HOW TO SPEED UP A SLOW PC OR INFECTED PC. (a mini guide)

closed

How are you connecting to the net? Router? Wired/wireless, or mobile dongle?

Who is your isp?

Have you changed anything firewall related?

What are the connection settings under IE, tools, internet settings, connections?

post a hijackthis log in a new thread.

sally2489

It is IE7, and I have windows vista.
I am connecting using a wireless router.
ISP is Virgin media.
All I did last night was follow the instructions to the letter and install and run the full scan on malwarebytes, download the free avast anti-virus and ccleaner, and delete my old security softwares of norton and mcafee.
The connection settings say you are already connected to the internet, so I click to browse, but no pages can be displayed for some reason.

I am using firefox atm, and downloaded hijack this, but I click to do a system scan and save a logfile, a long list comes up that can't be copied, and a mssg comes up on notepad saying:
Cannot find the C:\Program Files\TrendMicro\HijackThis\hijackthis.log.file.
Do you want to create a new folder?

Also when I click Analyse this on Hijackthis, it opens up this page on internet explorer, which cannot be displayed: http://hjt-data.trendmicro.com/hjt/analyzethis/index.php?report=3560990

closed

the connection settings in internet explorer say never dial a connection?, are there any entries under lan settings.

you had norton and mcafee installed? - both of these have a removal tool available on their website which it may be beneficial to try.

sally2489

Yes, never dial a connection is ticked.
On LAN settings none of the 3 options are ticked.

Thanks, I will go and try the removal tools now.

closed

right click on hijackthis.exe and run as admin, if that doesn't work, try again holding down the shift key and run as admin

sally2489

Finished using both removal tools.

I right-clicked on it on the desktop, and went on advanced, which gave the option to run as an administrator, but the other option is ticked, and it is fixed, as in I can't click to run as admin.
With the shift option I can't select run as admin either.

closed

Could you start a new thread to fix this issue, to avoid cluttering this one up with loads of diagnostics.

What do you mean by the other option?

podgy

Thank you CLOSED for your top advice. I am not too learned in the dark arts of computering, but have run most of your suggestions but with hijackthis did not dare to press the 'fix' button. Below is my hijackthis log (with links removed) but what to do with it?

I also only have a 256 RAM so wondered if an upgrade to 1024 RAM will speed up my dear old Dell Dimension sufficiently, this option would cost about £35 (to double up to 2048 RAM I would probably think about getting a new desk-top) ??? grateful for any advice on this and the hijackthis issue :beer:
Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.4
Scan saved at 10:20:35, on 09/06/2011
Platform: Windows XP SP3 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v8.00 (8.00.6001.18702)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Mcafee\McSvcHost\McSvHost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\mfevtps.exe
C:\Program Files\McAfee Online Backup\MOBK835backup.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\SystemCore\mcshield.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\SystemCore\mfefire.exe
C:\Program Files\Canon\CAL\CALMAIN.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe
c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee.com\agent\mcagent.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswctrl.exe
C:\Program Files\Dell\Media Experience\PCMService.exe
C:\Program Files\Dell Photo AIO Printer 922\dlbtbmgr.exe
C:\Program Files\Dell Photo AIO Printer 922\dlbtbmon.exe
C:\Program Files\Analog Devices\Core\smax4pnp.exe
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Album Starter Edition\3.0\Apps\apdproxy.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\hkcmd.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\igfxpers.exe
C:\Program Files\Dell Photo AIO Printer 924\dlccmon.exe
C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe
C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\dlcccoms.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\plugin-container.exe
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\taskmgr.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\Downloads\HijackThis.exe

