Page: 1 2
spinks
Registered user
Global user
Registered: 06-2006
Location: England
Posts: 107
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: How to stop Firefox crashing?
Many, many thankies for the Tools zip  Hopefully I have enough space on a memory stick etc. to make at least one back-up copy of the files included, as well as saving it to the PC. If anything nasty happens to the computer again, Spinks is going into battle prepared *looks determined*
The Trojan/virus/doodah thingy kept blocking and redirecting the computer when I tried to download the kind of programmes you mention. It got very difficult to find and install anything computer-help-wise, because online search results were being hi-jacked :cry: and some of the spoof websites are pretty darn convincing.
This morning I got to the stage where, having removed a ton of tracking cookies and other nasties, I was able to browse the 'Net for a little while without the redirects. Then the computer repairman arrived and shook his head and said despite this, there were problems so deep-rooted that restoring the computer to its factory settings was the only real option  (Ma Spinks and my bro tried System Restore, but it failed, from what I can gather. The malware must've had a hand in that.)
Thanks again for the Tools zip - it is fabulously helpful and will help to keep my little PC from sinking into oblivion again.
Last edited by spinks, 4/21/2009, 2:47 pm
---
Co-Founder of the Prince Percy Fanclub and Keeper of the Shoes
|
|
4/21/2009, 2:42 pm
|
Send Email to spinks
Send PM to spinks
|
clipper314
Head Administrator
Global user
Registered: 02-2008
Posts: 1286
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: How to stop Firefox crashing?
quote:
Then the computer repairman arrived and shook his head and said despite this, there were problems so deep-rooted that restoring the computer to its factory settings was the only real option
Oh dear..
Unfortunately, that's what I thought the end result was going to be...
Once trojans become memory resident, or infect the root/bios, they're nearly impossible to remove because they in effect have control of your computer before your operating system even loads. (On startup/reboot bios/memory have to become active in order for the O/S to load, therefore, if the trojan can run from inside the memory and/or bios itself, it can screw any attempts to remove or modify it from within the O/S.
Horrible things.. truly horrible.
I'd like to see the makers of trojans tracked down and prosecuted as the criminals they really are.
The damage they cause in peoples lives has to be in the 10's of billions annually..
Once your system is clean and running good again please use Spybot Search & Destroy as well as Spyware Blaster.
Keep both updated and run them weekly.
Also use a good firewall.. They can be a pain in the ass to set up initially, but you can't survive long online these days without a firewall.
Same with anti-virus program..
Get a good one, keep it updated and run a full scan weekly.. (Do it overnight.. so it doesn't interfere with your daily life)
Tough luck on that one Spinks..
---
"The dogs may bark, but the caravan passes on."
|
|
4/22/2009, 1:39 am
|
Send Email to clipper314
Send PM to clipper314
|
spinks
Registered user
Global user
Registered: 06-2006
Location: England
Posts: 107
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: How to stop Firefox crashing?
Yes - when my brother was making a backup of various files from this PC, he said knowing it was going to be wiped was like being at a funeral The Smitfraud Trojan (and whatever else may also have been troubling the computer) must've burrowed themselves in deep.
This experience has taught me that I'm only ever one click away from computer meltdown Just about to download anti-spyware programmes; the computer repairman installed Ad-Aware; and the PC's got AVG for anti-virus protection. Will indeed be scanning for and removing any nasties from this PC regularly :nodz:
On a positive note, having a newly wiped-and-restored-to-factory-settings computer has made me think a lot more carefully than I was doing about what I save, how I organise files, and so on.
P.S. Lots of files from the PC pre-wipe are saved on memory sticks and a thing I can't remember the name of, but it's like an external hard drive (a small, thin box with a lead that fits into a USB port), with various slots, one of which is for a memory card from the digital camera. I just had a thought and wanted to check: will it be safe to use them again? I'm worried in case they're carrying traces of the Trojan, etc. and will upset the computer once again if used.
Last edited by spinks, 4/22/2009, 2:24 pm
---
Co-Founder of the Prince Percy Fanclub and Keeper of the Shoes
|
|
4/22/2009, 2:14 pm
|
Send Email to spinks
Send PM to spinks
|
clipper314
Head Administrator
Global user
Registered: 02-2008
Posts: 1286
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: How to stop Firefox crashing?
Yeh it is like a funeral.. Like saying goodbye to a old friend.
But it's better than a wake.. (When your PC dies and you can't backup or recover anything)..
Those are the worst.. You know all your stuff is in the hard drive.. but you'll never see it again.
For example, I had a 500GB external hard drive die on Tuesday..
It just died.. One minute it was working, the next minute the drive letter for it vanished from Windows Explorer.
Thinking it might be the USB interface, I took the hard drive out of the external enclosure and installed it in my main PC as a slave drive.. But nothing. Dead.
