Introduction

Who would think I was capable of such revengeful thoughts about the parties responsible for inflicting my poor computer with spyware? Well, after the trauma of having gone through such an experience for the first time, I was sorely tempted by the occult section of curses and witchcraft at my local bookstore. Growl!

Basically, I am a normal person using a home computer to perform simple normal tasks such as word processing, writing emails, internet banking, and surfing the Internet for useful information. Ok, I also have a weakness for looking for bargains on good old eBay (sheepish grin) and Paypal is quite a handy option for easy purchasing.

Problem:

Great dismay and panic hit when my pc started popping up strange windows or messages. With my limited IT knowledge, I ran a Norton virus scan which obviously revealed a number of problems. But the Symantec removal tool did not remove the spyware and I could not even log onto a couple of password protected sites. My beloved pc was infected with some malware or adware or trojan, among which, I believe was WinFixer and a Trojan Vundo. I did not know how to get rid of Vundo or how to remove WinFixer. (Or perhaps they were the one and same thing?). But at that point, I did not know any better, so began the laborious task of searching for information on how to get rid of the spyware.

Research:

From my search, I found out that the Trojan Vundo is a trojan horse that causes popups advertising rogue antispyware programs. For example, the program called Sysprotect is advertised in many of the popup windows as seen from the screenshot below. Vundo infects a computer by creating a DLL file in the Windows system directory and writes registry entries causing Windows to inject the file into winlogon.exe.

WinFixer, on the other hand, has siblings as it is identical to WinAntiVirus and ErrorSafe. And these programs all claim to repair problems within your computer system. By installing the program on your computer, you will likely end up receiving false information about your computer. Naturally, this will confuse you into believing your PC is infected with viruses, spyware and/or other forms of malware.

The popups and forced downloads apparently mirror “marketing” strategies of many spyware programs. And at times, infected computers will reduce in their level of speed and performance. Well, this all explained what was probably happening to my pc, and I knew I had to figure out how to get rid of WinFixer and Vundo before they drove me mad.

Research and solution:

In my initial panic, I reacted by downloading some recommended antispyware programs, namely CounterSpy by Sunbelt Software, XoftSpy by ParetoLogic and Spy Sweeper by Webroot Software Inc. I came to my senses by the third program and stopped myself from paying for another popular program, Spyware Doctor. But hey, all these programs did receive pretty good reviews from the experts at PCWorld, PCMag, CNet, Tucows and AdwareReport. So at the time, I did not feel that I had gone too much overboard

Now, there are many sites listing all sorts of free and paid antispyware programs with a variety of reviews and user opinions on how to remove WinFixer and how to get rid of Vundo. Many of the commercial antispyware program homepages also list very detailed features of their products plus the latest research findings about current spyware threats. Have a look at this webpage that lists some of these reliable programs. www.consumerstyle.com/antispyware

Anyway, an opinion and recommendation I had read when researching for the reliable antispyware programs made heaps sense in that software you pay for is more likely to offer benefits over freeware, i.e., better support, more frequent updates and better pro-active protection measures. One just has to be careful when selecting the programs. According to the comments in the forums and review articles I read, many recommend using at least two programs to be able to catch the latest spyware that either program might miss (that was when I stopped myself from my downloading frenzy). I have learnt much more about my pc now and wish to share and perhaps amuse you my muddled but finally effective measures to cleaning up my pc and removing the spyware.

My actions:

My initial Norton antivirus scan found but was not able to delete Vundo, even after rebooting. The Symantec removal tool did not help at all. I had disconnected from the Internet, disabled system restore, and ran the removal tool, regularly and in safe mode. After numerous startups, varying with safe mode, and disabling antivirus, I even tried to figure out how to remove Vundo manually without messing with the registry, etc. Please note that some people had success with the Symantec removal tools, and some others, like me, did not. Apart from the Trojan Vundo, I was getting quite frustrated at not being able to remove WinFixer for the many windows continually popping up started to slow my computer down, and even freeze it at times.

So I first tried Xoftspy, which was the fastest when scanning my computer. I was pleased to have fewer pop ups, was able to remove WinFixer, and ended with a much faster internet connection.

Then with my next program, Spy Sweeper, I ran it twice and then did a full system scan. Lo and behold, Vundo was gone, no more popups and adware annoyances. I guess this might not work for everyone but it is worth a shot to download Spy Sweeper.

