Service Pack 1 (build 6001)
System Model = HP-Pavilion GN559AA-ABA a622On
System Ser. # CNH7381418
Chassis Ser. #DM0001
Processor - 2.20 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo
64 Kilobyte primary memory cache
2048 kilobyte secondary memory cache
Main Circuit Board
Board: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Berkeley 1.xx
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz
BIOD - American Megatrends Inc. 5.07 08/08/2007

This might be overload but hopefully you can get from that what is necessary. Please let me know if you need anything further.

Roary.

Roary · Sep 23, 2009

lemur said:
Roary,

You don't have to be great using computers. That's what vistax64 is for.

As Brink said, let us know if you want to reinstall Vista and we will be happy to provide information to protect your system. Are you willing to do this? If yes, we first need to make sure you have the DVDs necessary to reinstall. Please tell us as much about your hardware as possible (make, model, etc) and what DVDs came with your computer.

Thank you so much. Here is the info you asked for.
Windows Vista Hom Premium Service Pack 1 (build 6001)
System Model = HP-Pavilion GN559AA-ABA a622On
System Ser. # CNH7381418
Chassis Ser. #DM0001
Processor - 2.20 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo
64 Kilobyte primary memory cache
2048 kilobyte secondary memory cache
Main Circuit Board
Board: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Berkeley 1.xx
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz
BIOD - American Megatrends Inc. 5.07 08/08/2007

This might be overload but hopefully you can get from that what is necessary. Please let me know if you need anything further.

Roary.

Brink · Sep 23, 2009

Roary,

This link at HP will show you how to do a Factory Restore. Scroll down a bit to the Restore the PC to its original condition with the HP Recovery Manager if Windows Vista is not accessible section.

HP Notebook PCs*-* Using HP Backup and Recovery Manager - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

Roary · Sep 23, 2009

Roary said:
zigzag3143 said:

Hi and welcome to sevenfourms

Dont pay them. You can do it yourself with maybe $50 in software. If you have the time and have all the data off that drive that you need you could rid yourself of any of the nasties (if you even have them) in 4 maybe 5 hours.

All you need is you vista dvd, software anti virus, malware, and firewall.

If you decide to do it your self we can help walk you thru it.

Ken

Click to expand...

I'm not very good at using computers and stumble my way through it. I appreciate your offer of help. Can you tell me more about this vista dvd you mentioned above. I have no idea what it is, where to get it or what to do with it. I have no intention of paying out that money. And I am so encouraged since several from this forum offered assistance. I have never used a forum before and don't even really know how to reply. I just guessed at this method and I think it works. Thank you for any further help you can give me.

Ken
Most certainly I want to do it myself and will certainly appreciate help in walking me throuth it. I really need to get this computer back in order. Thanks so much.

Roary

lemur · Sep 23, 2009

And after you have completed your initial install, we can get the latest, greatest drivers.
Select your operating system HP Pavilion a6220n Desktop PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

CrucialHoax · Sep 23, 2009

First thing is to install sp2, here is the link, choose the correct option x86 for 32bit machines, or x64 for a 64 bit machine:

Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista

Then install either avg, avast! or antivir. Personally, I would recommend avg, but here they all are:

AVG: AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition - Reviews and free AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition downloads at Download.com

avast!: Avast Home Edition Free Antivirus downloads - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

AntiVir: Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

Then install new drivers at the site previous posted by lemur

Then Run windows update and install everything.

That should have your machine running like new.

If you want, after the above steps are done, I would defrag the hard drive, boot files, and run the disk cleaner.

After thats done, install all previous installed progams. ie. games, browsers, pictures, music, etc.

Then you can enjoy having a excellent running machine

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