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page =
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL =
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL =
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page =
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL,(Default) =
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Connection Wizard,ShellNext =
R3 - URLSearchHook: Yahoo! Toolbar - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn0\yt.dll
R3 - URLSearchHook: McAfee SiteAdvisor Toolbar - {0EBBBE48-BAD4-4B4C-8E5A-516ABECAE064} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll
O2 - BHO: Yahoo! Toolbar Helper - {02478D38-C3F9-4EFB-9B51-7695ECA05670} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn0\yt.dll
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll
O2 - BHO: DriveLetterAccess - {5CA3D70E-1895-11CF-8E15-001234567890} - C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswshx.dll
O2 - BHO: scriptproxy - {7DB2D5A0-7241-4E79-B68D-6309F01C5231} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\SystemCore\ScriptSn.20110524154836.dll
O2 - BHO: McAfee SiteAdvisor BHO - {B164E929-A1B6-4A06-B104-2CD0E90A88FF} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Yahoo! Toolbar - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn0\yt.dll
O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {90B8B761-DF2B-48AC-BBE0-BCC03A819B3B} - (no file)
O3 - Toolbar: McAfee SiteAdvisor Toolbar - {0EBBBE48-BAD4-4B4C-8E5A-516ABECAE064} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [dla] C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswctrl.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [UpdateManager] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sonic\Update Manager\sgtray.exe" /r
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [PCMService] "C:\Program Files\Dell\Media Experience\PCMService.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Dell Photo AIO Printer 922] "C:\Program Files\Dell Photo AIO Printer 922\dlbtbmgr.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Workflow] \Workflow.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SoundMAXPnP] C:\Program Files\Analog Devices\Core\smax4pnp.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Photo Downloader] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Album Starter Edition\3.0\Apps\apdproxy.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [igfxtray] C:\WINDOWS\System32\igfxtray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [igfxhkcmd] C:\WINDOWS\System32\hkcmd.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [igfxpers] C:\WINDOWS\System32\igfxpers.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [DLCCCATS] rundll32 C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\DRIVERS\W32X86\3\DLCCtime.dll,_RunDLLEntry@16
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [dlccmon.exe] "C:\Program Files\Dell Photo AIO Printer 924\dlccmon.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [iTunesHelper] "C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunesHelper.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [UserFaultCheck] %systemroot%\system32\dumprep 0 -u
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe ARM] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [KernelFaultCheck] %systemroot%\system32\dumprep 0 -k
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [mcui_exe] "C:\Program Files\McAfee.com\Agent\mcagent.exe" /runkey
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MSMSGS] "C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe" /background
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ccleaner] "C:\Program Files\CCleaner\CCleaner.exe" /AUTO
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\System32\CTFMON.EXE (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\System32\CTFMON.EXE (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-18\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\System32\CTFMON.EXE (User 'SYSTEM')
O4 - HKUS\.DEFAULT\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\System32\CTFMON.EXE (User 'Default user')
O4 - Startup: BBC iPlayer Desktop.lnk = C:\Program Files\BBC iPlayer Desktop\BBC iPlayer Desktop.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: Append Link Target to Existing PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIEAppendSelLinks.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\OFFICE11\REFIEBAR.DLL
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {e2e2dd38-d088-4134-82b7-f2ba38496583} - C:\WINDOWS\Network Diagnostic\xpnetdiag.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: @xpsp3res.dll,-20001 - {e2e2dd38-d088-4134-82b7-f2ba38496583} - C:\WINDOWS\Network Diagnostic\xpnetdiag.exe
O9 - Extra button: Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Windows Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O15 - Trusted Zone:
O16 - DPF: {4ED9DDF0-7479-4BBE-9335-5A1EDB1D8A21} -
O16 - DPF: {D821DC4A-0814-435E-9820-661C543A4679} (CRLDownloadWrapper Class) -
O18 - Protocol: dssrequest - {5513F07E-936B-4E52-9B00-067394E91CC5} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll
O18 - Protocol: sacore - {5513F07E-936B-4E52-9B00-067394E91CC5} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll
O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: Browseui preloader - {438755C2-A8BA-11D1-B96B-00A0C90312E1} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\browseui.dll
O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: Component Categories cache daemon - {8C7461EF-2B13-11d2-BE35-3078302C2030} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\browseui.dll
O23 - Service: Canon Camera Access Library 8 (CCALib8) - Canon Inc. - C:\Program Files\Canon\CAL\CALMAIN.exe
O23 - Service: dlbt_device - Dell - C:\WINDOWS\System32\dlbtcoms.exe
O23 - Service: dlcc_device - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\system32\dlcccoms.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\11\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee SiteAdvisor Service - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Mcafee\McSvcHost\McSvHost.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Personal Firewall Service (McMPFSvc) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Mcafee\McSvcHost\McSvHost.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Services (mcmscsvc) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\McSvcHost\McSvHost.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee VirusScan Announcer (McNaiAnn) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\McSvcHost\McSvHost.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Network Agent (McNASvc) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\McSvcHost\McSvHost.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Scanner (McODS) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\McAfee\VirusScan\mcods.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Proxy Service (McProxy) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\McSvcHost\McSvHost.exe
O23 - Service: McShield - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\SystemCore\\mcshield.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Firewall Core Service (mfefire) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\SystemCore\\mfefire.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Validation Trust Protection Service (mfevtp) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\WINDOWS\system32\mfevtps.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Online Backup Service (MOBK835backup) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\McAfee Online Backup\MOBK835backup.exe