Being still paranoid about the health of my pc, I finally ran the the free two-week trial version of CounterSpy, for extra assurance. Now I was quite impressed as it also included a scheduler, secure file shredder, and a history cleaner that made it simple to set up weekly scans. And there are frequent definition file updates for CounterSpy’s publisher. The company seems to run a well-staffed spyware research department. After a scan, CounterSpy can delete, quarantine, or remove spyware. I was advised not to install Microsoft AntiSpyware alongside older versions of CounterSpy (version 1.5 and below). And it is recommended to get CounterSpy to check for online updates of definitions and program files manually.

Conclusion:

To sum it all, XoftSpy was able to delete WinFixer as the program was able to uninstall WinFixer within fifteen minutes requiring a couple of restarts. As for Spy Sweeper, it managed to remove Vundo with ease. And I have no doubt that CounterSpy has done a great job of keeping my pc free of spyware. I cannot say that I have taken the best approach to solving my problems, but my pc is now running faster than ever and I have been free of WinFixer and Vundo ever since. I just have to remember to be more careful and scan my pc regularly.

One thing is for sure, there are many reliable and popular antispyware programs out there, and many helpful forum chat folk who can lend a hand with plenty of technical advice. You just have to sort out what advice and which steps to take by increasing your own awareness and understanding of your pc and the nasty world of spyware lurking around these days.

Jess Ong
http://www.articlesbase.com/security-articles/malicious-thoughts-about-the-spyware-ills-of-my-pc-95541.html

If your PC is bother from numerous troubles, such as freeware applications that are constantly making PC fans run loud or slow your PC.  Your freeware applications responding sluggishly, spyware or viruses have infiltrated your approach, or your high-speed Internet connection effective slower than a 56K modem, then it is time to run some <b>freeware antivirus / anti-spyware tools</b> on your approach to cosmos out these troubles. Freeware can be like <a href=” http://www.freewarekicks.com/System-Utilities/Adaware-2007-Free.html”>AD Aware</a>.

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You must not be a mainframe drain in order to know how to use these freeware utilities. You cleanly announce and run them, and they take decide of everything for you. Look some to get familiar with a <a href=”http://www.freewarekicks.com/”>freeware application</a>.

Give your PC a infinite <b>freeware registry repair</b> and you’ll be reaping the payback of a deeply more cycle, more extremely optimized, more robust, and deeply gone effective approach! All can be done with freeware software so it cost nothing for you.

Newster
http://www.articlesbase.com/security-articles/freeware-to-increase-security-746428.html

Rollback Rx lets you carry out your pc maintenance and fix computer problems both remotely and locally. You can program your updates, perform pc restores and configure all your PCs through remote control over the Internet. Rollback Rx is not hardware-dependant and to handle configurations it supports all Microsoft Windows operating environments including Windows 98, NT, 2000 and XP. You don’t even need any specialized training to use Rollback Rx since it is very user-friendly software.

Keeping Your Data Intact

The most important thing for any pc user is the data, rather than the pc. With Rollback Rx you don’t have to suffer any data loss when you encounter a problem with your pc. Computer settings can be restored to the second – right up to your last backup. It provides you with secure data recovery. User settings, along with operation system files are restored along with other hardware system related restores. Most of the system restore software restore only system files, some hardware drivers and certain other data but files are written off for good. With Rollback Rx, complete data recovery is what you can expect. Its snapshot system makes that possible. Rollback Rx clicks system configuration snapshots according to the schedule you set. You can also do it manually, but Rollback can be programmed to automatically click snapshots at specified events and frequencies. It does not take up much space on your hard drive since it operates at the sector level of the hard disk.

Restoring Corrupt Registry

Certain unauthorized downloads can corrupt your registry when you browse the Internet. Even in such situations, Rollback Rx can bring your pc back to the snapshot before the corrupted registry. Rollback Rx’s capabilities are all unique because it does not depend on the operation system environment to perform its system restore. You can access Rollback Rx during the boot cycle if the operating system crashes and wont start up. Rollback Rx can monitor your disk input/ output. Because of this, your operating system can be restored when your pc is booting up regardless of how major the pc problem is.

We cannot avoid most of the problems we face with our pc – we have no control over viruses attacking our systems at times since they come in with legitimate software at times in spite of anti virus protection. Rollback Rx makes pc repair and application restorations very easy through the system configuration snapshots. The traditional system restore software depends on imaging, backup or duplicating data and this not only hogs space in your hard disk but also takes hours to restore.

Jacob Henderson
http://www.articlesbase.com/data-recovery-articles/troubleshoot-via-remote-control-with-rollback-rx-87037.html

Have you gotten a blue screen error that says the following:

IRQL_NOT_LESS_ OR_EQUAL

Typically what happens is suddenly you will get a windows blue screen (aka blue screen of death or BSOD) and the command prompt will read that particular message. Then your computer crashes and you are required to reboot. What causes this problem? It could be a couple of things.