I installed it in another external hard drive enclosure.. Nothing.
It's spinning up.. but it's dead.
Everything on it is gone.
500GB worth of movies, music, Retroflix Database backups. Retroflix files.. Photos.. Backups from other drives..
I have some of it backed up on other drives, but it's stilla huge loss..
Oh well.
Ad-Aware is good.. I haven't used it in a few years to be honest. But I remember it was quite good.
You can make sure your Anti-Virus program automatically checks anything you insert in your computer.
So if any mem sticks were infected, it would pick it up immediately..
Isn't the world of computers fun! :bouncy:
---
"The dogs may bark, but the caravan passes on."
|
|
4/22/2009, 9:27 pm
|
Send Email to clipper314
Send PM to clipper314
|
spinks
Registered user
Global user
Registered: 06-2006
Location: England
Posts: 107
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: How to stop Firefox crashing?
:omg1: Oh no - I'm so sorry to hear about the hard drive. The comp repairman said just the other day sometimes that kind of thing happens - poof and it's gone, for no apparent reason.
500 GB... my old laptop has a 17.5 GB hard drive, which must make the poor little machine pretty dated. Can't remember how much is on this PC.
Last edited by spinks, 4/23/2009, 11:27 am
---
Co-Founder of the Prince Percy Fanclub and Keeper of the Shoes
|
|
4/23/2009, 11:23 am
|
Send Email to spinks
Send PM to spinks
|
clipper314
Head Administrator
Global user
Registered: 02-2008
Posts: 1286
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: How to stop Firefox crashing?
The Hard Drive is the only actual critical part of a PC that moves (many wafer thin disks stacked one on top of oneanother very close together spinning at up to 7200 times per minute.. and generating tremendous heat) .
Everything else on your PC is virtual.. CPU, Memory, everything on the motherboard.
The only other moving parts are really cooling fans and the moving bits of your DVD/CD drive.
Hard Drives have a life expectancy and when their time is up.. boof.. that's it.
It's frightening in a way.. because they really can die at any time.
That's why backup is so critical.
You can get external hard drives for very cheap now.
I only paid $80CDN for a 500GB Maxtor External to replace the dead Comstar.
Smaller one's are much cheaper..
They have 2.5 inch external drives for laptops.. they cost a bit more, but they're great because being true USB2 plug n play means you can attach and disconnect them any time you want..
I have 4 external hard drives.. totalling about 1.32TB (terabytes) or about 1300GB.. Plus a 320GB internal HDD .
And to think my first PC had a 60MB HDD.. and I think Windows 3.11 was installed from 7 floppies.
:lolfast1:
---
"The dogs may bark, but the caravan passes on."
|
|
4/23/2009, 2:23 pm
|
Send Email to clipper314
Send PM to clipper314
|
spinks
Registered user
Global user
Registered: 06-2006
Location: England
Posts: 107
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: How to stop Firefox crashing?
cleaning dust off the fan is something we've been told to do for this pc
it makes a lot of strange whirring noises
i'm hoping my bro volunteers to do the spring cleaning, as neither mum nor i feel all that confident tackling it.
talking of storage, i'm always amazed by how much google
mail offers. it increases all the time.
:cool1:
Last edited by spinks, 4/26/2009, 7:36 pm
---
Co-Founder of the Prince Percy Fanclub and Keeper of the Shoes
|
|
4/26/2009, 7:36 pm
|
Send Email to spinks
Send PM to spinks
|
clipper314
Head Administrator
Global user
Registered: 02-2008
Posts: 1286
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: How to stop Firefox crashing?
Cleaning is very important.
I use canned compressed air.. but you have to be extremely cautious with it.
The can must be kept as upright/vertical as possible at all times... and re-shaken constantly.
Spraying on an angle can cause cold liquid to come out..
I also ise a small wooden dowel, or the handle part of a toothbrush to keep the fan blades from spinning while being sprayed. (I just insert the handle in between the fan blades lightly to hold them steady)
The idea is to get the dust out of the case.. and not have it just plop somewhere on the motherboard.
The worst offenders are the fans in the power supply, the CPU fan (Extreme caution must be taken when cleaning the CPU fan) and the fan for the video/graphics card (if your PC has one.. if the video/graphics are integrated with the motherboard there may not be a cooling fan).
And just general dust caked on the motherboard.
The dust acts as insulation .. which stops the heat from dissipating.
The heat bulids up and begins to affect the PC performance.
If the CPU heat reaches a critical level the BIOS will shut down the PC to save itself.
---
"The dogs may bark, but the caravan passes on."
|
|
4/29/2009, 12:25 pm
|
Send Email to clipper314
Send PM to clipper314
|
Add a reply
Page: 1 2
Link to us
- Blogs
- Hall of Honour
- Chat
|
You are not logged in (login)
Board's time is: 11/30/2009, 12:09 am
|
|
|