--
End of file - 10034 bytes

closed

having 1GB of ram will probably make a big difference if your commit charge is higher than 400MB or so, but try this first.

switch from mcafee to avast 6 free

what's your commit charge?

Install and run startuplite, accept suggested changes - http://www.malwarebytes.org/StartUpLite.exe

Disable ctfmon - control panel, regional and language options,languages, details, advanced, tick the Turn off advanced text services, ok

Click the java icon in control panel, updates, untick check for updates

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In the firefox address bar, type about:config then right click, new boolean, create a key called config.trim_on_minimize set to true

Using Hijackthis, tick and fix these entries

O16 - DPF: {4ED9DDF0-7479-4BBE-9335-5A1EDB1D8A21} -
O16 - DPF: {D821DC4A-0814-435E-9820-661C543A4679} (CRLDownloadWrapper Class) -


O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {90B8B761-DF2B-48AC-BBE0-BCC03A819B3B} - (no file)

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\System32\CTFMON.EXE (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\System32\CTFMON.EXE (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-18\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\System32\CTFMON.EXE (User 'SYSTEM')
O4 - HKUS\.DEFAULT\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] C:\WINDOWS\System32\CTFMON.EXE (User 'Default user')
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Uninstall any IE toolbars (browser helper objects or BHO's) in Control panel, or Firefox plugins that you don't need. This is a list of the IE BHO's evident in the log, (firefox plugins don't show up in hijackthis)

O2 - BHO: Yahoo! Toolbar Helper - {02478D38-C3F9-4EFB-9B51-7695ECA05670} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn0\yt.dll
O2 - BHO: DriveLetterAccess - {5CA3D70E-1895-11CF-8E15-001234567890} - C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswshx.dll
O2 - BHO: scriptproxy - {7DB2D5A0-7241-4E79-B68D-6309F01C5231} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\SystemCore\ScriptSn.20110524154836.dl l
O2 - BHO: McAfee SiteAdvisor BHO - {B164E929-A1B6-4A06-B104-2CD0E90A88FF} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll

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Unless you need them running all the time, use the startup tab in msconfig to disable these items from running at startup (they can always be run manually if needed)

O4 - Startup: BBC iPlayer Desktop.lnk = C:\Program Files\BBC iPlayer Desktop\BBC iPlayer Desktop.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Dell Photo AIO Printer 922] "C:\Program Files\Dell Photo AIO Printer 922\dlbtbmgr.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Photo Downloader] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Album Starter Edition\3.0\Apps\apdproxy.exe"
O4 - Startup: BBC iPlayer Desktop.lnk = C:\Program Files\BBC iPlayer Desktop\BBC iPlayer Desktop.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [UserFaultCheck] %systemroot%\system32\dumprep 0 -u
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [KernelFaultCheck] %systemroot%\system32\dumprep 0 -k
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Workflow] \Workflow.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe"
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MSMSGS] "C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe" /background
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe ARM] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [igfxhkcmd] C:\WINDOWS\System32\hkcmd.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [UpdateManager] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sonic\Update Manager\sgtray.exe" /r