First your computer may be overheating. Feel your computer (especially if you have a laptop) and check if it is running hot. If the temperature feels abnormally high it may be a good idea to get a cooling fan. You should also be running your computer on a smooth cool surface.

The second and most probable cause of the blue screen error Irql_Not_Less_Or_Equal is an issue with your Windows registry, more specifically the HAL layer. HAL stands for the hardware abstraction layer. It a process in the windows registry that communicates information from the drivers to the hardware.

When there are errors or corrupt files in your registry, then HAL cannot communicate with your hardware. This will cause your computer to freeze up and give you the blue screen error – Irql Not Less Or Equal.

While this is a very complicated issue, fixing it can be rather easy. You cannot do it on your own unless you are an absolute computer expert. But fortunately there can be a very simple solution. Scan your computer with a registry repair program that can fix problems in the HAL layer. I use such a program myself with great success. To fix Irql_Not_Less_Or_Equal errors and other problems simple scan your computer for free below.

Jim Marshall
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/blue-screen-error-irql-not-less-or-equal-745145.html

A runtime error can come in many forms, but you have to understand the basic and underlying reasons why a runtime error occurs. They occur only because one or more software you have installed on your system experiences an internal error that denies it from fulfilling its program potential and logic algorithms. In essence, the program can load at all – thus its runtime is interrupted. Here, I shall tell you how to fix runtime error – 3 effective ways.

Runtime errors originate in the registry, and that is because everytime you install or uninstall a program, a ’signature’ of that action gets registered in the windows registry. Over time, with many combinations and too many records that overlap each other – especially bad installs, you get a registry that is overly cluttered with corrupt entries. You get entries that point to bad or non existent entries. You get embedded keys that cannot function and you get corrupted files and traces that cause Windows to stumble and get confused whenever you try and start the system or any program for that matter.

Slow load times, crashes, programs refusing to even launch, slowdowns, bad memory dumps, multiple runtime error codes. Active X failures, bad application paths, obsolete software and even a MUI cache (part of your registry) that is slow and full of bad information. These are just some of the things in the registry that can be causing your computer slowdowns and they can manifest themselves as runtime errors.

You can get rid of these problems by a very obvious method. But first there are two ways you can localise and identify the problems. Now some runtime problems are caused by specific software. For example runtime error 424 – a message frequently displayed to users of Microsoft Access, or other Microsoft office applications. A quick reinstall or re-register of the office applications would be a quick fix to your problems. Runtime error 53 or several others could be due to a conflict between hardware and software. Check for any recent program installs or driver installs for your hardware – the Windows rollback feature for driver installs can be a boon to anyone looking for the root of the problem.

The easiest way to get down and dirty to the issue doesn’t need such extensive technical know-how. It is a good thing that a lot of tech experts have bridged the gap between the casual PC user and the techie who can rewire their RAM at the flip of a coin. Good registry optimisers and cleaners can identify up to and over 20 problems that cause all these Runtime errors. Go beyond the few effective ways and eliminate 99% of all these issues with a simple program download. Invest a little money in a good one – you won’t regret it, because at the end of the day, it is a pittance to pay for to settle and repair some 20 something problems that could be plaguing and slowing down your computer at every turn. So now you know how to fix runtime error; in fact 3 effective ways of doing so.

Logan Albright
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/how-to-fix-runtime-error-3-effective-ways-592713.html

Before we understand the relationship between Windows service and a registry cleaner, let us understand what is Windows Service. Windows services are executable programs that run in the background to make the whole operating system stable and efficient. If the user were to click on ‘start’ and then click on ‘Run’ and type ‘msconfig’ into the dialogue box. The system would call up the registry window that would display various tabs one of these tab will be named ‘services’ click on this tab and you will see the number of services running in the back ground of your operating system. All these services that run in the background are stored in the registry. When any changes are made to these services or how they are implemented, these changes are recorded in the registry of the system. These changes have to be undone from time to time with a windows registry cleaner.

Need To Clean The Registry.

Sometimes the changes are made so often to windows services that the old entries to the related service are not deleted. So when the system calls up the service the entire services section of the registry has to be scanned to locate and configure the service being called up. The search will include past changes that were made as well. This process drastically slows down the system and makes it sluggish. A main symptom that will indicate the need for a power registry cleaner is that the system will take a very long time to boot up and shut down.

