[kendirae18]

Hey guys. I wasn't really sure to put this...but here goes.

My computer is acting incredibly sluggish and not normal. Things aren't coming up when I click them, and if they do, it takes forever. I ran Spybot and got rid of those things, and I ran my virus scan and it came back with nothing.

When I try to shut down or restart, it takes forever and then finally a window saying that it is ending the program called HiddenFaxWindow comes up. I've never heard of HiddenFaxWindow and I am certainly not running it. What is this? Is it the cause of my problems? How do I get rid of it? It's hidden, I can't see it.

[Jonesie]

To begin with, how much RAM do you have? As more and more programs and other applications are put onto the computer, the demand for the ability to move stuff around is higher. I suggest 256 RAM or higher. Another step is to delete your Temporary Files. To do this go to <Tools> in Internet Explorer. Then click on <Internet Options> and then click on the <Delete Cookies> and <Delete Temporary Files> tabs. After that go into <Settings> and then <View Objects>. If there are anyway objects that have many letters and numbers those are Spyware and Adware. Delete them by right clicking and clicking on <Removal>. After that go to the <Advanced> tab and scroll down to the <Empty Temporary Internet Files Box When Browser Is Closed> box, and check it. Once that is done double click on <My Computer>. Once in here double click on the harddrive and go into <Documents and Settings>. Once in here click <Tools> and then <Folder Options>. Go to view and then click on the <Show Hidden Files and Folders>. It should now turn green. Go into each Users Documents and look for the <Local Settings> folder. Double click on it and double click on the <Temp> folder inside. Select everything in here and then delete it all. Then double click on the <Temporary Internet Files> folder and then do the same. This will help to free the computer of Internet pollution. Do this and post again to say if there is a difference or not. The RAM will also help a bunch. Post your computer specifications as well.

[kendirae18]

I don't have Internet Explorer. I use Netscape 7.0.

I have a Toshiba Satellite...I know it sounds stupid but I don't know the information on the computer...where can I find it?

[kendirae18]

It says...
Satellite 1805
X86-based PC
x86 Family 6 Model 8 Stepping 10 GenuineIntel
256 MB

[Jonesie]

To find the info on the computer you can right click on <My Computer>, and then go to <Properties>. It will give you all the information that you need on the <General Tab>. My suggestion to you is to manual go through the folders like I described above. You may also want to look into downloading Ad-Aware 6.0. It is an excellent program that will do much of the same things as Spybot Search and Destroy, but I trust Ad-Aware a bit more.

[Kangaroo]

Within the "Start" menu select "Run" and type msconfig.

This will bring up a window allowing you to choose which programs you want to start when the computer is booted.

Click on the "Startup" tab and disable any programs you think sound a bit dodgy, i.e. programs within folders called "/Symantec/Norton Firewall/" probably aren't dangerous.

But files under folder names such as "/Gator/HiddenFaxWindow/" most likely are.

You should get the hang of seeing which files are dangerous and not Windows or trusted company based

By disabling all the files from starting in the "Startup" tab ONLY it will do your computer NO harm, it is not dangerous.

[size=3.5]Do not touch the other tabs unless you know what you are doing.[/size]

[killians45]

get hijackthis and when you are done running it, post it here. Dont touch anything yet, as some of it NEEDS to be there. who ever sees it will probably know what to and not to keep.

[kendirae18]

I attempted to download Hijack this...and my computer won't go to websites. It says "Resolving [website]" and then it says that it can't be accessed. Any ideas on that one?

Off the topic: I was trying to email Microsoft Tech Support and I was going through their thing on their website...and I clicked continue once and nothing came up...so does anyone know how I can contact them?

[Lobos]

this is a direct download if you cant if it wont download then try right clicking it and click save target as
then click save

First, create a folder for HijackThis in the root folder of your hard drive so it can make proper backups

example

C:/HJT/hijackthis.exe
C:/hijackthis/hijackthis.exe

next

Click here to download Hijack This. Save it to the folder you have just created

Close all open windows and open HIJACK THIS. Click “Scan”[/b] . When the scan is finished (it only takes a second), the scan button will change to“Save Log”. Click on“Save Log” and save it to NotePad. Copy the entire log and paste it here.

DO NOT FIX ANYTHING YET , most items that appear in the log are harmless or even needed. Wait for someone to analyze the scan and advise.

If you have anything disabled by MSConfig or any other startup manager, please re-enable it before scanning to post

Lobos

[kendirae18]

I'm on my brother's computer because I can't access any websites on my own computer. It will connect to the internet, and when I bring up Netscape it takes forever to come up...then it says that I can not go to any sites.