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If you want a speedy machine, Use windows firewall and replace your antivirus and security software with avast 6 free - (a fast and lightweight virus scanner with good detection rates) http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download :

This is a list of (or remnants of) security software evident in your log, you may wish to uninstall these in Control Panel (add/remove programs or programs/features) to keep your PC running smoothly, too much overlapping or bloated security or useless tuning software can have a drastic effect on performance - always leave one resident scanner running (eg avast/avira etc)

---- mcafee

---

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Mcafee\McSvcHost\McSvHost.exe
C:\Program Files\McAfee Online Backup\MOBK835backup.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\SystemCore\mcshield.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\SystemCore\mfefire.exe
c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee.com\agent\mcagent.exe
R3 - URLSearchHook: McAfee SiteAdvisor Toolbar - {0EBBBE48-BAD4-4B4C-8E5A-516ABECAE064} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll
O2 - BHO: scriptproxy - {7DB2D5A0-7241-4E79-B68D-6309F01C5231} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\SystemCore\ScriptSn.20110524154836.dl l
O2 - BHO: McAfee SiteAdvisor BHO - {B164E929-A1B6-4A06-B104-2CD0E90A88FF} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll
O3 - Toolbar: McAfee SiteAdvisor Toolbar - {0EBBBE48-BAD4-4B4C-8E5A-516ABECAE064} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [mcui_exe] "C:\Program Files\McAfee.com\Agent\mcagent.exe" /runkey
O18 - Protocol: dssrequest - {5513F07E-936B-4E52-9B00-067394E91CC5} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll
O18 - Protocol: sacore - {5513F07E-936B-4E52-9B00-067394E91CC5} - c:\PROGRA~1\mcafee\SITEAD~1\mcieplg.dll
O23 - Service: McAfee SiteAdvisor Service - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Mcafee\McSvcHost\McSvHost.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Personal Firewall Service (McMPFSvc) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Mcafee\McSvcHost\McSvHost.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Services (mcmscsvc) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\McSvcHost\McSvHost.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee VirusScan Announcer (McNaiAnn) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\McSvcHost\McSvHost.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Network Agent (McNASvc) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\McSvcHost\McSvHost.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Scanner (McODS) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\McAfee\VirusScan\mcods.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Proxy Service (McProxy) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\McSvcHost\McSvHost.exe
O23 - Service: McShield - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\SystemCore\\mcshield.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Firewall Core Service (mfefire) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\SystemCore\\mfefire.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Validation Trust Protection Service (mfevtp) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\WINDOWS\system32\mfevtps.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Online Backup Service (MOBK835backup) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\McAfee Online Backup\MOBK835backup.exe

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Download and install cleanmem http://www.pcwintech.com/cleanmem (download direct download). In windows explorer, go to c:\windows\tasks, click on the clean system memory task, schedule, advanced, and change it from every 30 minutes to every 5 minutes, then ok, ok. Find c:\program files\cleanmem\mini_monitor, run it and right click the icon (near the clock) to set it to automatically run at startup, show percentage to keep an eye on your ram use. If your machine is still slow after doing everything listed, post your commit charge and installed physical ram details from task manager performance

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start, run, msconfig, select services tab, disable these services UNLESS you use them. (make a note of any services you disable,if you have any problems related to these services subsequently, simply re-enable them)

SSDP Discovery Service
Remote Registry
WebClient
Distributed Link Tracking Client

Also disable these services if you don't use them by running msconfig, services tab

C:\Program Files\McAfee Online Backup\MOBK835backup.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Online Backup Service (MOBK835backup) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\McAfee Online Backup\MOBK835backup.exe

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If you haven't all ready done it, Install Malwarebytes and do a FULL (not quick) scan (after updating it), fix anything found before closing, otherwise you'll have to do it all over again. If anything was found reboot the machine before continuing. http://www.filehippo.com/download_malwarebytes_anti_malware/


When you've done all that, reboot, post both commit charge figures from task manager and a fresh hijackthis log and any logs of infections in a new thread

podgy

will do as you suggest over the weekend and get back to you in a new thread (got 38 screaming kids coming for daughter's birthday this afternoon).

thx
P