How the Registry Builds Up

When the system shuts down the changes that are made during the operating time of the PC will have to be recorded in the registry. The registry will have to search the registry sequentially until it comes to the spot that the entry has to be made in. This can take very long depending on the size of the registry. The same process is carried out when the system boots up. Good registry cleaner software can solve this problem by periodically cleaning the registry of redundant entries. You can download a free windows registry cleaner to assist you with the process.

When you download programs from the Internet they are recorded in the registry. You will delete the program or uninstall it after some time but he entries in the registry will stay. This will buildup and make the registry very large for the system to operate efficiently. The registry will need a thorough cleaning with a trusted windows registry cleaner.

A computer registry cleaner is not a complicated tool to use. It is a very handy tool that keeps your PC working efficiently day after day. Once you have downloaded the free registry repair cleaner it will install itself and offer you two options to clean your PC registry. One will be ‘Scan Registry’ and the other will be ‘repair registry‘. This takes a few minutes and your PC will be running like new. So go and get yourself a free windows registry cleaner today.

Arvind
http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/what-is-windows-service-and-its-relation-to-registry-56762.html

There are many things that can slow down the operating system of a computer. The cramming of the registry is only one of the most common things of the lot. The other things that contribute to the system slow down is spy ware and adware that is downloaded from the Internet without the user even knowing it. These enter the registry and play havoc. There are many programs such as ActiveX controls that download automatically and lodge in the CLASID section of the Registry and begin to slow down the system more and more each day. The only way out is to clean the registry regularly with registry software cleaner.

The Role Of The Registry

So, what is this thing we constantly refer to as the system registry? In the beginning when Windows was still in the evolvement stage Microsoft had to incorporate a way that the operating system could keep track of the file and user information so that the OS could locate them easily. This was initially located in the INI folders. Now there was no way to clean the INI folders with automatic software like the registry Tweaknow cleaner we have today. The INI folders kept growing and slowing down the operating system which had to be cleaned manually unlike the registry windows cleaner available online today.

Now Microsoft came up with a solution and that was to include a system registry in their later operating systems. This brought with it a new problem. That was that the registry kept expanding with daily use of windows. When the system requested some information the registry starts from the beginning to search for the information. As the system grows this process takes longer and longer (This is just an example and not the actual way it works) Thus slowing down the operating system considerably. So, the registry has to be cleaned of the downloaded software, which is of no use once the WebPages, or program has been run anyway.

Not A Manual Process

This cannot be done manually. The reason for this is that there is no such thing as a registry guru. So, if you do not know exactly what you are doing do not mess with the registry of your system. Get a free registry trial cleaner if you have little faith and see for yourself the power of a windows registry cleaner. An online registry cleaner will scan your system for redundant files that are linked to nowhere and just taking up space and in the bargain slowing down the system to a crawl. Then this registry cleaner online will repair the registry by removing these redundant and useless links. The result is that the system will run smoother with no hitches at all.

So even though you do not know anything about the system registry, you can go ahead and download a registry window cleaner and service your system yourself and see the difference. You will surprise yourself.

Arvind
http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/reason-to-clean-the-registry-56734.html

How do you clean you registry from infected entries? Do you think a user can look over the registry and find out those entries from thousands of others and delete them?

Well! A good thought can lead to an invention and we have a very useful tool called Registry Mechanic which checks the registry for unwanted entries and cleans them or repairs the problems is few simple clicks. A tool you will get used to when running it on weekly basis throws up malicious entries to your surprise which were unknowingly installed and found on your computer. Once you have downloaded the software, it can be installed in very simple steps. The application interface is very easy to understand and with options like ‘Scan Your Registry’ you can allow the software to check the system for any shared or missing or bad registry entries.

At this step the software is basically checking the registry for any shared or violated operating system or other application links as it scans through

· various trusted files extensions,

· Software location with missing or incorrect links,

· Registry health and integrity,

· Windows Fonts which can also be an area of target,

· Help and resource files can be missing or corrupt in the registry,

· Shared DLLs,

· Startup programs, entries of those application which were un-installed from Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs,

· Virtual device entries,

· Temp files /shortcuts, files extensions followed by

· Deep registry scan going through every registry entry.

Performing registry cleaning every week would make your computer run faster with the windows operating system and other windows compatible applications. The only purpose of registry mechanic is to analyze the registry using a scripted algorithm for broken links and other broken or missing references of any other 3rd party application etc.

Why would there be broken links? There is a user tendency to test software’s and utilities available on the internet and un-install them if they are useless. Not every un-install is completely removed from your system and leaves unwanted traces or marks in the form of broken or missing registry link. Every time your computer is started, it would scan through every registry entry to link with the applications installed on the local computer. Now if the links are broken, the computer, as expected, will wait for some time before moving ahead with other links causing a delay and making your computer slower and slower day-by-day.

