My computer is running incredibly slow and it appears I have some malware ... so for the last day I have been zipping and saving files (such as my universe) and am going to wipe my computer now ...

Wish me luck ... hopefully I will be back around later today

I've been there more times than I want to remember, good luck.

I can probably help you here.

This is from my client newsletter I just sent out last night. I'll just cut and paste it below...

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If you have an "Internet Security Suite" running on your PC, guess what? You're probably bogging down your system a good 20%.
If you're running a MAC, one of the advantages you used to have is slowly slipping away. Yes, there are now MAC viruses.

If you need more info, Google it. You should find what you need without too much trouble. I've been selling products and services on line since 97'. I've been using PC's since 87'. What does that mean? That means I've seen more problems than I care to remember. If you want to keep your PC running smoothly... without sacrificing SPEED, here are the programs you need. They won't cost you a penny, either. http://avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

1. Virus Protection: Avast. Go to Avast.com and download the home addition. It's free and updates every day. It has a much smaller footprint that McAfee and Norton’s and is (in my opinion) much better. I recommend this to family and friends because they want me to fix their computers when they break down for free. I wouldn't mind so much if I had the time. I don't. So it's up to me to make sure their PC's are running as good as humanly possible.

2. Spyware and Malware software protection: What is Spyware and Malware? Two things you DON'T want on your PC or laptop. Unless you want your computer multi-tasking like a 102 year old man. The tool that's better than anything I've used in the past DECADE (no kidding) is called Threatfire. Once again, download the version that doesn't cost you a dime. Here's the link: http://www.threatfire.com/download/

3. For Adware protection, check out AD-AWARE right here - http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php Once again, this is a ZERO cost program.

I haven't paid for virus protection sofware since 1994. And let me tell you, I push my machines the THE MAX. These are the programs I rely upon to keep my business running as efficiently an as smoothly as possible.

Until the next time,

Jim

Yeah I had been using Ad-Aware but it wasn't catching the problems I had ... I will keep that threatfire program in mind ... back up, now I just have to start downloading things

Seems to have been a success ... the LBA made it through unscathed ... got all my games back downloaded ... OOTP even seems to be moving quicker

Don't forget to defragment your hard drive, too.

Downloaded that Threat Fire but had to delete it. It normally takes under a minute when I hit the save button on TBCB for my uni. With Threat Fire up it was taking over 5 minutes.

Hey everyone its been a while. I haven't had much time for the pc but I have been getting the"Blue Screen of Death" here the past day or two. It comes up saying the computer needs to shutdown dumping physical memory. Any idea on what this is and how I can fix it?

I've got no idea on that one ... Jim is pretty good with computers though

I still get the blue screen of death on my PC from time to time. There are more than just a few things that can cause it, too. Sometimes if you add new hardware, that'll do it. That includes printers scanners or anything that gets plugged into a USB port. Sometimes it's a memory chip problem. But it's intermittent, like an electrical problem/short. It can drive you crazy.

My suggestion would be, restore your computer to an earlier date (before the problem started).

Start there, first.

Make a list (even if it's a mental one) of new software you may have installed no matter how much you may thing, "No way is it that program."

Then, post back if the problem continues.