fair price for help?

prettypinkfairy

Very non computer literate. I have installed B.t. Broadband and now everything is slower than ever! I can go into kitchen , put kettle on and make coffee before anything has connected or page opened. I have free yahoo anti spyware plus Norton anti Virus I used free programme as well which was recommended on STICKY on this site. It said no worms Trojans or viruses detected. Then I ran something on Ad aware because I do get lots of ADS come up which I thought was a bit of a nuisance but part of Bts package until ads for Tiscali etc came up. Anyway this said 40 threats in Registry danderous and 1 severe and 10 non critical cookies. Don't understand what Registry is even. Can download for $30 to repair. Computer keeps crashing if I try to download stuff and apparently it is NVdias fault ! Who's he??? I phoned a computer repair type man who said everyone gets this when they go on broadband and I am crawling with viruses, he would need to spend about 3 hours at my house so would pick it up and take to his workshop and plug me in there to do the job. I am incapable of sorting all this out and will probably only make things worse .. Should I pay for ad ware programme or trust him and what would be a fair price for him to charge? Would be extremely grateful for any advise Thanks for reading this far

Rex_Mundi

I phoned a computer repair type man who said everyone gets this when they go on broadband

This statement on its own would lead me to be wary of what the guy is telling you. This is not true! It does sound like you have a very bad virus/spyware problem though. There are many free ways to fix this, but it will require a bit of work and a few downloads.

Then I ran something on Ad aware because I do get lots of ADS come up which I thought was a bit of a nuisance but part of Bts package until ads for Tiscali etc came up. Anyway this said 40 threats in Registry danderous and 1 severe and 10 non critical cookies. Don't understand what Registry is even. Can download for $30 to repair

I don't quite understand this bit. If you ran Adaware and it found a load of problems. It can normally fix them, but Adaware is a free program so I don't understand why you have to pay to fix this.

If you are not confident about sorting this problem yourself (it doesn't sound like it). It would probably be better to get someone to do it for you. I would look around for a few quotes before deciding where to go. You don't only need your computer cleaned, you need proper security in place and I would say that you need someone to show you how to use the security properly. When I install any programs on peoples computers. I always sit them down and show them how the program works and how to update them. You can have the best security going. It will do you no good if you don't know how to use it.

Do you know any friends that could help you out maybe? We could give you a list of all the (free) programs you could use to sort out your problems and give you adequate security (also free). If your friend got stuck over something or other, we could help them out in here.

prettypinkfairy

Thanks for message Whn I try to download the free sites they always say that a problem has been encountered and they have to close. I use the Norton I paid for once a week FOR A FULL SCAN AND YAHOO SYWARE MORE OFTEN. Just to put you in the picture I do not have mobile phone video or Dvd player and I am 55 year old granny . Do not even begin to understand Mp3 etc I go on net about 1 hour a day to research for hobbies etc and e mail . Yes I need help. Everything fine till I went on Broadband.

gk172

Before you take it to the repair man, you have anti virus and adaware installed, what to do is go to update on both of these programes and make sure you are uptodate then run the scans and delete what its finding ie threats, then if you go to start/programes/accesories/system tools and defragment your hard drive and then reboots see how it is then.


I have to run these every other day and defragment at least once a week or pc slows down.

Jay-Jay_4

hello 55 yr old granny lady


I got BT broadband last year and had similar problems to you.

I have Adaware too, it IS free so don't pay to upgrade or anything.

I've got the Google toolbar, if you go to Google there's a link to install it for free, this stops 'pop ups' (those annoying adverts that well......pop up!)

I've recently installed Norton Antivirus and find that it's S-L-O-W-E-D my computer down to a snails pace, maybe that's your problem.

I ALSO have AVG antivirus (free version) which is good and even I can use it so it it must be easy.

Do try to fix this problem yourself as I doubt very much that it requires 3 hours of fixing by an 'expert'.

You will get lots of advice on here but from someone who is as untechie as you, with BT Broadband...... I'd say install the google toolbar and AVG, disable Norton and run all your stuff again.

Rex_Mundi

Norton can be known to hog resources on a computer, but in this case it doesn't sound like this is causing the problem (Norton can slow your computer, it doesn't slow up your internet connection). Did you have Norton before you had broadband? If so, did it work OK for you?

It really does look like you have a big virus/spyware problem. Google toolbar wont rid you of this. It would be far better to actually rid yourself of the !!!!!! that's causing this problem rather than just blocking any popups.

Quite a few viruses and spyware will actually try to stop you downloading security software, or stop you updating your security programs you already have. This could be happening here.

Do you have a firewall? I'm presuming you don't (you haven't mentioned one).

Fran

Does your Norton come with a FIREWALL? That is essential to guard against things even getting to your computer. An antivirus will only remove things that have already got there. If you haven't got a firewall you need to urgently put one on. Try Sygate, it's free.

Then try Ewido.

As Rex says I'm also puzzled by AdAware. Did you download AdAware from "lavasoft" website?

oh_no_5

Hi PPF,as well as the above good advice you could try downloading the free firewall from zonelabs called zone alarm,you might have to search a bit for the free one but is out there.
Another good download,especially if you are getting lots of pop ups is mozilla firefox.This is a whole new browser and is supposed to be much safer than Internet Exlplorer.

Rex_Mundi

Does your Norton come with a FIERWALL?

If you have Norton Internet Security it includes a firewall. Norton Antivirus doesn't (it's just an antivirus)

Fran

Just re-read your post and you have problem downloading things. What I suggest is this:

Turn off your computer.
Restart it and as it's starting up keep pressing the F8 button at the top of your keyboard. This should cause all the moving numbers etc. to stop. You now have to use the arrows on the keyboard to do anything. You should see a page which has one of the options as SAFE MODE. (This is what you're aiming to get to.) Use the arrows to highlight safe mode then press the enter (return) key. When the computer has loaded in safe mode (the desktop will look different to normal), run your Norton antivirus again. Also run any other security software you have such as AdAware. Then restart your computer again and try to download a firewall and Ewido (follow the links in my previous post).

Good luck!

rogerramjet

A lot of problems people have is due to conflicts with the amount of different anti-virus software, firewalls, spy ware killers, etc.

Basically, all you need is an anti-virus program and firewall. use something like "spybot search and destroy" on a regualr basis just to check for any problems.

If your version of Nortons is the internet security then as already mentioned it has a firewall built in and you don't need any other firewall product.

I would recomend removing any additional software you have loaded (anti-virus/spy ware) and just use Nortons. If it is just the anti-virus then use a free firewall program. If you are using Windows XP with service pack 2 it has a form of firewall built in (to check what your operating system version is hold down the windows key on the keyboard and the "pause/break" key at the same time, this will bring up the system properties box which will tell you the version on the first tab).

There is always a problem of picking up virus's, trojans, etc but most people get these through emails sent to them or from visting the more unsavoury websites. Basically I run Nortons internet security and nothing else and then run spybot just to clear crap on a whenever basis.


One thing I would suggest is that you disconnect the broadband modem, uninstal the software that it came with, then restart your computer and then re-instal your modem software and then plug the modem in. Then enter your user name/password and see if it works any better.