Registry Mechanic also gives a cool option of backing up registry before deleting unwanted entries just incase something goes wrong. You can then trigger the restore of the older registry version, getting the things back to normal. Also a ‘Compact Registry’ and ‘Repair’ option allows the Registry Mechanic to create a System Restore point, again for the same reason ‘if something goes wrong’.

Therefore, we now understand why software like Registry Mechanic is important and must stay in every user’s collections of cool system utilities.

Ted Peterson
http://www.articlesbase.com/operating-systems-articles/fight-your-registry-attacks-fix-your-computer-heart-106316.html

The system registry keeps on growing automatically as programs are added and deleted. As the registry keeps growing it gets loaded with unnecessary information and data. This gradually clutters and fragments the registry over time. The constant growth of the registry can also degrade the performance of the PC and cause the system to crash. A good registry cleaner will defrag the registry and make it more compact by cleaning the registry of all the redundant entries that are slowing the system down.

Registry Cleaners Are a Must Have

Many registry cleaner software such as windows XP registry cleaner, windows free registry cleaner, PC registry cleaner and the like Scan the system registry and locate the obsolete information that is clogging and slowing down the system. This information can include broken links and redundant programs that serve no purpose to the system at all. The registry cleaners try to fix these broken links by locating the programs that can be associated with them or if the programs are already associated then the registry cleaner will delete the broken link altogether. This frees up space in the registry and leaves spaces that need to be filled by bringing the registry entries closer together. This is called compressing the registry. The purpose of a registry cleaner is to make the system run faster and error free. Most of the registry cleaners achieve this with ease.

Backup Function Is Most Important

Registry cleaners have a registry backup function that needs to be run before cleaning up the registry. This is because the registry is the backbone of the system and in case anything goes wrong at least the system can be restored to its previous working level. Many registry cleaners and registry repair software have a startup management tool built in. This permits the user to select the programs that start up automatically when the system boots. Though this can be achieved by typing the famous MSCONFIG command at the RUN dialogue box the registry tools keep you up-to-date with the programs that are in the startup of the system every time you run the registry cleaner on your system.

So to cut a long story short it is sufficient to say that PC users have found that the use of Registry Cleaners is a boon to the PC. The registry cleaner software keeps the system running fast and efficiently all the time. The only job left for the user to do is to manually run the Registry cleaner from time to time.

Arvind
http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/try-out-a-registry-cleanerspeed-up-your-system-69477.html

In most cases I can tell you most computer’s will a few if not many corrupted files located inside the registry or in the hard drive. I believe that there’s nothing worst than having your Windows system slow down, have a blue screen or just plan old crash. Your Registry will soon give you another problem in which I believe is related to the entire operating system of Microsoft Corporation.

Your registry holds both your hardware and software application configurations for your computer. Since your registry holds such important information Windows is consistently grabbing the data it needs from the registry in order to run and keep your computer running.

Since your registry holds such important information Windows is consistently grabbing the data it needs from the registry in order to run and keep your computer running, and after your installation of any applications you may run the risk of corrupting you registry further.

No matter how much experience or effort you put into fixing your registry you might still have a few uncorrectable errors left. Based on my experiences, as time goes by you’re going to eventually install new programs and hardware into your computer, and you’ll also be uninstalling them so you run the risk carrying unwanted and invalid registry entries; this will prevent your computer from operating smoothly.

So now that you know the wretched thing that can happen here’s two way you could try to use to fix your registry errors.

- Save a copy of your registry and keep a backup copy somewhere on your computer.

- Use a popular registry cleaning software often. Please make a note that this is the best solution and keeping a backup copy of your registry is also another method to use along with this. By using registry cleaning programs you’ll be able to scan and repair any possible errors in your registry. Know this, you do not need to be technical when using this software because it’ll scan and fix your registry errors automatically.

Never used this type of software before? Don’t worry it runs on automatic and if you want you can play with the settings to scan specific parts of your registry entries like wrong DLL files, wrong start entries, missing fonts in your computer and much more.

There’s a massive range of different software brands for registry cleaners that you can find online. I’ve prepared a list of things to look out for when selecting the right software:

1. I’ll say you need a special feature that will give you backup and restore functions of your registry.
2. The ability to warn you when your registry is being modified in a major way.
3. The most valuable aspect of the software developer is customer service and technical support so make sure they have both
4. Find out if the software is easy to install and comes with help files.

Nathan Strauss
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/free-registry-cleaner-to-fix-windows-errors-83073.html