Program Version 2014.9.0.2011
Virus Definitions 140109.0
Ran a quick scan and nothing was found. I know I have viruses. One that I am sure of is the 'Postmaster@mail.hotmail.com" as I just got an email from it shortly after sending an email.
Also (unrelated) my Avast failed to update automatically. I had to do it manually. I noticed that the last failed update attempt was listed as being 29minutes prior to my manually updating. I was running version 7.insert.forgotten.numbers.here. Do I have something blocking my automatic updates?
My browser is/was very slow to load. The first time I would start my browser after turning my comp on it could take close to a full minute to load.
I googled the “postmaster” email. Search results claimed the two “dots” in the address indicated I had some kind of problem.
At some point yesterday I did delete my cookies/browser history, sorry don’t recall exactly when I did this. I did notice this morning my browser did start a lot faster.
That is probably the result of the temp folder becoming to full
Clear Cache/Temp Files
Download TFC by OldTimer to your desktop
[*] Please double-click TFC.exe to run it. (Note: If you are running on Vista, right-click on the file and choose Run As Administrator).
[*]It will close all programs when run, so make sure you have saved all your work before you begin.
[*]Click the Start button to begin the process. Depending on how often you clean temp files, execution time should be anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or two. Let it run uninterrupted to completion.
[*]Once it’s finished it should reboot your machine. If it does not, please manually reboot the machine yourself to ensure a complete clean.
Ok, Ran TFC, cleared 1,852.00 MB. That sounds like a lot… :o
Rebooted manually as it did not do it auto.
When I rebooted, my system seemed to be doing a lot of work in the background. The mouse pointer tuned into that turning circle thingy (stop me if I get to technical for you ).
So I pulled up Task Manager. It showed my CPU was spiking a lot from 5 to 30% for just a couple seconds at a time. This lasted about one or two minutes. Is it ok to run a virus scan now? The instructions for this topic thread said not to do anything once you’d started helping. So asking if its ok to do so now.
Computer and Browser both starting faster than before. Browser is fully on in under 15 seconds now. MWB stopped something from getting through my Skype program just now though (see attached).
And my Avast Free is acting a little odd.
Avast > Tools > Software Updater
Yesterday, the 12th, I started to update Adobe Reader through the afore mentioned string. The “update” “button” changed from update to “preparing” with a rotating circle inside the button. It never stopped “preparing”. So I gave up and closed the avast window. I forgot about it until today. I went back in to update my Adobe Reader, it was still “preparing” with the spinning circle. I’ve turned the comp off at least once since I first tried to update on the 12th.
Update tool is not cooperating. I reset it 79 times. Told it to ignore. Told it to not ignore. Reset it 86 more times. Rebooted. Reset it 14 times. Told it to ignore. Told it to not ignore. Reset it eleventy-nine times. … and it still insists on “preparing”. It doesn’t like me.
Sorry, yes, I had done a manual update from Adobes site. Then I refreshed, a lot.
I have now also repaired twice. First time, no change in status. So I scanned AVAST Free with MWB and itself, nothing malicious found with either. Second time, I rebooted after the repair, and its still “preparing”.
We are now both on the same page I do believe
p.s. If I have not done so already. Just want to express my appreciation and gratitude for your time and patience Thank You.
One option would be to uninstall software updater from Avast and then re-install it
Use the Change option for this in control panel as opposed to repair
I used Change and when the window opened with all the choices I unchecked everything but the updater. This window never mentioned uninstalling. It never gives the option to uninstall. So I chose just the Software Updater box and installed that.