Computer taken over

[kevfish1]

My computer has been taken over by some bad stuff. repeated popups that say my computer is infected. some spyware called "spywarexp 2008" also "brastk.exe" I have tried running antispy ware and also a program i paid 30 bucks for that was suppose to take care of the problem. and you guessed it---- it did not take care of it. spyhunter is the name of the program. It is really nasty and wont let me go to certaain websites. What do i do??? tried a system restore and it wont let me do that

[upnorth]

You can get an IDE raid card, I believe the new cards come with software that allows you to what you are looking to do. it would then have total fail over. I have not set that kind of system up for a few years and at that time you had start from scratch, but I do believe the new ones come with software that will do this for you and it will then allow you to completely failover if one disk fails. It is a little on the geeky side getting it setup, but it works.

But if you want to setup a 2nd drive to just have a 2nd copy of your files you can do it by way of back up software or create a batch file to copy the files over to the other drive on a scheduled basis. The odds of both drive failing would be pretty darn rare.

A very good idea to tell the truth.

[upnorth]

OK, in my haste to reply I said an IDE Raid card, well that is old technology I should have said SATA Raid card/controller. But either way it is pretty doable with a little work.

[sparcebag]

Bob I'm a computer beginer!! I had a failer,cost lots to repair,It was suggested I get a 2nd removal drive and backup.I did and windows has a program installed on my Win XP just for that it was easy.I now have a removable drive with a mirror image of the whole hard drive.I haven't used it but its there.If I need it I'll then have to figure out how to use it to my advantage.

For some good info google (Ask Leo)

[Phred52]

Kefish, The best I can recommend is to: Go into the backyard, dig a hole 26.5 inches deep, place the computer tower into it, on it's side and bury it. Then kill a chicken and drain the blood over the 'grave'. After the chicken is drained, swing the chicken over your head, 3 times and cluck like a chicken. Hey....I couldn't hurt, could it?? I know.. I hate the darn things too!! Phred52

[Dave]

My desktop developed some problems about a month ago; INternet Explorer locking up, couldn't see programs in Control Panel Add/Remove section, computer not able to "shut down".....

I ran Ccleaner, recommended by some of you here. THANK YOU! I was then able to remove Qwest's One Care program and reinstall it, since that program wouldn't run for some reason. Everything seems to be working now and the desktop is faster.

THANKS again for sharing your knowledge!

[upnorth]

Good to hear something worked for someone

[tomfromblaine]

I had a similar problem a couple of months ago and got rid of it with a free down load from Malwarebytes, just google it up and it fixed my buddies also. just make sure you get it from them.

Tom.

[Whoaru99]

Raid really isn't a substitute for a backup plan.

A Raid array (probably for home use, a Raid 1 mirrored array) won't prevent a virus/malware problem. Both disks will be equally infected. Also, while there is some redundancy to a HDD failure, one might also consider it's added complexity that can cause problems if the Raid controller fails.

Personally, I recommend Shadow Protect Desktop for backups and disk imaging. It's easy enough to operate, unlike some, and it's fast and reliable.

[Scott M]

Well, I gotta find something because my Mozilla is getting pop ups and it never got them in the past. Also getting the scroll lock engaged with no way to turn it off, mousing up and down is getting old. Gotta shake whatever the heck is on here, i know its changing things in the registry. I hope ccleaner works, cuz spybot didn't work.

[upnorth]

Have you tried smitfraudfix? If not give that a whirl. It is a freeware app available on the web, just do a web search and you should find it.

Pops up with Firefox, go to tools, options, then the content tab and make sure block pop up windows. That may not be the issue, but rule it out first.

[Whoaru99]

CCleaner generally doesn't fix malware problems, it just gets cleans out the garbage files that build up in your computer over time.

[upnorth]

But it does clean out some hiding spots where Malware and spyware hide re-install files. It is a good thing to run during the removal process.

[Whoaru99]

Agreed.

If there is a lot of excess baggage in one's computer, running CCleaner first can really cut the time it takes for malware scans, defragging, etc. to complete.